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IR Inspections of CMU Walls

Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) walls are a common construction detail frequently used in single –story and low rise commercial block wall construction. An infrared imager can be used to quickly perform quality assurance inspections of reinforcing grout details which are critical to the strength of finished CMU walls.

During the construction of CMU walls, concrete grout is used to fill the cavity spaces of the blocks in order to provide structural integrity. Vertical details extending from the foundation to the top of the wall are usually placed at regularly spaced intervals along the length of the wall. Reinforcing grout is also placed around openings for doors and windows or in areas where extra wall strength is required.

Because grout details change the thermal capacitance and conductance of the wall, temperature differentials will occur wherever grout details are present. Infrared inspections may be performed under solar loading, heat loss, or cooling conditions depending upon local climate and time of day. Properly installed grout details will appear as uniformly cool or warm unbroken lines in the subject wall areas according to time of day and whether the inspection is performed from the interior or exterior of the building.

Infrared inspection of CMU walls is one of the many topics covered in the Infraspection Institute Level I Certified Infrared Thermographer^® training course. For more information on class locations or our Distance Learning program, visit www.infraspection.com or call 609-239-4788.