Thermal Imaging in a Home Inspection

A quick narrative of issues found in a home inspection over the last year.

[@tullgutten]

I can confirm as a homeowner with 2 thermal cameras that bee hives behind the siding GLOWS as a spot. Mouse nests in interior walls/roof/ceiling also glows. I have found 3 bee hives outside. 3 birds nests in roof stickout and wall corner and saved the life of one bird that fell down behind the ventilated siding and was sitting on the mouse screen. Found one mouse in 4 different spots in my house ceiling when chasing it before it got in my mousetrap. I absolutely LOVE it 😅😁 I have an Flir ONE pro and infiray P2 PRO, and there is zero competition, the infiray is better in every way and the phone app actually works. Flir one doesn't support 4 years or older phones, i had it working then after an update it never worked again and support ain't helping they only told me to google an older APK install so i had to find an unofficial and possibly virus infected app myself and it did work, but still so much worse pixel quality/resolution and framerate than the InfiRay so it's just collecting dust🤣

[@154g]

Would it be better day or night to use this ?

[@tullgutten]

@@154g late answer but it depends on what you look for but for energy loss from the house and pests/bugs it's best early preferably before sunrise. Sometimes sun is a good thing like if you look for water damage/wet siding then it's helpful to have the sun just starting to heat up as any wet spot will have more thermal mass and stay cold for longer, this works for many hours as long as the wood is very wet. But most of the time strong sun and rain will hide mostly everything and high wind can also hide a lot. But if you look from the inside you must be aware where the sun is on the wall and any shadows as it likely shows on the inside, but it will also magnify the problem if it's missing insulation as it will show as a hot spot. I learned a lot from KZbin but most from just being curious and checking my house every day in different weather and sun conditions, just using it and looking around you learn a lot if you are interested and willing to learn

[@154g]

@@tullgutten thnx for the info

[@gizmobowen]

Thanks for the video. There were a lot of helpful examples.

[@viccarlson6673]

Thanks for the video ... really helpful and well produced!

[@Xdonald331]

Great video!

[@gr9515]

Just bought a HIKMICRO B01 and looks like this half ass builder skipped insulation on an entire wall ....ughhhhhhh

[@morrishomeinspections1234]

I had that finding once. This builder has all of their subs take pictures of insulated walls before the sheetrock guys get to work. All the pictures supplied showed insulation. He cut out the wall and no insulation. Turned out the person across the street had a ring camera that picked up a person stealing the insulation and the sheetrockers just sheetrocked it all up without the insulation.

[@How2Wrench]

Nice job.

[@two4.six8]

Thank you so much for this informative video. I live in a 100-year-old house. I've purchased a Flir so that I can locate and address hot spots in my house before the Texas summer roasts us again. But you have opened my eyes to so many more uses for the camera. Here's an idea: Make a course on how to use these cameras to find problems in your home. Then make more KZbin videos showing yourself using the camera to find problems in houses you inspect. Put an affiliate link for the camera in the description and a link to your paid course on how to use it. Et voila, extra passive income just from doing what you're doing every day anyway.

[@ericpeterson8470]

Just did my house. The ceiling to wall connect point along the perimeter (from the inside) of my house were 92+ even in the hallway. Any suggestions? I’m guessing the attic insulation is insufficient.

[@morrishomeinspections1234]

That's typically the spot where the soffit/fascia meet the top plate. Not usually insulated to allow for ventilation of the attic. The only real way is to have a sealed attic and spray foam those areas.

[@barbara82589]

Is there a homeowners $300-500ish thermal imager brand/model you’d recommend? How are home thermal inspections priced & range. Great video and examples, thanks!

[@ozarklanding]

I’ve been researching to find something in that price range to use for maintenance inspections for my roof. I’ve got a metal roof with closed cell spray foam and want to ensure if it leaks I can address the leak immediately. I’ve settled on the Teledyne FLIR 1 edge pro - priced in the $550 range. Good luck.

[@joelchevalier448]

I recommend the todon tc001

[@morrishomeinspections1234]

So we include thermal imaging in all of our inspection at no extra cost. You can get some cameras that attach to your phone for relatively inexpensive. They won't be near the resolution or quality as something we might use but should be plenty for homeowner purposes. The Flir One. A new one is in the $300 range

[@morrishomeinspections1234]

That's the one I would recommend for a homeowner@@ozarklanding

[@teslacoiler]

A Mustool MT13S (pretty good resolution, works as standalone unit) or a Tooltop T7 (even better resolution, but requires a smartphone or tablet or PC) are plenty enough for home uses and are also pretty cheap too. There are many more cameras with less performances (not recommended because the price difference is not that much) and some other with better performances (which probably you don't really need).

[@robertvanhorn7278]

In your opinion, when it comes to the "insulation" or other "odd" hot spots when inspecting a home, do you have a tool or recommended calculation on estimated energy "waste" on cooling or heating ?

[@morrishomeinspections1234]

That's a good question. Unfortunately my answer is "Not really." We aren't "technically exhaustive" as a home inspector. "Hot spot" is a statement or comment I would never make on a report because it isn't technically accurate. If I saw a "hot spot" I would immediately think electrical issue. However, I understand what you are getting after. Depending on the size I might recommend something along the lines of "any repair is not likely to offset the energy loss cost" or "the area is large enough you might consider repair."

[@chessPrabu]

I am a civil contractor,on a curious note,how to charge the customer,do you charge them by hour or by visit do you give them a report with photos,pls let me know

[@morrishomeinspections1234]

I run thermal imaging at no extra charge with a home inspection. I do know people that do energy efficiency audits and they charge per inspection. Yes they deliver a report with their findings.

[@MannyDer]

I just found out you can hunt morel mushrooms with them too

[@morrishomeinspections1234]

Well, I'm a fellow morel hunter.... and now you have to tell me more because I'm going tomorrow

[@MannyDer]

@@morrishomeinspections1234 I wish I knew more, I haven't gotten to go out with my thermal yet, it's been a little chilly in Ohio. I had a buddy send me a video showing it working & I'm looking forward to it. Like a cheat code for mushrooms

[@MannyDer]

@@morrishomeinspections1234 any update on thermal mushroom hunting?