aaron Posted March 3, 2004 Report Share Posted March 3, 2004 We have been contacted by a company down south to use infra-red camera's during inspections. This also is accompanied with an audio program that can listen for and determine if there are termites by the sound frequencies. I was wondering if anyone has heard anything regarding either of these types of technologies aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjloden Posted March 3, 2004 Report Share Posted March 3, 2004 I saw an infared camera at inspection world. This would be a great tool to have. It also takes you miles beyond the realm of the visual home inspection. If I thought I could recoup the $14,000 price tag, I would probably get one, get educated about how to use it correctly (if that education exist) and put it to work. As far as listening for termites chewing on wood, I am very doubtful about this. I'm thinking cars driving down the street, children playing next door, a gentle breeze or any number of everyday background noises are going to mask the sound of termites chewing on wood. Of course if they have a narrow frequency range and can filter out the background noises you might have something. Too often however, these kinds of electronics are dummied down to make them affordable for field applications, making them less accurate and less reliable. So the prototype in the lab may have been great but the production model may be a dog. Speaking of dogs, what about the termite dogs? If they stop working at least you might have a good pet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted March 3, 2004 Report Share Posted March 3, 2004 There's a company down here in S. Florida that utilizes "mold sniffing dogs" to detect mold infestatiions. Their advertisement states our dogs can detect that "toxic mold" which can kill you. How long will it take for the animal activists to realize if mold can kill humans what will it do to the dogs used to detect it? I see the use of mold sniffing dogs going in the direction of the fur industry. NORM SAGE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted March 3, 2004 Report Share Posted March 3, 2004 We have a young lady in my area who bought into this franchise this past year. She is new to the profession and she was sold on the technology and she also had the money to spend. I think that it cost her around $20,000 for the usage of the equipment and the franchise and she pays a royalty fee for each inspection. The kicker is I was told that she does not own the equipment. She does a normal home inspection for the basic fee of let's say $300 she then offers the "Supper" inspection with the IR camera for $300 extra and the Termite inspection for another $100. I have no idea how it is going for her. I just don't see the normal home buyer paying double or extra for the IR Inspection in my area over a normal home inspection. From what I have been told the IR camera is only as good as the software that reads the image and that is only as good as the person reading the results. I think that these will go the same direction as the XRF Analyzers. It is hard to beat education, training, knowledge, experience and many times gut instinct. The problem I see in using high tech equipment like this is that it is giving the impression that you are the "Expert" and that you have advertised and used equipment that is designed to find the smallest problem by looking into the walls. I really don't want to be an expert in anything; knowledgeable yes, expert no. For commercial applications the IR camera is a great tool just as Douglas said, I have used them on large EPDM and Built-up roofs to locate moisture problems(we leased the camera and person). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renron Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Norm! Very true about dogs. Mold spores deposit themselves in the alveolar of the lungs and never come back out, they can even grow there in some occasions. High doses could make a dog hypersynsitive and then useless to perform his/her task. Maybe even kill em. Maybe. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron Posted March 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Thanks everyone for your imput. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Ryon Posted March 4, 2004 Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Hey Scott: How did you go about determining whether or not to use IR imaging? Was it specified by your client? And how would you find someone to hire that has IR equipment when you need it? Thanks....Bobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottpat Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 This was on a six story office building with several roof levels. The client wanted it. I used a commercial roofing contractor who found this person for me. He was out of Birmingham, Alabama. His fee was $1,700 for about 4 hours of work. This fee also included his expenses (lodging, travel,etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swarga Posted March 5, 2004 Report Share Posted March 5, 2004 I have used the IR camera and loved it. A local company rents it to me for $150 a day. I have used it to determine hot spots on walls and ceilings in new construction. Some of the local insulation companies now have them for the same reason. (Or their trying to prove me wrong) I may by one down the road when the price drops in half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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