Infrared thermography maps wet insulation under a membrane before you open the roof.
Saturated roof insulation is invisible from the surface. A TPO or EPDM membrane that looks intact from a roof walk may be sitting on polyiso insulation that has been wet for eighteen months. The only way to know before you open the roof is to scan it thermally or pull cores. Infrared scanning tells you where to pull cores and — on roofs with sufficient thermal contrast — gives you a moisture boundary map that guides the scope without opening every suspect area.
We operate a FLIR thermal camera on Dallas commercial roofs on evening flights — typically 45 to 90 minutes after sunset — when the roof membrane has cooled and wet insulation retains heat longer than dry insulation, producing a detectable thermal signature. The result is a thermal map of the roof surface with wet areas shown as warm anomalies against the cooler dry field.
Infrared scanning is a decision-support tool, not a final answer. We use it in combination with core sampling: the scan identifies the suspect zones, the cores confirm moisture content and verify the thermal read. For recover-versus-replace decisions on Dallas warehouse and office buildings in the 50,000 to 300,000 sq ft range, this combination consistently delivers more accurate scope than a visual inspection alone — and costs far less than full tear-off discovery.
Pre-recover decision: Before committing to a recover versus full replacement on an aging roof, an infrared scan tells you how much of the existing insulation is dry and recoverable. If less than 25% of the roof reads as wet, recover with targeted insulation replacement is typically the sound choice. If more than 25% is wet, replacement is the honest scope — recovering wet insulation traps moisture and voids the new system's warranty.
Post-hail or post-storm assessment: After a significant hail event or the kind of sustained rainfall Dallas sees during named storm systems — the remnants of tropical systems that move up from the Gulf track through North Texas roughly every three to five years — infrared scanning identifies membrane compromise that may not be visible as an obvious puncture. Water entry through micro-fractures in aged membranes is particularly well-suited to infrared detection.
Pre-sale or pre-refinance documentation: Buyers and lenders increasingly request infrared moisture scan reports as part of commercial roof due diligence. We produce signed, dated scan reports with thermal images and a written moisture boundary summary for this purpose.
Warranty investigation: When a building owner believes a roof is leaking but the contractor disputes the source, an independent infrared scan produces an objective record of moisture location. We have conducted these third-party scans on buildings throughout the Uptown and Medical District corridors.
Timing is critical. The scan must be conducted after sufficient solar loading during the day (the sun heats the wet and dry insulation differentially) and after the surface has begun to cool. In Dallas, this typically means beginning the scan 45-60 minutes after sunset during months with significant daytime solar load — April through October produces the most reliable thermal contrast. Winter scans in Dallas are less reliable because lower solar angles and cloud cover reduce the differential loading that the scan depends on.
We walk a grid pattern across the roof surface, capturing overlapping thermal frames and recording GPS coordinates at each frame. The thermal images are stitched into a roof plan overlay showing warm (suspect-wet) zones against the cool (dry) field.
