There are different types of roof surveys that can be carried out on commercial and industrial roofs. One of them is a thermal roof survey.

What is a Thermal Roof Survey?

Staggeringly, statistics show that a commercial roof has a 40% risk of developing a leak within its first year. Now, roof maintenance can of course help to minimise the chance of leaks or at least catch them early on. However, infrared technology has allowed for fast and effective leak detection which can be extremely beneficial for commercial and industrial roofs.

Thermal roof surveys use this infrared technology to carry out non-destructive roof diagnostics. Not only are these type of surveys proficient at detect anomalies within the roof, they highlight any defective areas that contain dangerous faults. Thermal roof surveys do this with high accuracy and efficiency and are adept at finding any trapped moisture within a flat roof membrane. Moisture such as this can cause serious damage to your roof is left untreated such as rot and structural rust, and can also lead to you seeing an increase in energy costs.

How Does Infrared Scanning Work?

The sun radiates energy onto buildings, including roofs and into the roof substrate and then during the night, the roof radiates this heat back into the atmosphere. This process is known as radiation cooling.

Wet areas of a roof retain heat for much longer than dry areas because they have a higher mass than the dry areas. Infrared scanners can detect this residual heat and identify areas where there is a higher mass and therefore more moisture.

What is Included in a Thermal Roof Survey?

Here at NWIR, we can carry out a comprehensive thermal roof survey that will:

Efficiently and accurately locate wet roofing areas and problem zones in a cost effective way
Find wet or missing insulation to identify specific areas to focus on
Use survey paint to mark defective areas on the roof surface for an easy transition when it comes to repairs
Detect almost any hazardous roof issue that could be potentially dangerous for your roof and building as a whole

If you’d like to ensure your roof is free of any harmful leaks or dangerous areas, or would like to learn more about thermal roof surveys, contact us at NWIR today. For your free site survey and quote, contact us on: 0800 046 1500.

What is a thermal roof survey? And how can it benefit my roof?