Infrared cameras spot structural leaks

Wickizer & Clutter purchased a $13,000 camera with infrared technology manufactured by Boston-based Flir Systems. Infrared thermography produces an image of infrared light, invisible to the human eye. The image shows the heat – or lack thereof – emitted by an object. An infrared thermography camera, which resembles a camcorder, photographs the heat radiation.

William Rapp, president and general adjuster for Wickizer & Clutter, said, “We can detect moisture in conditions that are favorable for mold growth. If water’s entering a building, we can detect where the water is coming from because on the surface temperature, an area that is moist will have a higher temperature reading than surrounding dry material.”

Figuring out where moisture is coming from, Rapp said, will save money when it’s time for repairs.

“We anticipate that in most cases it will reduce the scope of work that needs to be done by knowing exactly whether there’s a moisture problem,” he said. “The scope of damage may be misdiagnosed without it, and there would be more expense and renovation than necessary.”

Infrared thermography also can reduce insurance claims amounts, which will save consumers money because premiums wouldn’t go up as much.

An example, Rapp said, is the problems that may arise after water is used to extinguish a kitchen fire.

“The contractor may say, ‘I think there’s water behind that wall, but I don’t know until I tear the kitchen cabinets out.’ We would use the infrared camera to determine, without any type of destruction, whether there’s moisture behind that wall before $10,000 in cabinets were torn out,” he said.

Jim Echols, owner of Springfield Indoor Air Quality, also owns a Flir Systems camera that he uses in his work.

“I’m an industrial hygienist. I have a master’s degree in industrial hygiene, I focus solely on indoor air quality, both residential and industrial, so I use the camera as another tool that I use on a daily basis,” he said.

Echols said he uses infrared thermography images to identify cold points in objects.

“Most everyone else looks for increase in temperature, but we look for a decrease in temperature. That decrease in temperature tells us that possibly there’s a reason for that particular surface to be cooler than the surrounding surfaces,” he said. This is helpful in pinpointing moisture and mold, information useful to contractors in mold remediation. Echols, who is also a certified thermographer, charges $100 per hour.

Rapp said readings on an infrared thermography camera can be seen immediately.

Images may be captured in the camera, saved, downloaded and labeled for use as reports on the findings are prepared.

“If somebody’s house roof is leaking, but nobody can find where the water’s coming from, we can. We can do energy audits and show where heating or cooling is leaking from a building. We can determine if bearings are failing in machinery due to temperate differences. We can determine if a car has Bondo in it or if a marine boat hull has been repaired or the wood core in fiberglass has rotted merely by the surface temperature distance,” Rapp said.

Homes with synthetic stucco exteriors also stand to benefit from infrared thermography, Rapp said, due to their tendency to hold moisture under the synthetic surface.

“If it were my $300,000 house, I’d spend $100 or $150 a year to try to have the peace of mind or to know that there is or isn’t a problem, because that’s typically something that is not covered by insurance,” Rapp said, adding that repair from such damage can be costly. “One house I covered the claim on, the abatement cost for just two exterior walls was over $40,000.”

Wickizer & Clutter employs one certified thermographer, Jeff Davis, and Rapp hopes to add more certified staff and more cameras. “I expect for it to develop (into) a three- to five-person business with three to five cameras,” he said.

Wickizer & Clutter has a minimum charge of $150 for the services of its certified thermographer and camera.

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