Infrared Cameras & Moisture!

During a recent home inspection/renovation consultation we encountered a small leak on the main floor. The main floor area was being ripped up and is in the process of a serious renovation so we could easily see all the electrical, plumbing and ducting. We spotted the leak, which happened to be the old kitchen drain pipe that had never been connected together properly! It had been this way for over 40 years and never leaked, but during the renovation it must have been knocked around and the improperly installed connector had become completely loose.

Below the main floor area is a recently re-finished laundry room, so we thought we should probably go down to the basement and see if any water damage has occurred and take some thermal shots while we’re at it, just to show you how thermal imaging works with moisture damage. As you can see from the regular photo, there are no signs of any moisture issues....this leak had probably been leaking for a few hours. If the floor above had been covered, we would never suspect any moisture issues at all. Take a look at the pictures with the thermal camera, clearly it tells us another story!

The laundry room, directly below the renovation above and the leak. No signs of any moisture damage!!

Now this is telling us we have a serious moisture concern! We love these cameras!

The leak 12 hours after it had been fixed. The drywall  is almost completely dry, the floor joists  are still wet. This area had completely dried out after 24 hours.  This is because the floor above was open and there was an abundance of air-flow was helping this dry out. If it had been covered this would of easily stayed wet and caused damage to the laundry room ceiling.

The next shots are of a basement ceiling that has signs of moisture damage. In this situation we had no access to what’s behind the drywall, so we have to assume at some point recently there has been a leak. We decided to pull out the thermal camera to see if there were any signs of moisture as well as our moisture meter. COMPLETELY DRY! 

Not every situation tells you exactly what's really happening, having a thermal imaging camera and moisture meter is essential in the home inspection process. We hope this blog helps you understand how these tools work and how they benefit all parties involved during the home buying/selling process. For more information please contact us, we'd love to help!

A basement ceiling with clear signs of damage.  Possibly a moisture concern!

And NOTHING! So whatever was the concern is no longer a problem.  We confirmed this with our moisture meter as well.