Far too often, the cause of a roof failure is the absence of proper maintenance and inspection. Periodic inspections and routine maintenance to correct deficient conditions can significantly increase the long term service life of any roof system. A regularly scheduled maintenance program will avoid expensive emergency costs that can arise without maintenance. Ewrs provides annual inspections to help avoid roof failure and un-necessary roof repairs.

Walk on roofs or aerials, we conduct the most accurate reports in the industry. Even experience roofing companies may fall short on seeing what is underneath the top layer. Pin pointing leaks, checking for hidden moisture is very difficult with out using a commercial thermal camera.

We have conducted some of the largest roof surveys in the U.S.

Many roofs need to be replaced prematurely due to moisture damage from leaks and improper  installation. Infrared (IR) thermography has a proven track record in finding damaged portions of roofing structure so they can be repaired before water damage rots your whole roof. Thermography is a non-contact testing method. Flat Roofs, Tar, Shingle, Metal, Shake or membrane. 10,000 sq' to several million sq'.

Roof surveys are normally conducted during rainy months. After a  rain, then a few days of drying out is the best time.  Because water can enter through the top layer and soak into the insulated board under the membrane remaining there for weeks, months or indefinitely. When the  surface dries out, any water still present under the membrane we will see with our thermal camera. With water present under the membrane and the sun (solar load) warming the hidden water creates a perfect scenario. The roof surface will start to cool in the evening however the hidden water remains warmer sticking out like a sore thumb. You can not see it with the human eye. This causes damage, mold, rote,etc, and weakens the roof. Over time the roof becomes so weak that when it snows  or high winds creates additional weight that the roof can not handle the load and may caves in.  

 More Aerials 

These aerial inspections were conducted by helicopter. 

The blue blotches (thermal signature) on the roof show

water under the membrane.

The roof surface was dry during the inspection.

As you can see this roof has a great deal of issues.

Plenty of hidden moisture under the membrane.

Even with the image quality, portability, handy image storage capabilities, improved software and computerized reporting systems of the latest IR cameras, the logistical considerations of the job and thermal dynamics of a roof structure make it a tough job to perform well. Also, there are many different types of roofs, membranes, fastening systems, substrates and insulations that are used to construct the roof system, which have to be considered. However because of the experience and type of camera we use, this roof survey turned out great!

Very little time is required to obtain the infrared data, once the aircraft is

over the building. Usually, a 200,000 square foot building is imaged in less

than 20 minutes. This will include multiple passes over the building from varying altitudes, 

speeds and angles.

 Mt. Rainier High School Roof 7/28/08....The darker blue on the roof shows

signs of moisture under the membrane. 

Aerial thermal image of high school that we conduct an inspection on.

 Interior ceiling image, approx, 30'. We found water present (yellow thermal signature)

laying on top of this metal roof. The water had leaked through the top layers of the membrane

roof, through the insulated board. The roofing company that installed this roof tested

this area (on top) and could not locate the water.

Interior image of ceiling approx, 30'. The blue thermal signature indicates

water that has penetrated the membrane roof from the top. Now laying

on metal support.

Before the roof could be properly scanned, the rock layer had to be cleared first.

We had an general idea of the exterior roof to be scanned because we found

the leak from the interior first.

Same roof, exterior. The blue thermal signature is water beneath the membrane.

Roof size approx, 700,000 sq'.

 UNDER GROUND STEAM LEAK  

You can clearly see the 6 foot deep steam line underneath the basketball court.

You can see the underground break in this steam line. The red round image is the break.

In these images you can see the steam line underground. The owners of the property knew they had leaks from the amount of energy used to produce the steam. They has been using twice as much steam as the previous year. They had no idea where the leaks were. They thought that they were going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to dig up over a mile of buried line to find the leaks. We found them in thirty minutes!  The darker red colors show heat under the road. As you can see the heat is not running in a straight path from the sides. This is an indication of a leaking 6 inch line 6 feet underground. In the center of the red image see how it is spreading out. The red colors show the under ground steam line. This line is 6 feet under ground. The red image in the grass area is a underground leak.

Aerial IR have 640 X 480 pixels, which total 307,000 pixels high definition.

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