Have a roof inspection done today!
A roof inspection is good to do every year. A commercial roof is a very large expense. If you wait until your roof leaks through the ceiling to start caring for your roof, you've waited far to long. At Drone Infrared Imaging one of our specialties in roof inspections. Roofs of all ages need to have inspections. I don't know what it is about flat roofs but things happen up there. Anything from people vandalizing to bullets puncturing the roof from people shooting in the air. What goes up must come down. Yes I have seen it. Animals can cause havoc on a roof. People storing things on the roof can also damage a roof. And lastly one of the biggest causes of a commercial flat roof being damaged is neglect.
Core sample of a flat roof
One of the most important part of an inspection is to do a core sample to know what is going on. The above pictures reveals a poured concrete deck with multiple layers of felt and tar. It also have a modified bitumen cap sheet. We know from this that a leak would take a lot of time to penetrate all the way through the concrete. As a result, inspections for this type of roof should be performed often. By that I mean once or twice a year.
A roof inspection is not an expensive proposition. They range anywhere from $450-$1200 per building. They could cost a little more depending on the circumstances. Or they could cost less depending on how many buildings. At Drone Infrared Imaging we can also provide an aerial picture and or an infrared picture of you roof. This would all depend on what service you would prefer for your roof. Thanks for checking out my blog. We look forward to hear from you. Drone Infrared Imaging.
Infrared imaging on a rainy, windy day
So what does an infrared drone guy do on a rainy windy day... practice. Happily Flir in conjunction with DJI has upgraded their camera and software to give so many more options. All the colors and palettes become more vivid and dynamic. You can even tell how hot your cup of coffee is if you have your drone fired up and running (no propellers) and facing yourself. The Starbucks coffee was 140 degrees when I first set it on the desk. Within the first 10 minutes it decreased 20 degrees. Enough about coffee.
Infrared Drone Uses
The use of drones and infrared imaging are growing. A lot of people don't even realize how useful it can be. I recently had my DJI Inspire Pro with the XT Flir camera flying over a commercial building. Now I didn't know were the leaks on the building were, but after careful examination I circled areas of concern on the infrared and presented this to the owner. Surprise surprise the areas that I circled on the infrared turned out to be close to the leak areas on the building. Now the owner is educated about his roof leaks on his building and a roofing contractor can come out and accurately repair the roof.
Hvac contractors can use infrared to see how hot the units are running and believe me some run very hot compared to others (see picture above, two units running hotter).
Electric companies can inspect transformers and any other part of the electrical systems to find out what is operating inefficiently. Any type of piping that runs on the outside of a building can be inspected.
Cellular towers can be inspected.
Search and rescue, especially at night reveal vivid pictures of human being trying to hide or run from something.
The energy efficiency of any building can be determined.
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.
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/
BASIC PRACTICAL RULES FOR ROOF SAFETYIf 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 InterpretationYes 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 used 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.
Drones provide quick infrared results
There are many ways to evaluate a commercial building. One way is to do a visual inspection by walking the entire roof. Another is taking core samples of various areas of the roof. Still another is through aerial photography. If a professional roofer is able to look at an aerial detailed picture, many areas diagnosis can be given just from the picture alone. Probably the most promising is to do an infrared scan of the roof. Some infrared cameras even allow you to take video. Isn't technology wonderful. After getting to the facility and mapping out a plan, making sure it is safe to fly, it is only a matter of 15 minutes and the infrared drone can be up and flying over the facility. There is so much information that can be gained from the infrared pictures and video.
Discover roof leaks, heat duct leaks and energy deficiencies
It is important to note, not all roof types can have an infrared scan. If the roof is scanned for leaks, roof leaks will be obvious. Roof leaks will allow water to saturate into the insulation causing those areas to be hotter as emissivity is happening. Emissivity is the ability of a surface like a roof to emit radiate energy. Roofs during the warming of the sun can cause some roofs to get to 180 degrees. If a roof is dry and free of leaks, emissivity will happen consistently across the roof. Wet insulation under the roof will cause the radiant heat of the roof to stay hot.
Some HVAC units are equipped with side mount discharge, meaning the duct comes out of the side of the unit. These ducts can also be tested for leaks through the infrared scan.
Lastly the roof can be scanned to discover potential energy deficiencies. For example, over time the roof insulation shrinks causing gaps under the roof membrane. These areas can be detected through an infrared scan. If it is cold outside and the building is being heated then the lines along the edges of the insulation will test hotter because the hot air is trying to escape.
To learn more about emissivity go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75PmF7KLf4A
White thermoplastic roofs are cool
The most common thermoplastic roofs are PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and TPO (Thermoplastic Olefin). Both of these materials will prove to be cooler roof systems than most materials out there. On a 90 degree day, an EPDM roof can get upwards of 170 degrees. On a 90 degree day, thermoplastic roofs will be at a temperature of 110 degrees (approx.). This is a significant difference in temperature. Most consultants would argue that the temperature doesn't matter in the Midwest because they want the warmth in the winter. I will tell you the biggest benefit in the last paragraph.
Thermoplastic roofs in the summer
Whether you are in the Midwest or not having a cool roof allows buildings to stay cooler thus reducing the cost of cooling buildings. The other thing it does is allow HVAC units to operate more efficiently through reduced heat around the unit. Both of these factors contribute to energy saving costs in the summertime months. In future posts, I will have infrared shot via a drone to prove my points.
Thermoplastic roofs in the winter
The effects of the sun is significantly less in the wintertime because the sun is no longer high in the sky or directly overhead. The absorption of the suns rays is not as strong as the dead of summer causing the black roof materials to reach temperatures that are less than if the sun would be directly overhead. Don't get me wrong, is it beneficial to have a roof that is warm in the winter on a sunny day, YES. The effects however are not as significant as the summertime cooling. Is the energy savings more significant in the south, YES.
Thermoplastic roofs biggest benefit
Ultraviolet rays are probably one of the most damaging factors to any roof system. Roof materials deteriorate because they dry out and crack or shrink. Anything that can be done to avoid this process would be beneficial the roof system. Thermoplastic roof can have a .070 - .085 reflection of the sun. Thermoplastic white products are reflecting 70-85% of the suns rays back into the atmosphere as opposed to absorbing them and drying out the product. So whether you are in the Midwest or the deep South, this benefit will always remain.
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.
used 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.
