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Tip of the Week Archive

IR Inspections of Parking Garage Ceilings

January 02, 2023

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IR Inspections of Parking Garage Ceilings
Tip Coauthored by Wayne Swirnow Infrared Imaging Services

When inspecting building envelopes for heat loss, thermographers tend to focus their imaging efforts on the sidewalls and roof. For some buildings, it is important to also thermographically inspect the underside of the building.

In many parts of the United States a common building practice for commercial structures is to elevate the building on support columns and place an unheated parking garage directly below the first story. This practice exposes the underside of the first occupied level and its associated plumbing to the outside environment.

In colder regions a common approach is to construct a suspended ceiling for the garage and to create a heated space between the underside of the first occupied floor and the garage ceiling so that water, waste, and sprinkler pipes do not freeze. To minimize heat loss, batts of glass fiber insulation are often laid directly on top of the ceiling tiles.

Photo shows typical suspended ceiling in open parking garage.Image provided by Wayne Swirnow
Photo shows typical suspended ceiling in open
parking garage. Image provided by Wayne Swirnow

When performed under proper conditions, an infrared inspection of the garage ceiling can quickly reveal thermal patterns caused by missing, misapplied, or damaged insulation. Areas exhibiting excess energy loss may then be visually inspected to ascertain cause.

Thermal images indicate areas of missing batt insulation as warm areas
Thermal images indicate areas of missing
batt insulation as warm areas
Images provided by Wayne Swirnow
Images provided by Wayne Swirnow

Infrared inspection of building envelopes is one of the many topics covered in the Infraspection Institute Level I Certified Infrared Thermographer® training course. For course information or to obtain a copy of the Standard for Infrared Inspection of Building Envelopes, visit Infraspection Institute online or call us at 609-239-4788.

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