The Myth of Infrared, ContinuedIn the following I’ll discuss a number of the limiting factors which help explain my position that I.R. imagers are not an effective tool for use during a pre-purchase home inspection.
Note: When I’m saying “ineffective” or “must” in the above points, it has to be understood that these are not conditions that can be changed on the imager like adjustments on 35mm camera. These are environmental conditions that have to be right at the time the image is taken. If the control conditions are not right, they have to be created, which is not possible during a pre-purchase home inspection. Hence I state my case, contrary to promotion by our TV celebrity, infrared imaging is not a viable part of a home inspection. Is there a chance of getting some cool images? No problem, but that’s not thermography. I will go as far as stating that any home inspector who is arbitrarily offering thermography as part of their pre-purchase home inspection is bordering on fraud. About the only possible place that I.R. imaging might be used relatively consistently during a pre-purchase home inspection is at the base of a finished basement wall. So let’s do the math: imager @ $5,000 + training @ $2,000 = $7,000. Then, once moisture is suspected, a moisture meter is required to confirm that it is moisture, so that’s $7,000 + moisture meter @ $500 = a $7,500 moisture meter. That’s a lot of money to spend when most professional home inspectors already have a moisture meter in their tool kit and know how to use it. Now don’t take any of this as me saying thermal imagers are not a good tool to be used in the practice of building science. They are a fascinating tool and have many legitimate applications in residential problem-solving when used properly and under the right conditions. If you’re looking for air leakage or insulation issues, adding a blower door to the equation takes things to the next level. A thermal investigation of a typical house will cost more than an average home inspection. Excerpt from the book - Buy or Run - by Bruce McClure, pg. 92-97 |