Roof Scans

During the day, the sun radiates energy onto the roof and onto the roof substrate. At night, the roof radiates the heat back into space. This is called radiational cooling. Areas of the roof that are of a higher mass (wet) retain this heat longer than the lower mass (dry) areas. Infrared imagers can detect this heat and “see” the warmer, higher mass areas, during the “window” of uneven heat dissipation. Heat loss and other IR services can be performed at the same time.

This is the most common method of roof thermography by a factor of 100. Almost all roof thermography is on-roof. To perform an on-roof survey properly, a crew of two people is needed: an experienced infrared thermographer and a helper. It is also a good idea to have the building owner’s representative for access and security, if possible. The crew needs authorization and access to all areas and levels of the roofs from either ladders or roof hatches and time to collect data under good conditions. Very dependent on logistics, how many problems are found and how long good conditions last, an on-roof crew can survey 50,000 – 200,000 SF of building roofs in a night. Areas that contain subsurface moisture are verified wet and then marked with paint directly on the roof along the outer edges of the wet area. That night with flash photography or the next day, the thermographer goes back on the roofs to take visual photographs of the areas that contain subsurface moisture. By marking paint directly on the roof, repair areas can be seen by anyone standing on the roofs after the survey is performed (advantage and disadvantage). The thermographer can create detailed, high-quality, and easy-to-understand reports documenting roof moisture.

A Flat Roof Moisture scan costs between 4₵ – 8₵ per square foot depending on the level of survey required, the size of the roof. Scans are usually performed as part of an overall roof asset management plan. Information is used to plan budgets and when needed, to create a bid document for contracting repairs and/or replacement of the roof. If you want your roof to last, it must be regularly inspected and maintained. A Jersey First Infrared Thermographic Service flat roof moisture scan is the best method of noninvasive inspection for flat or low slope roofs.

You will receive a detailed, professional report documenting the entrained roof moisture so that your roofing contractor can make repairs.