I.R. Leak Detection - Does Anyone Understand How This Works?

Question

The building I work in is nearing 25 years old and has a flat roof. Yesterday we had a roofing company come in and perform an assessment of the roof. The showed up early in the morning - it was a bright sunny morning following a night of heavy rain. He used an infrared camera to scan our roof and was able to pin-point areas where moisture was beginning to penetrate the roofing membrane. All areas that we didn't yet see moisture entering the building.

So, this brought me to wonder... If this works on buildings with flat rubber roofing, would it work on my RV? I don't have the camera he did, but I do have a point and shoot IR thermometer that I use to watch tire temps, etc. Could I use this to scan my roof and identify early leakage?

What is the technology here? Will water stay cooler while the remaining portion of the roof heats up in the sun?

gene_ginny · Answer

DRSMPS wrote:
... What is the technology here? Will water stay cooler while the remaining portion of the roof heats up in the sun?

You got it. We had it done to our building a few years ago. Found the weak spot was not where the water was dripping into the ceiling. The bad spot was maybe 25 feet away and the water traveled untill it found a weak spot in the wood.

A consumer grade IR detector would not do the job. The special camera used to view the roof probably cost more than the cost of having a RV roof rebuilt.

darryl_rita · Answer

Flir. One of the big names in the business. Plenty of interesting reading.

harvey51 · Answer

At one time you could buy IR film for a 35 mm camera.  It had to be kept cool before and after exposure.  It was used to find warm spots on a house in very cold weather so you could see where heat loss was happening.

drsmps · Answer

Thanks for the information everyone.I convinced the IR inspector to stop by my house and look at my RV.  He did, but in the evening however.  He scanned the roof and walls.  We actually found a wet spot behind a clearance light that I didn't know about (showed up warm on his camera).  A small amount of wet insulation was behind the clearance light.I bought him lunch the next day as a thank you.  I check my RV on a regular basis for signs of leaks, check the caulking / roof for cracks, etc.  I even get it leak tested once a year.  I'm now convinced that every RV has a leak somewhere.  It is just a matter of finding out where and keeping on top of it before the next one happens.

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I.R. Leak Detection - Does Anyone Understand How This Works?

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