When floods, storms, and pipe leaks unleash havoc on Orlando commercial properties, the mess left behind is often just the tip of the iceberg. While visible water damage appears extensive, far greater dangers lurk out of sight inside walls, under floors, and beyond. Moisture secretly trapped in hidden voids and structural cavities fuel mold, rot, and structural failures down the road if left undiscovered. To track down moisture hiding where the human eye cannot see, 911 Restoration of Orlando deploys advanced thermal imaging cameras. This innovative technology helps our crew thoroughly dry out businesses to prevent future issues after large-scale water damage events.
Understanding thermal imaging
Thermal cameras see heat, not light. They detect subtle temperature variations across scenes that are invisible to the naked eye. In the hands of expert technicians, these heat-sensing tools can locate residual moisture that other inspection methods would miss. For example, when floodwaters permeate commercial buildings, moisture gets wicked up into porous structural materials like wood and insulation. As those materials slowly dry, evaporation cools areas still retaining higher moisture content. A thermal imaging camera trained on wall cavities would see those cooler zones stand out clearly against the backdrop of drier, warmer materials.
Benefits of thermal moisture surveys
After truckloads of drying gear finally tame visible flooding at a business, thermal imaging lends commercial water damage technicians like 911 Restoration critical assistance:
- Pinpointing moisture trapped in hidden structural spaces
- Identifying ideal locations to install drying equipment
- Verifying moisture removal across entire water-damaged areas
- Certifying buildings are fully dried for safe repairs and reopening
Without advanced thermal technology, successfully restoring commercial properties damaged by major flooding would involve costly, complex demolition of walls and ceilings across buildings to directly inspect for residual moisture intrusion. High-end thermal cameras contain state-of-the-art heat sensor arrays capable of detecting minute temperature differences down to fractions of a degree. Their advanced optics and signal processing transforms barely perceptible heat differentials into full-color images cleanly mapping out temperature variance across entire rooms or building structures.
Scanning for problem areas
Shortly after initial water extraction, our thermal imaging expert thoroughly scans the site, methodically training the camera across flood-impacted regions including:
- Wall assemblies
- Flooring systems
- Insulated ceilings
- Structural support columns
- Any other water-exposed building framework materials
The camera’s high-resolution display maps out cooler areas retaining excess moisture against the backdrop of surrounding dried structural sections. These images accurately guide where to focus drying efforts and proper equipment positioning to extract moisture from hidden voids.
Strategizing drying game plans
With expert thermal imaging diagnostics pinpointing moisture trapped across internal building structures too often missed by standard assessments, the 911 Restoration drying team engineer targeted game plans. We mark off affected areas into priority zones based on moisture levels and ease of access. It allows concentrating drying equipment for maximum impact where it is needed most. At the same time, difficult-to-access areas like crowded utility spaces or firewall cavities between tenants see drying setups installed at key moisture ingress points. Installing moisture-absorbing desiccants inside wall voids also helps thoroughly dry these challenging areas and assists in monitoring progress with thermal imaging checks. Learn more about it here – www.damagecontrol-911.com.
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