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View Full Version : How long is too long to IR scan for a roof leak?



J. Lucas
04-07-2014, 07:31 PM
I live in New England and we had a ton of ice damming this past winter. While I usually find that ice damming was the cause of water infiltration there are a few that I suspect other culprits. My questions is simple; how long is to long to use an IR camera to scan for a roof leak that appeared 2 months ago? Keeping in mind it has not been above 40F. And would it be better to scan at dawn instead of dusk?

Scott Patterson
04-07-2014, 08:29 PM
No set time frame....

Steven Turetsky
04-08-2014, 05:05 AM
As Scott stated there is no set time frame. This is due to the fact that it is possible that water was trapped in the layers of the roof and may still be present. So it can not hurt anything (other than your wallet) to scan, although I think there is a likelihood of water dissipation and a higher possibility of false negatives.

So I will add that in my opinion it is better to scan as soon after an incident as possible.

Discuss the inspection with your themographer. Bear in mind that in most cases the optimal time to inspect a roof (or any exterior) is approx 2 hours (or so) after sunset or 1-2 hours after sunrise.

The ircam measures temperatures. Different substances/materials change temperature at different rates (water being the slowest), but at some point they equalize. The delay give the roof surface a chance to cool down (or warm up), and provides the opportunity to detect the temperature differences in areas where the water beneath the surface is effecting the surface of the roof.

JIm Douglass
04-08-2014, 06:40 AM
After doing hundreds of IR scans, at University Campus , I always found that a couple of hours before dawn seemed to be the best. the buildings were in the wake up mode preparing for the day use, this means the air handlers were starting and the building was in warm up or cool down either one the IR will detect leaks and "HOT" or Cold spots. where your in a cold area 40' I would scan before any sun was on the roof and the heat is on full , you will see where the problem is. good luck

Steven Turetsky
04-08-2014, 09:07 AM
After doing hundreds of IR scans, at University Campus , I always found that a couple of hours before dawn seemed to be the best. the buildings were in the wake up mode preparing for the day use, this means the air handlers were starting and the building was in warm up or cool down either one the IR will detect leaks and "HOT" or Cold spots. where your in a cold area 40' I would scan before any sun was on the roof and the heat is on full , you will see where the problem is. good luck

Jim, were you testing from the inside out?