Infrared Roof Surveys

Tadlock Roofing Offers Infrared Roof Surveys

A roof is an asset to the building owner. At an average of $6.00 per SF, a typical reroof of a 50,000 SF facility could cost the building owner $300,000 for a replacement. If the old roof needs to be removed
completely, this cost could add another $75,000-$100,000 dollars or more to the reroofing project. Roof leaks can be a building owner or manager’s worst nightmare. It can damage equipment, inventory,
loss of heating/cooling and damage the structural components themselves. If left unrepaired, leaks can necessitate having the entire roof removed and replaced thus shortening the roof’s life expectancy.

Having an infrared scan performed can:

Locate difficult leaks
Minimize the amount of tear-off of the old roof during reroofing minimizing costs
Ensure wet roofing is not being roofed over which would void a new warranty
Help minimize heating and cooling costs by locating problem areas
Help prevent damage to the interior and structural components

How does an Infrared Scan work?

Infrared scanning employs the use of a thermal imaging camera to measure variations in the roof’s surface temperature. On a typical sunny day, the roof surface heats up. This heat is transferred into the roof assembly and insulation. If moisture is present in the roof system, the water or water vapor will also warm up. At dusk, the membrane on the surface cools down quickly, but because water has more mass and is denser than air, any wet spots beneath the membrane retain heat longer. By scanning the surface of the roof at this precise time, we are able to locate leaks or areas on the roof which are wet that otherwise would not be found during a visual inspection or with destructive testing.

Finding damage and the extent of damage

Infrared scanning is a non-invasive or non-destructive method for not only identifying leaks, but also for determining the extent of the water damage to the insulation. Less saturated areas of insulation retain less heat and appear as graduated color changes on the thermographic image. Using infrared scanning, these areas can be noted and recorded and a map of the wet areas of the roof plotted out.

The Results

After performing an infrared scan of the roof, we will provide you with a written report, drawing of the roof with areas of concerned noted as well as photographic documentation. An Infrared Scan is one of the best methods for estimating the extent of necessary repairs. Our goal at Tadlock is to aid our client’s in achieving maximum life expectancy from their roof and building envelope systems.