IR cam found roof leak

[Chris Bernhardt]

Found a roof leak that I would have missed without the IR camera. I would have called the roofing for replacement however.

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Little ol remodel in Albany, OR

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View of upstairs hall bathroom ceiling. Dry to the touch and unremarkable.

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IR image of the upstairs hall bathroom ceiling.

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Moisture meter pegged in the areas indicated by the IR cam and were normal elsewhere.

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Messed up roll roofing job said to be 5 - 8 years old. It looked to me that the leak was at a plumbing vent. Someone had applied copious amounts of black sealant around it but I could see cracks and gaps in it still. Also that area over the bathroom looks like it would pond water in a downpour.

Chris, Oregon

[randynavarro]

Interesting.

Why, do you think, if it was a simple leak, that the ceiling wouldn't be simply stained?

[Chris Bernhardt]

Why, do you think, if it was a simple leak, that the ceiling wouldn't be simply stained?

Good question. Last year the downstairs hallway light fixture in my house was filling up with water. It would happen when someone took a shower in the upstairs hall bathroom that was about eight feet away from the fixture. I scanned the ceiling with my moisture meter and traced it back to under the tub. There were no outward signs of a leak at the surface of the drywall. I opened up the ceiling and sure enough the back of the drywall was wet.

Chris, Oregon

[Les]

Chris,

Do you think most inspectors would have missed the leak?

What do you think came first, your discovery and analysis or analysis and discovery of cause?

[Chris Bernhardt]

Do you think most inspectors would have missed the leak?

Well I would have. It's not in my protocol to randomly sample walls and ceilings with my moisture meter. After this I will start thinking about it. I don't think Mike O. would have missed it. I think his wife scans everything.

What do you think came first, your discovery and analysis or analysis and discovery of cause?

Discovery of an anomaly, hit it with the moisture meter, bingo - then go look at the roof.

It could go either way and it has.

Chris, Oregon

[kurt]

Good find.

I'd have been hammering the roof though. POS roofing job. When they look like that, they always leak. If not today, tomorrow.

[Jim Katen]

That is one seriously butt-ugly house.

The roof is a disaster.

However, the IR image is strange. I would have guessed that the image showed missing insulation, not a roof leak. The edges of the cold areas are so soft and ill-defined.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Chris Bernhardt]

Thats what I have noticed. The few times I have found moisture related issues the images are soft without much contrast. Missing or ill-fitted insulation tends to show sharper more defined images. The corners where batts meet in vaulted ceilings if ill-fitted produce pretty defined circular anomalies.

Chris, Oregon

[randynavarro]

However, the IR image is strange. I would have guessed that the image showed missing insulation, not a roof leak. The edges of the cold areas are so soft and ill-defined.

Perhaps quality of the camera? IOW, resolution / pixels?

[hausdok]

Originally posted by Jim Katen

That is one seriously butt-ugly house.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

That was my very first thought, even before I read any of this post; and the guy who boarded over that garage overhead door and stuck that lame looking door in the center of that space should be smacked upside the head.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[mthomas1]

Just wondering:

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[Chris Bernhardt]

House was vacant. It's been empty for some time. The ceiling was dry to the touch and unremarkable.

I only consider the IR image as showing a thermal anomaly that corresponds to elevated moisture readings from my moisture meter and a crappy roof above.

It's my opinion that the roof is leaking.

I hope to find out what they really find when they make repairs.

Chris, Oregon