To diagnose water intrusions in both residential and commercial buildings we use infrared cameras, multiple types of moisture meters and a significant knowledge of building science. American Air Testing then provides a lengthy written report, including photos of the problems and suggested repairs.
After a building has become wet and professional drying has occurred, it is advisable to have infrared photos of the previously damp areas to confirm or deny the success of the drying process. Many environmental problems can be avoided by thorough professional building drying. This is not a space heater in a flooded room. This is not renting a shop vac and removing the water from a carpet. This is not calling a carpet cleaning company. Professional drying is a complex process and requires training and significant equipment. There was a beautiful home that had a toilet failure on the fifth floor. The homeowner’s insurance company would only pay for three days of drying. Well, that wasn’t enough. The final bill for mold removal and consequential reconstruction was well over $500,000 – we were there six times and we’re the cheapest part of the process. Had the drying been left in place until the walls, floors and ceilings really were dry the cost would have been about $2000. So, the cheap can turn out to be very, very expensive.
We can, by using infrared, find leaks in radiant floor heating, which is much cheaper that ripping out the whole floor and replacing the system, or deconstruct the floor until you find the leak.
Infrared photography has become invaluable in our inspections; so many contaminants are caused by water intrusion. The water has to be stopped before the problem can successfully be repaired.
Infrared will also show you if windows, doors, thresholds are leaking cooler air.
