WHY PERFORM A ROOFTOP INFRARED MOISTURE SURVEY

A roof top infrared moisture survey is the most efficient and economical method of determining the condition of the roofs you are in charge of.

Whether you are looking for specific roof leaks areas, considering a roof asset management plan, or simply budgeting for this years roof repairs, the IR survey will provide antidotal evidence for roof asset decisions well into the service life cycle.

"Every roofer on earth knows wet insulation must be removed prior to any roof restoration project".

By knowing the total percentage of wet insulation in each roof area, budget figures can now be efficiently calculated.

Please enjoy this very important technical paper about roof insulation

Midwest Infrared utilizes remote thermal sensing for the detection of wet and/or deteriorated roof insulation. The results give you an "x-ray" of your roof, locating all areas of wet insulation.

To better understand why we look for wet insulation, the following is a review of insulation purposes and hazards.

The five major purposes of insulation are:

a. To control temperature.

b. To prevent condensation on the interior of the building.

c. To provide a better substrate for roofing felt application.

d. To prevent thermal movement.

e. Relieve stress in the roof membrane.

f. Wet insulation does not insulate as effectively as dry insulation.

Because water has a higher thermal conductivity than any type of roof insulation, heat flow is greater through wet insulation. In the wintertime, the heat flow is from interior to exterior and in the summer time the heat flow is reversed. Wet insulation increases that heat flow, thereby, increasing heating and cooling costs.

Interior surfaces are kept warm by insulation on the roof deck. However, when the insulation is wet, and has lost it is capacity to insulate, interior surfaces become cooler and are more susceptible to condensation. Condensation can be a hazard to the interior structure and equipment.

When insulation becomes sufficiently saturated, it begins to decompose. The built-up roof membrane may then collapse along with the insulation. Wet insulation does not serve as a good substrate for roofing membrane, whether it is a single ply or built-up roof assembly.

Once the insulation is wet and there is a vapor barrier, the water cannot escape, but proliferates through the dry insulation due to expansion caused by solar radiation. On sloped roofs, the moisture within the insulation moves by the force of gravity. In any case, if the cause of the wet insulation is not discovered, the problem not only spreads but also worsens in intensity.

Trapped water in the insulation expands with higher solar radiation, delaminating the roofing felts and degrading single ply lap joint sealants, forming blisters and creating fractures and holes. The trapped water causes the insulation to buckle, warp, decay, and some insulation to simply breakdown. Damage to the roof deck takes the form of rusting steel decks, rotting wood decks, and spalling concrete decks.

In summary, wet insulation not only does not serve the purpose for which insulation is designed but also poses a serious threat to the entire roof system.

Moisture entrapped in roof insulation can be caused by:

In the past, insulated roofs were examined either by cutting holes into the roof or using a moisture meter. These necessitate the cutting of many holes into the roof membrane, which can cause future leaks. The more probes cut into the roof membrane, the more thorough the analysis and the greater the possibility of leaks; conversely, the less probes made, the less reliable the analysis. Either way, this process is time consuming and the results are inconclusive.

The Midwest Infrared Roof Analysis is a system, which pinpoints those areas of wet insulation through the sensing of thermal radiation emitted from the roof surface. The analysis includes 100% of the roof area being surveyed.

What previously required many costly hours and many cuts into the roof membrane to determine the extent of wet insulation can now be accomplished precisely, quickly, and economically.

What may be most important in the analysis is that sound roofs can be identified as well as problem areas. Un-necessary tear-offs can be prevented and work concentrated on the problem areas affording the customer large savings.

Analyzing your roofs on an annual basis will insure small problems are caught before they become major headaches for all. The cost of an infrared survey is a fraction of the price of a roof replacement project.

Thank you,

Richard Mansfield Owner,

Midwest Infrared Services