Early last winter a client called me to do a thermal image on her bedroom cathedral ceiling. It seems the room was really hot in summer and really cold in winter.
While it is hard to align thermal images, this is both sides of the cathedral ceiling at one end of the bedroom.
The other side looks pretty similar.
For the purposes of this blog, cooler temperatures appear as lavender, blue and purple. Warmer temperatures appear as orange and yellow.
I can select from many palettes, and I choose this one because it seems to be logical for me to not only understand, but use to instruct.
The problems you see in these images weren't the only problems we found, but these are common.
One of the most common complaints from people who live in houses with cathedral ceilings, particularly when they are on the upper level of a multi-level house, are temperature swings summer and winter.
Often the multi-story houses suffer from stratification, where one level is dramatically warmer than the other(s) all year.
With my report and various images, my client hired an insulation contractor to come solve the problems. That was the point after all!
She called me back, suspicious, because in her bedroom she felt little, if any, change.
She is not far away, so I just popped over there - no charge. For this call, I was a friend and not an inspector. My payment is usually a sweet hug, or cookies!
This is one example of what I found!
Compare this image to the one on the right above. We have a near mirror image! What was cold is now hot! And the same duck pattern is in the image!
The duck pattern matches exactly!
BUSTED!
The contractor did nothing. Nothing that I could see anyway.
My client was grateful and, um, let's just say, FULL OF PURPOSE!
To quote B.A. from "The A Team" (80s TV show) - "I pity the fool!"
My recommendation: the mental paradigm has not shifted yet such that the public, and even the Realtor world, understands the value of thermal imaging. For years I have said that all home inspections would soon come with thermal imaging as an expected part of the inspection. AND FOR YEARS I HAVE BEEN WRONG! But, nonetheless, when you have a problem, call a thermographer! And, again, as always, you'll find we are all really cute.
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC 
Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia.
Office (703) 330-6388 Cell (703) 585-7560
Hey Jay... who did she call to get the duck out of her attic? :-)
Have a Happy Holiday today!
Some daffy guy Fred, no doubt. When she saw that mirror image I had to duck!
This thermal camera of yours is pretty nifty! Providing an education and a public service at the same time!
W&J - I have had it for about 9 years and find it to be the sharpest arrow in my quiver!
Hi Jay,
Good find. Without the use of the "Thermal imaging" you would have never found this by a visual inspection.
You earned your worth on that inspection.
have a good day off today and enjoy some Parades as well.
Best, Clint McKie
Thanks Clint. I think the only parade I will see today is the one that goes back and forth in my back yard. I will be following a float on wheels as it rumbles along cutting my grass.
How dumb. Didn't the contractor think if you found it once, you would find it again.
Maybe she didn't show him the images to let him know what she knew Jim. I don't know. But I pity the fool...
Jay, Things are about to get ugly really fast for some contractor. Wonder if she'll keep it to just him, or file a complaint with the state?
nice post.. if we are going to pay the contractor, um, we should expect some if not all the work to be done!
Jay, That is a great story. You are the best. Do you travel out of state to do inspections? I could use you here at the NC coast from time to time.
No know Bliz! I suspect the contractor will be coming back soon.
That is why we hire people Mark! And this guy was supposedly a specialist.
Thank you Tom. I have a son at LeJeune and he owns a house in Wrightsville. That's on the coast, right?
Jay - Both you and your camera are pretty cool. A thorough inspection is just that and should provide the information necessary for a buyer to make an "informed" decision. Judging from you posts, I'd say you are about as thorough as one can be. Hope you and yours had a great weekend.
As the prices of IR cameras keep dropping, we're getting closer and closer to this becoming standard on home inspections. Maybe in ten years?
Jay, Wrightsville Beach is a suburb of Wilmington NC. It is a beautiful beach with some of the most expensive property on the East Coast. I live about 2 hours north at Atlantic Beach. I am about an hour from the main gate at LeJeune. If you ever come to see your son I would love to get together with you.
Some contractor! She must not have been home when he "did the work" or she might have noticed that he didn't bring in any materials.
I hope she maks him pay - and gives him plenty of that good old "word of mouth advertising" we all value so much.
Thanks for another great post - I always enjoy seeing what your fancy camera can do.
Thanks John for your kind words. I worked in the yard and garden all day, and primed spots on my house. It was hot! The camera is part art, and part science. And thermographers are all cute.
Don't know Reubs! I have been wrong on that count for a long, long time!
Thank you Tom. I will let you know. They don't allow me there much, but if I go I would probably just stay in his house. He rents the rooms out to other Marines. So there may not be room!
Marte - with the internet these days, there are lots of things consumers can do I think. Whether she was home or not, this is an older lady and surely would not go up to the attic to check things out. That's why she called me!
you would think in this sometimes tundra area of the country, this would be a normal inclusion in our inspections...not...and that is unfortunate !
They are getting cheaper S&D, but still, compared to most home inspection tools, are very expensive. And the training is expensive too. And the liability while one is learning to use these things. But still, I am glad to have mine and for what it can do for my clients.
Jay, every time I have seen thermal imaging of a property, we have learned things we wouldn't have learned otherwise. It is a great tool.
Jay -- any idea what is causing the duck image in the picture?
That has been my experience too Chris. And when the images look like ducks it is even more fun!
Steven - that's the pattern of insulation falling away, or improperly attached, to the attic side of that wall.
Jay,
Don't that make you just shake your head.
I hate when people do that sort of stuff. If you are going to do a job , then do it and do it right!
I expect this guy will be getting a phone call, or more, Don!
Jay - It is amazing that other professionals don't use infrared. Guess they feel its not worth the investment.
I agree Eric. Then there are those that think that everything brings liability. Liability is the last thing I am thinking when I'm using it!