Property

Roof system x-ray

ROOF SYSTEM X-RAY

Roof System x-ray (sort of read on) A roof system x-ray or better known as an infrared of your roof system, performed with a drone, can be both cost-effective and eye-opening.  The featured picture is an infrared of the below building.  Drone Infrared Imaging flew about 80' off the ground to capture the below image.  The pvc roof system has seen its better days.  The roof is now dull and dingy.  The black stained areas usually have to do with the lack of drainage on the system.  A roof that has poor drainage does not mean those areas are leaking.  In this example, it is revealed that it is opposite. roof system x-ray What would a roof consultant say? A roof consultant would probably recommend a complete tear off for this roof system.  Good plan if the owner of the building could afford it.  The infrared drone is just reading the moisture of the layer of insulation directly under the roof system.  It can't read the other layer which is under the initial roof system and over the deck.  The only way to know the moisture content in that layer would be to investigate leaks by doing a series of core samples. Infrared Scan helps to provide economical roof system option The roofing contractor removed the top layer of roofing.  The infrared helped make this decision.  The moisture did not penetrate the initial layer of insulation over the deck so they could leave that roof in place.  This made it very affordable and something that the owner was willing to do.  The requirements for roof insulation are very high.  Roof insulation is now the highest component of the roof system.  A recovery board was installed instead of all the different layers of insulation which saved money.  There was a labor saving by not tearing off the bottom roof.  As a result, a building owner was happy!
Drone Infrared Imaging

Commercial Real Estate Roof Inspection

Commercial real estate roof inspection with infrared will take the unknown out of the equation in purchasing a building.  With the new codes for roof insulation on a flat commercial industrial roof, commercial roofs have become a very expensive proposition.  As an owner, if you are purchasing a building, an infrared scan of the roof can reveal what current owners probably don't want you to know.  Moisture underneath a roof system will serve as a catalyst to deteriorate the roof system from the underside of the system.   What does this mean?  Replacing your roof could cost between $10-$20 per sq ft.  This needs to be negotiated before the sale of the building! The above infrared roof scan can reveal whether there is moisture trapped under the system.  Is the above infrared something that will make us fearful or something that will make us feel secure?  The answer is secure.  The above system has very little changes in temperature all the way across the roof system thus giving it an "A" rating.  There are no signs of moisture or leaks for that matter. Drone Infrared Imaging can give security knowing for sure the roof on your future facility is in good condition.  We can take the guess-work out of a roofing contractor taking core sample to see if moisture is found.  ONE other important point: Roof insulation can absorb a lot of water before it actually leaks into the building.  So just asking if there are any leaks is not a good determination that the roof is safe and sound.
Drone Inspection

DRONE INSPECTION

Drones are going to be used in many industries in the years to come, way more than what you think. Will drones be delivering packages?  I don't know.  Currently a drone in between .5 lb and 55 lbs cannot be flown if it is out of our line of sight.  You would be hard pressed to flight a drone two towns over and maintain line of sight.  Oh and by the way no help of anything to enhance vision can be used according to the FAA.  A drone inspection can reveal so much more information we could not see in the past.  Drone inspections can be performed on roofs, construction sites, water towers, electrical towers, stacks, walls, siding, water treatment, agriculture, condominiums, townhouses, factories, commercial buildings and all of these can have infrared imaging.
Drone inspection
Drone water tower inspection
Drone inspection
Drone construction site inspection
Drone Inspection
Drone agriculture inspection
A drone inspection is done to discover and plan for the future.  At Drone Infrared Imaging, we can inspect whatever property, building, obstacle or object that you may need inspected.  Drone inspections are especially useful for bigger complexes but certainly not limited to them.
Infrared Drone

Infrared Drone

PIC AND AN INFRARED DRONE PIC used to stand for Picture.  No longer, the FAA has taken it for there very own.  It stands for Pilot in Command.  The FAA wants every person that is going to fly commercially to be trained.  Flying without an Airman Certificate is Illegal.  That's why everyone at Drone Infrared Imaging must pass the Aeronautical Knowledge Test before they fly.  If nothing else its gets you to think about more than just picking up a controller and taking off.  There is a lot to think about, like the weather, obstacles, wind current around buildings, aircraft, line of sight, visual observer, magnetic fields, down drafts, updrafts and the like.  Our ultimate goal is to be safe.  An infrared drone is a very expensive proposition and believe me we don't want anything to happen to it. Infrared Drone               Infrared Drone Airspace Yes we have to share airspace.  The above images were taken in Class D airspace.  Because the airport has a Control Tower, they had to be contacted so we could get permission to fly.  It is a little bit of a hassle to actually speak to the tower, however the overall process was quite painless.  They gave permission and we were able to fly. https://www.droneinfraredimaging.com/infrared-scans/
Roof Safety

Roof Safety

BASIC PRACTICAL RULES FOR ROOF SAFETY If it looks unsafe it probably is unsafe.  I don't know how many times we have been on job sites to see obvious glaring violations.  The worst is when the owner comes on the roof and they can tell the violations without knowing the violations.  Point being make sure your roof projects look safe!  One final note here, if your job site looks crappy even though you are safe, it gives the appearance of being unsafe.  Let's keep job sites cleaned up. Roof safety should be taught and caught.  Don't get caught in the trap of, well we didn't have many accidents last year so let's skimp on safety this year.  It always works out bad.  Having Drone Infrared Imaging capture pictures and video from your projects to use in the roof safety class room is priceless.  Not only to point out the things that need correcting but hopefully to point out perfectly staged job sites. When safety equipment looks old, it looks unsafe.  Yes I know some of us are conservative and we like to use things until it dies but let's try to stay clear of doing that regarding safety. AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION.. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  A little precaution before a crisis occurs is preferable to a lot of fixing up afterward.  Roof safety can prevent a lot of personal injuries.  It can also prevent the ultimate tragedy which is loss of life.  Workman's compensation claims can cost a tremendous amount of money and can drag on for years.  If there is time given in the class room with pictures from Drone Infrared Imaging, that's a great start.  After that having tool box talks with your guys on a weekly basis.  One more thing, your foreman should be very safety conscious and as a result should hold all the guys under his care to a high standard of safety. BE SAFE!

ROOF INFRARED OR LOTS OF COOL COLORS

Roof Infrared Interpretation Yes the roof above does have leak issues. The roof is a BUR roof and the gravel is spread evenly across the roof (meaning the roof should have cooled off at the same temperature which it did not). Can you just look at a roof infrared scan and tell what is going on?  Are all the red areas on the scan a roof leak?  Are there some roofs that can't be scanned?  These questions will be answered in this blog post. Question #1.  First off, there are so many different roof membranes producing so many levels of radiant heat that a hot spot could mean many things.  For example a large area of ponding water could cause the membrane to be cooler than it should be.  Another example could be repairs that are black in color could produce hotter than usual temperatures.  This would lead one to believe that the roof has leaks in all of those areas.  This is why it is very important to have someone like Drone Infrared Imaging with 30 years of commercial roofing experience interpreting what the infrared scan is revealing. Question #2.  There are different palettes of color that Flir Camera can be set at, so saying that all the spots that are red are leaks won't work.  Even if it is set at a rainbow setting, red spots could come from many different avenues.  HVAC units (see picture) in the summer operate very hot and can cause the membrane to stay warm longer.  Different membranes DJI_0049used on the same roof systems for repairs.  Even tar that has bled through the gravel of a BUR roof system can cause hot spot.  My point here is you need to know your membranes and the ambient heat that they produce. Question #3.  For the last question the answer is yes.  One example is a EPDM Ballasted Roof.  The ballast stays at a consistent temperature masking the real temperature of the EPDM under the ballast.