Applications for moisture meter include roof surveys, stucco walls
and drywall. This
meter uses resistance - not probes - to determine if the
subsurface is wet. A simple 0 to 100% scale and audible indicator
alert Altheus Infrared to the likely presence of moisture. This piece of
equipment does have its limitations... it can't be used on EPDM rubber, heavy
ballast* or materials that are currently wet.
Roof surveys can be tricky even for the experienced
thermographer...
- White PVC membranes can be very reflective of heat, making
the IR signature of water under the membrane tricky to find.
Non-absorbent insulations compound the issue... the moisture meter is used to
verify the thermal signature on the fly.
- Pea gravel over a bitumen roof is often found in piles (from
the wind or past repair work, etc.); these piles retain and re-radiate
heat at about the same rate as moisture in a sun-warmed roof... the moisture
meter helps separate the wet from the dry.
- Water below a roof membrane retains the heat from the sun
longer than dry insulation, however, if the water is a thin film, it may not
retain the heat for very long after sunset... by using our moisture meter,
we can find even the slightest amount of water - even after
the "signature" has faded.
- *Heavy ballast is difficult to survey with IR.
The river rocks absorb and re-radiate the heat from the sun at
roughly the same rate as the wet insulation that we are trying to detect,
masking the thermal signature. Altheus' moisture meter can be used
by brushing aside the stone and placing the meter directly on the
membrane. Do this in a grid pattern and the roof can quickly and
accurately be surveyed.
- Aluminum topped roofs can be nearly impossible with today's
longwave thermal imaging systems and impossible with capacitance moisture
meters... but that doesn't mean that infrared can't be used... Talk to Altheus
IR for proven alternatives to the standard roof
survey!
Altheus Infrared takes the guess-work out of the equation.
Let us use put our technology to work for
you. |