The instruments
A thermal camera finds where to look. Only a meter tells you how wet it is.
A thermal camera shows surface temperature differences, and wet material is usually cooler than dry material beside it. That makes it excellent at finding where moisture might be and useless at saying how much. The meter is what produces a number, and the number is what decisions rest on.
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What the camera is really showing
Temperature, not water. A cool patch on a wall can be evaporating moisture, a missing piece of insulation, a cold pipe behind the plaster or a draught. The image is a map of where to put the meter, and treating it as a moisture reading is the most common misuse of an expensive tool.
A good surveyor points the camera, then puts the meter on every anomaly it found. A survey that consists only of camera photographs has skipped the part that produces evidence.
Pin and pinless meters do different jobs
A pinless meter reads through a surface to a shallow depth without marking it, which makes it good for scanning quickly. A pin meter pushes two probes into the material and measures between them, which gives a depth-specific reading and leaves two small holes.
Both are needed. Scanning finds the area; pins tell you whether the water is at the surface or deeper in the structure, which decides whether something can be dried in place.
The small holes are a legitimate part of the work rather than damage. Ask where they will be rather than asking for none.
How to tell a real survey from a performance
A real one records named locations, compares affected material with unaffected material of the same type in the same building, and repeats the same points on each visit. A performance waves a camera, shows you a colourful screen and quotes from it.
Ask to see the readings as you go. Nothing about that is unreasonable, and the answer tells you a great deal about who you have hired.
What to ask for
The instruments matter differently depending on the job.
- 01Visible, contained wetting. A meter is enough. The camera adds little when you already know where the water went.
- 02A smell with no visible source. This is the case the camera is for, followed immediately by the meter on whatever it finds.
- 03Water from another unit. Ask for readings in both units where you can. A single-sided survey rarely settles anything.
- 04A dispute is live. Ask that readings be recorded at named points and repeated. Consistency across visits is what carries weight.
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What to ask before you agree to anything
Ask these of whoever turns up. A contractor who answers them plainly is the one you want; a contractor who will not is telling you something.
- 01Are you taking meter readings at each point the camera flagged, or only photographing?
- 02Are you using pins anywhere, and where will the holes be?
- 03What unaffected material are you comparing against?
- 04Will you read the same named points on every visit?
- 05Can I see the readings as you take them?
- 06What licence do you hold for this work, and where is it published?
Have this ready before you call
Three facts move the first minute past the formalities: what happened, when it started, and whether water is still moving. These add the detail that decides what gets loaded on the van.
- Which rooms you suspect and why
- Where a smell is strongest, if there is one
- What the construction is: timber frame, masonry, concrete slab
- Whether anything has already been opened up
- Whether the neighbouring unit is accessible, if relevant
- Photographs from when the water was first found
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Where these figures come from
Every number on this page is published by someone other than us, and each link goes to their own text rather than to a summary of it.