How to test for wet walls, ceilings, and construction materials
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- čas přidán 23. 02. 2015
- Here is the best way to test for hidden moisture.
▶Moisture meter in video: amzn.to/2XVvOYQ
▶A more basic moisture meter: amzn.to/2JQg2cJ
▶FLIR Camera similar to ours, but with sharper imaging and wider temp ranges: amzn.to/2XX6Ihi
▶Another FLIR camera similar to the E8-XT, but lower temp range and includes Wifi:
amzn.to/2YaVjJT
(Affiliate links)
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www.RendallsCleaning.com
Transcript:
Hey there, this is Scott with Rendall's Certified Cleaning Services. We've had a lot of broken pipes because of the cold weather out. What happens is that pipes will actually expand when it freezes and when it thaws, it shrinks back down, ice pushes it out, splits the line, and then when it thaws, it comes back down to regular size leaving a gap there or a cut in the piping itself. So, we've actually been out on several hot water tanks that were broken, baseboard heat recently. So there's just all kinds of broken pipes out there and we'll be glad to help you. I'll show you how we do this really quickly, this is only going to be a very short video.
What we do is come out and address the total situation first because water tends to travel. As a matter of fact, if you look at this wall, it looks dry. A lot of consumers look at a wall and say "Yeah it looks dry to me" but unfortunately, this is able to hide a bunch of moisture as you're going to see in just a second.
We use this thermal camera. This is called an infrared camera, and what it does is detects heat differentials. If we start up here we can see that..well when I touch it, it leaves red marks because it's warmer. As I move it down towards the baseboard, we can see that it looks a different color there so we suspect there might be some issues right about here, downwards towards the baseboard.
So we've looked at the entire structure let's say that we see this band of purplish-blue area. We're going to confirm that with a whats called a non-destructive moisture sensor. And that's what this device does. We set it to zero. This has a little pickups on the back that will tell us when it shorts out or when it gets to a certain moisture content. It will tell us what that moisture content is. It measures approx a 1/2 inch deep so the sensors will actually penetrate the material non-destructively. There's no pins so we won't leave holes in your drywall. And we start on areas that we suspect are dry first and we confirm that we are looking at 5.3, 5.5 moisture content up here in an area that didn't show that it possibly was wet with the FLIR device. As we move it down, we can start seeing it rise. And right now the light on it comes and goes right now it's at 17, 20, 21, 22, 23. So this whole area seems to be wet from water. Because this is just a mock up wall, we are able to flip it around and take a look at the backside. And we can see that sure enough this whole area is wet, just like the FLIR camera showed us, and just like our sensor showed us.
As water dries, it tries to find equilibrium. So it's going to go from wet to dry. It's going to creep up; we call that "wicking". Even if it's wet, just a little bit on the drywall, it'll start to find it's way up. And it's not uncommon to find drywall wet a foot, several feet, up from where the source happened, depending on the amount of moisture. So our first test is to inspect it and find out what's wet. And then after we've completely drawn a map of the wet areas, then we address the areas that need to be dried. Obviously on this one, this part of the drywall needs to be dry. And if there was insulation back here this one doesn't but if there was insulation we'd have to address the wet insulation as well and also the baseboard.
Typically what we'd do in this situation is pull the baseboard off, we drill inspection holes underneath the baseboard line and see what kind of insulation, if there is any, and dry it from there. If it does have insulation, might have to get a little bit more aggressive. If it doesn't have insulation, we can just literally cut holes there and use dehumidification with professional large dryers and air movement to dry this drywall very quickly without having to tear the whole wall down, or even part of the wall.
So, that's really all there is to it. You know you really should though, if you suspect that you've had an issue with water damage, usually it starts if you don't see it, it'll start smelling within a few days. So you'll have kind of a dirty sock odor. And you can't touch stuff, feels dry, and you're looking at it and you don't know what's going on. The carpet feels dry. Well, it's probably because you have pocketed moisture. So give us a call. The inspection is very inexpensive. We'll come out and take a look at it and address what we need to do, but just know that we're here for you!
This video is under 10 mins and it worths more than other BS 30 mins + videos. Thanks sir .
Great, helpful video- thank you. Really appreciate the links to the moisture reader too. Whole neighborhood flooded this week and cannot find available remediation company yet.
Big help! I was planning to start cutting walls
Glad we could help! Best of luck!
Awesome video.
thank you. Highly appreciate
After the February freeze need you so badly in Texas. Note it's October so I'm still fishing for issues inside walls, ceilings and floors. Thanks for the video.
Any way to leave a link where I can buy the infrared camera/moister tool? I have extreme allergies to mold and desperately need them in my life.
Thank you
I need this. My apartment. Complex does not use this esp when it's visible
this is so true.
Hi very nice and educational video brother ,Can you please tell me the details about the instrument you are using and from where I can buy them .I need it in India. Thank you and Namaste.
thanks you sir
is there any specific values to measure moister content/ any parameters. how do you define invisible moister by any beeps or light will glow off.
Can this work for finding roof leaks?
I just picked up a FLIR camera and non pin moisture meter (4” penetration). I plan to use these to monitor my 3” closed cell spray foamed roof over time to identify roof fastener maintenance needed. Going through my learning curve now. Do you have any experience with inspecting spray foam installations?
Great video , I have beautiful home build with 2/12 roof and 2 years later we developing water drips from the celling
Builder said because the house is very tight constructed it normal to have water condensation. Well we are living with buckets in several spots to capture water and I don’t believe this is right ! Can I rent this device or buy one and be able to find the celling leaks without pulling wood celling off ! It’s pine 4x1 planks
Thank you for your help
I really want one those detectors were to buy? could it detect moles in the ground or mice in the walls ?
Hey there, Eddy. You can buy infrared cameras from places that sell equipment to inspectors and scientific buyers. There are some on Amazon as well. The one I'm using in this video is about 10 years old and the sensitivity isn't anywhere near the newer ones. We only need it to look for water intrusion. As for finding moles and mice through walls - the animal would have to be very near the surface you are viewing to throw off enough heat for the camera to detect.
I have heard if your IR camera is 120x120 resolution yes. It has to be very high resolution. I own the C3, and that is 80x60. The cost is $699. The higher resolution the price really gets steep.
I just had an uninsulated garage drywalled over the last few weeks. it was heated with propane and electric heaters during the work and mud allowed to dry 2 days before it was painted with primer and a finish coat of exterior gloss paint for durability. I just went in the attic and the entire ceiling has condensation droplets trapped between the 6 mil vapor barrier plastic and the back of the drywall.
I tried for 3 days running dehumidifier inside the garage until humidity was 30% at 70 degrees and there didnt seem to be any change to moisture trapped between back of drywall and plastic.
I plan on doing blow in insulation this weekend but unsure if that will help or make things worse. Is it even possible to suck the moisture back through the drywall and paint with dehumidifiers after its fully insulated to stop it from condensing or freezing on the plastic?
I dont know what to do and wish I had known this would be an issue or I would have told the installer to wait until spring to mud and paint it but it's too late now and in trying to salvage the situation. Is it possible?
Hi, Ryan, and thanks for your question.
Sorry for the late response. Did you get this resolved?
Is it safe to assume that you have proper ventilation in the attic? If not, that space will cause many condensation problems down the road. We'll assume it is properly vented, so let's continue looking at what's going on.
It doesn't appear that the drywall was checked for complete dryness with a moisture meter before it was sealed/painted. I show how we use moisture meters to determine the moisture level in the video.
Therefore it's likely your ceiling drywall install has what's called "bound moisture" caused by incomplete drying before it was sealed and painted. When it was sealed and painted the still wet/damp drywall mud seeks equilibrium through the path(s) of least resistance. In this case that path(s) of least resistance is the vapor barrier side of the drywall.
Keep in mind that direct propane heat is wet heat and adds moisture where it is used. Electric heat is dry heat and tends to remove moisture where it's used. So when propane was used to dry the space, it was actually adding moisture and negating the dry heat of the electric heater(s).
One of the principals of proper drying is to first determine if and how moisture can wick through the surface. A gloss-painted surface is going to be tricky to get moisture to wick through naturally, and obviously the vapor barrier side is going to be just about impossible to achieve any wicking. That leaves us best addressing the gloss painted surface.
The use of dry heat to essentially bake out moisture is probably going to be your best bet here. What you'd do is heat up the painted surface area with a dry heating system and vent out the hot/wet air. We use a system called E-TES, which is a heavy duty 220v forced electric heater with built-in sensors to control heat, humidity, and air exchanges.
The idea is to contain the area you're going to dry with plastic sheeting and use the heating system to heat and shuttle hot/wet air out of the contained area until it's dry. It should only take a few days with a proper set up and monitored by someone who knows what they're doing with psychrometry and heat drying principals.
If I could give you advice on how to do this yourself, I certainly would. However, you must have the proper tools and knowledge to get a tricky drying situation like this to completely dry. Adding insulation before that bound moisture is removed could cause further problems for you.
My advice is to find a local water damage contractor who has heat drying equipment and knowledge in psychrometry.
~Scott
@@Rendallscleaningmi
Thanks for reply.
Yes, proper venting in newer garage with soffet and ridge vent.
I ended up making a small slit in plastic in every truss cavity then using a shop vac with a 1/2" and 3/4" clear poly hose inserted side by side then taped and sealed to shop vac hose. I taped a fiberglass yard marker to the 1/2" hose and shoved that hose all the way to the far end of cavity and put 3/4" hose along it but closer to opening. I sucked out every bit of liquid moisture from every cavity I could in two days time followed by running 5 small fans blowing into the slit in the wettest cavities constantly rotating locations until the entire thing was as dry as possible. I tried blowing dehumidified air into one cavity before trying the fans but with humidity level already around 30-35% it kept going into defrost mode and not resulting in any moisture removed with 4 hours of running. The fans were much cheaper to run and able to do more cavities quicker that way.
I bought the only moisture meter I could find at Menards but it's nothing like yours. I didnt have it until after cavities were dried and when I tried it on both sides of drywall it didnt register or take a reading. The wood trusses and plywood sheeting running down center was giving reading between 8-10%. After that I taped all my holes in plastic shut then insulated the rest of ceiling with a layer of fiberglass batts. The next day I heated with electric heat while I finished up wiring the outlets and lights. That day and following day I checked under the insulation in a few spots and it looks dry yet so insulation must have been enough to keep any moisture present from condensing on the plastic again when I heated it. if everything stays dry until spring I plan on blowing in about 12" of cellulose insulation over the rest of attic.
Hopefully that allows me to use propane heat to get up to temp and electric for maintaining temp the few times I work out there.
@@Sparkynutz81 Glad you got it sorted!
~Scott
Question.....I have some strange looking water streaks along my wall in one of my bedrooms.....it should be noted that it can't be from a leaking roof because it hasn't rained ....the only thing I could think is that I have leak from the air conditioning freon line which is running through my attic above this room......after noticing these weird clear streaks along my wall I sometimes would smell a weird smell in certain areas within the room ...for example when I would keep bedroom door shut and you would then smell something as soon as you walk into the room....I am going to try a process of elimination by first capping off the air conditioner line above and then rerouting my line below this bedroom through the basement ceiling instead...my thought is the ac line could have been compromised or kinked from workers in the attic who put in new blown in insulation last fall/winter thus resulting in freon escaping from inside the line and then the smell and visible streak along wall develop once the air conditioner began to operate this past spring summer ?....btw I rubbed off the 6-8 streaks which began approx 6" from ceiling and stopped approx 4" from baseboard with a damp cloth and it appears to be clean now ...my thought is to see if the streaks redevelop as the summer continues and the air conditioner is operating
What kind of this inspection called? How much is it?
I would like to inspecte a trailer for moisture in the outside walls. The outside of the trailer is aluminium. Would that sort of meter work?
Unfortunately no, this doesn't work on metal
Can we use detector on block wall, brick wall and concrete slabs or floors
With the infrared camera, as long as moisture is wicking from the surface it will show a temperature difference in the camera, because of evaporation temperature differences.
As for the pinless moisture meter, it will detect down to about 3/4 of an inch
Thanks for the question!
So I have a block wall with moisture towards bottom of wall. Can this tool work to see as to where the moisture may be coming from?
There are a lot of variables, but as long as the moisture is sufficient enough on the side you are able to view with the IR camera, it will work. One example where it would not be so useful is if the moisture is coming directly from the opposite side of the visible moisture. If, however, the moisture is coming from the top or bottom, it is extremely useful. Hope this helps!
~Scott
Im a pest control we do alot of drilling outside the house perimeter can these detect water line outside the house and inside the house as well
Sadly no, it's not strong enough to see inside cavities. It can only determine temperature differences close to the wall.
What city are you based out of?
BEST VIDEO ON MOISTURE ON THE INTERNET,GET PINLESS SURFACE METER.
Thanks very much! Pinless moisture meters are great for all sorts of projects around the house!
I had a leak under my sink. At first the moisture reader read 13%. Now a week later after running a fan under my sink, it reads between 7 and 10%. Is this acceptable?
Hey there and thanks for commenting. I'm assuming your sink is attached to a cabinet. If so, while the bottom cabinet shelf might show that it's dry, what about the subfloor under the cabinet? The only way you'll know if the subfloor under the cabinet is dry is to pull the kickplate and check the floor under the bottom of the cabinet. There is also the concern of moisture on the wall behind the cabinet. Depending on circumstances, you may have to pull the cabinet to ensure it's dry. We do most of the time just to ensure it's good to go.
You mentioned the drying process, what is the drying process if there is insulation in the wall?
The drying process consists of first finding trapped moisture, then unbinding it through a variety of drying methods. Salvageability of affected materials must also be taken into consideration. Water damages are classified in 3 categories: Category 1 - Clean Water, Category 2 - Gray Water, Category 3 - Black Water. Time, also, is another factor. Category 1 or 2 could turn into a Category 3 if left wet for a certain amount of time. Typically you can save insulation from a fresh Category 1 flood, generally you'll want to replace insulation from a Category 2 flood, and you must always replace insulation from a Category 3 flood. As for specific drying methods, I highly recommend that you speak with a qualified local water damage expert because not only are there many different ways to dry various materials, but there's a whole science of drying (called: "psychrometry") to learn before using any drying equipment.
Thanks
Sorry I couldn't be more specific with my answer above, there are just so many variables. Do you have a specific example you'd like to share here?
If there is no smell, can I safely assume no mold had formed on the drywall?
Is there a way for a non-professional to use that device? Some guy had a machine that looked more like a stud finder. Not like the one you have. If you smell the sweet sickly sour scent of drywall what can a resident do? What about krinkled areas in the drywall? So sick right now.
i want to buying this machine how is it possible for the buying
Hey there, we listed some links in the description of where you can buy :)
Is it from home depot
?
Hi Ahlam, we bought our camera directly from FLIR. I don't believe Home Depot carries this, but they might have other brands that they sell.
I’m afraid that the ceiling and walls in my modular rental home is wet. The ceiling is getting really dark spots and my walls are soft near sockets. It smells like mildew now and my rental company won’t help because of covid. 😭 I don’t know what to do. It’s getting bad.
Hi, Jackie. That's a tough one, but we recommend that you have a chat with your landlord and tell him/her that they are leaving you no choice but to contact the health department and building department, if they don't fix whatever is leaking. I would be concerned not only with potential health issues from breathing contaminants, but also structural issues like the ceiling potentially falling in on you.
wow nice teah me my teacher
Sir which company machine is thta
FLIR
Please Help!
Our clothes, shoes, furniture, hangers, baskets, and more have been growing mold. We had to throw away thousands of dollars worth of stuff. (stuff we couldn't wash). We bought Damp-Rid and the bags filled with water. We had to get storage bins for our clothes because they were becoming wet while they were hanging.. We couldn't find a leak anywhere and contacted our apartment complex alerting them of the issue. Maintenance came and said the same thing, they couldn't find a leak. They didn't see any mold anywhere (because it was only on our items that we had thrown away). They checked the vents and changed the air filter. The complex told us to change our ac setting to hot or cool instead of having it on automatic.... They did nothing to help resolve this issue. My husband and i bought a moisturizer meter. And it has detected many areas in our apartment within yellow to red. We have one similar to yours where it doesn't penetrate the walls. Our meter goes all the way up to 100%. There are many spots on our walls that beep at 100%. How do i know if it is moisture from the wall or if it's a water line pipe? Would it indicate a pipe? Or does it not go that far?
Hi. I'm very sorry to hear of your water damage issues. It sounds like a water damage professional in your area would be able to assist. They will need to work under contract with apartment management/ownership if they are to use destructive testing devices, which is probably necessary. Non-destructive moisture meters are great at finding surface moisture, but they don't always find the source which may be many feet away from where the water is infiltrating the walls.It may be necessary to pull out the drywall and insulation in the known wet areas and continue to track it back to the source.
But can it detect live leaks , per say . The leak is constantly dripping and has a wet surface area of 4X4 ft . Could it detect the point of cause ?
Sadly, probably not as it can't see through walls.
What if the ceilings look like they have crystal on them
That doesn't sound good.
How can we contact you??
Best way to reach us is our email: support(at)rendallscleaning.com
a pinhole leak in my copper pipe brought me here...
we had a company come out with a thermal camera at a great cost - they scanned the whole roof; found 1/2 leaks we already knew about. not really all that useful if you know where your leaks are.
It's extremely useful in many ways, but if you already know where the leak is located, it's not necessary to use a thermal camera.
Now you'll have mold
If it's not dried quickly and properly, perhaps so.
Can you suggest a moisture sensor please? Not the IR camera.
I like the Extech MO295 as it has nondestructive as well as pin moisture metering, rH, temp, and especially GPP readings built in.
@@Rendallscleaningmi thank you!
for the cost of getting those equipment, one might as well just tear down the entire wall and redo it.
First you have to know if it's wet. We have thousands of uses out of this one, so it costs us pennies to use.
If you use it casually, then of course a purchase of a good infrared camera probably wouldn't make sense. That said, if it saves you thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in mold prevention, then it's well worth the investment.
Lastly, FLIR makes entry- level IR cameras that connect to your smart phone. I've seen them around for less than $500. I can't attest to their quality or accuracy personally as I don't own one, but I've heard pretty good things about them.