Any idea what these are?

[Stephen Lagueux]

Got this image from an inspection a few days ago. I'm curious to know what these lines are. Basement wall (below grade), drywall over wooden studs and isofoil type insulation behind. No signs of infiltrations. Could they be electrical wires? Any idea?

Thanks

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[Charles46]

Could be pest infestation tunnels, ie termites. They will tunnel their way thru rigid insulation to get at the good stuff. Can you change the color pallet on your software or camera to give you more clarity, more contrast? Personally I am not a fan of gray scale.

[Rob Amaral]

Absolutely no idea.. but 'could be wiring'....

[David Meiland]

I assume by "isofoil" that you mean foil-faced polyiso. How thick is it? Is it installed directly behind the drywall, or is there a chance they put batts on the inside of it? Those look a little bit random for wire paths, but who knows, it might have been done by a non-pro (for that matter the whole thing could have been done by a non-pro, and have some funky characteristics. That could also be tunneling of some kind, but aren't you a bit north for termites?

Including the temperature scale on images is always helpful.

[Stephen Lagueux]

Here's the pic with the iron pallet.

pest infestation is a good start, Thanks for the input.

here's a thought that just poped out in my head. The darker lines would represent colder area hence the theory of the tunnels which would make sense.

Now, let's not forget that since there is an air space behing the drywall and then aluminum foil over insulation pannel. Could it be that the lighter area is the heat reflected from the foil back to the drywall and the darker lines are in fact electrical or tv cables that block that reflection. The absence of the reflected heat would then appear darker. Does that make sense?

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[David Meiland]

How much space do you think is between the drywall and the foil? How sure are you that there is an airspace, and not batts? Do those lines point to electrical outlets? Can you remove an outlet cover and use a "crochet hook" to see if there is fiberglass in the wall, by sticking the hook in the gap between electrical box and drywall?

My guess on this is poly sheeting, foil scrim, or similar over the studs. The lines are wrinkles in the material--they don't look like wire paths (too sloppy/random), and the pattern is continuous across the studs. Another reason to steal your wife's crochet hook. Or, you have my blessing to buy a borescope.

[Stephen Lagueux]

It's nice to have more than 1 brain to try to figure this out.

Heres a pic where we can see the foil. There is actually a 3/4 inch furring strip over the insulation pannel. I was wrong to say wooden studs earlier. This pattern would be consistant throughout the basement.

So it would be the insulation, the foil, the furring strip and then the drywall. If those are wires, they would be within the 3/4 in. space.

and yes, those would point to outlets.

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[Charles46]

Based on the way I see the cable placement in the last picture and the comment that the line point to outlets, I would agree that they are cables. However, there is a line to the left of the center furring strip that goes down or out of another line so I question the theory of it being a cable or electrical line. Another option is damaged foil on the insulation. If you look at the last picture you can see where some scraping or rubbing was done to the foil. If it was severe enough, that would alter the temps in that spot. Was this the only location where you saw this, or was this widespread and this is just a sample of what you saw? Sometimes I just want to tear a wall open to see what is really going on.

[David Meiland]

In the visible light image, the wire comes out of a cutout in the insulation and appears to cross over the face of the furring. Not particularly well dressed, so it could easily be that the lines in the IR image are wires also. Any chance you got a wider view with IR?

[Stephen Lagueux]

Nah, no wider view. The pic was taken with the default lens. I'm expecting a 45? lens wich should arrive any day now. can't wait to see the difference.

I'm also thinking that those are wires.

[David Meiland]

I use the wide angle lens on my Fluke well over 50% of the time when inside a house. You will not be disappointed.

[Marc]

Scratches or wrinkles on the foil?

Marc

[John Kogel]

They appear to be electrical cables or pipes to me. The upper one is sagging a bit as if anchored at the stud.

Insects don't need to make horizontal tunnels like that. Why?

[Tom Raymond]

What camera are you using?

If I shot that mess with my FLIR B40 it would be a blob with maybe 5 degrees of range. Foil faced insulation renders the Bcam useless.

[Stephen Lagueux]

What camera are you using?

If I shot that mess with my FLIR B40 it would be a blob with maybe 5 degrees of range. Foil faced insulation renders the Bcam useless.

It's a flir E60BX

[David Meiland]

Stephen, check out the image in this thread... sorta like yours only different... http://www.thesnellgroup.com/community/ ... /2354.aspx

[Stephen Lagueux]

Stephen, check out the image in this thread... sorta like yours only different... http://www.thesnellgroup.com/community/ ... /2354.aspx

Impressive, that image really shows the wrinckles. High resolution camera really take nice pictures.

Thanks

[kurt]

I use the wide angle lens on my Fluke well over 50% of the time when inside a house. You will not be disappointed.

A wide angle lens is almost a necessity, don't you think?

It's as important as interchangeable rechargeable batteries.