Mapped zone by zone
Zone 3, rear: the sample, bagged and labelled on the roof. “ISO is wet” (ISO is the foam insulation board).
The same sample on the thermal camera: about 11.3°F cooler than the roof around it.
Zone 3, middle: labelled “DRY” on the roof.
The camera still showed a cool spot. Only the sample told us it was dry.
- The question
- Where had water got into this flat roof, and how far? On a flat roof, water that gets under the top layer soaks the insulation below it, where nobody can see it.
- What we found
- Mike's team cut core samples (small plugs through the roof layers) at nine spots in seven zones and checked each by hand and with a thermal camera. Eight came out wet. In Zone 4 the metal deck under the wet insulation had rusted. The sample from the middle of Zone 3 was dry.
- What we recommended
- Replace the wet insulation and the roofing over it in Zones 1 and 2. Investigate further in Zones 4, 6 and 7 to find how far the damage runs. The report gives no separate recommendation for Zone 3 (rear) or Zone 5. Exact moisture content needs a lab test.
9 samples: 8 wet, 1 dry
A thermal camera only points to where moisture may be. On the Zone 3 middle sample it showed a cool spot, and the sample was dry, so the report doesn't call it wet. That's why we cut samples instead of reading a picture.
