• Infrared building inspection
  (Construction professionals)
• Air leakage testing
• Thermal bridge identification
• Insulation continuity documentation
  (Part L Compliance)
• As built documentation
• Envelope surface delamination
• Flat roof moisture inspection and reports
• Water leak detection
• User specified services
• Infrared building surveys
  (Private and Insurance)
• Home Inspection
• Moisture detection
• Pre and post repair inspection
• Under floor heating
• Infrared marketing and
  promotions
• Building publicity shots
• Bespoke infrared pictures
• Reference
• About Infrared Imaging
• Benefits of infrared imaging services
• Links and information
• Sustainability & Continuous
  Improvement
• Business services

Flat roofs

Infrared imaging has a proven track record when looking for roof defects and in particular damp roof insulation on flat roof systems.

Many roofs require replacing prematurely due to moisture ingress through the membrane, allowing the roof insulation to become wet. Infrared imaging can identify problem areas and sound areas and enable an informed decision to be made regarding remedial action / replacement of the roofing structure.

When the roof surface itself is dry, including any gravel or ballast, a sunny day will warm the entire roof. Early in the evening the roof will begin to cool down, and because of its higher thermal capacity the wet insulation will stay warmer longer than the dry and will be visible in the infrared imager.

Wet roof insulation is orange

Water ingress around chimneys

The technique is particularly effective on roofs having absorbent insulation such as wood fibre, fibreglass, and perlite where thermal patterns correlate almost perfectly with moisture. Infrared inspections of roofs with non-absorbent insulations, common in many single-ply systems, are more difficult to diagnose because patterns are more diffuse.

With flat roof structures being standard in the industrial and commercial sector, it is estimated that up to 40% may be affected by such problems within the first year of installation. With the average lifespan of the roof being held at 7 years, if regular inspection and a proper maintenance programme are adhered to, the lifespan can increase by as much as 300%.

These surveys work by using the theory that different materials present in the roof structure have differing thermal masses. Using this concept, all surveys are carried out around 2 hours after dark to allow the roof to re-equilibrate to the ambient temperature. Wet roof insulation will have a higher thermal mass than dry insulation and consequently will maintain heat energy for longer. This means that areas of wet roof insulation will show up as areas with higher temperature in an IR image.

Typically the temperature differential between damp and dry insulation is relatively small, around 1-3K.

Infrared Advantages:

• Moisture damaged roof sections are actually seen and identified without question.
• Moisture tracking can be located and leak causes can be found.
• The roof is not damaged or even touched by the infrared inspection equipment.
• Non-contact damage reports are provided offering valuable information to the roof owner or consultant.