Thermal imaging
infrared, surface temperature mapping
Wet framing and saturated concrete read cold. We map it before and after every intervention.
Water intrusion testing: find the source before anyone opens a wall
We find the source before anyone opens a wall, and we write it down in a form your insurer and your attorney can use. Field diagnostics to published test methods, with cause-of-loss reporting suitable for claims, litigation support and building-official review. Hydrotech lineage: Construction Defect – Expert Witness.
The methods
Moisture mapping
pin and non-invasive meters, logged to plan
Every reading placed on the floor plan, so the pattern shows the path.
Field spray testing
ASTM E1105 · AAMA 501.2
Controlled water on windows, doors and walls to reproduce the leak on demand instead of guessing. A window or slider leak shows up on the sill or the floor in a wind-driven rain; usually it is the flashing around the opening, not the glass. We spray-test it to prove which joint leaks.
Electronic leak detection
ASTM D7877
Pinpoints breaches in deck and plaza membranes without flooding or demolition. A deck over a room is a roof you walk on: when its membrane or drains fail, the ceiling below tells you.
Flood testing
ASTM D5957
Horizontal membranes held under water to prove they hold before finishes go back.
Isolation water testing
roofs, flashing, parapets
The stain is rarely under the hole. Water runs along the framing before it drops. We trace it back with a controlled water test and fix the entry point, not the paint.
What you receive
- Cause-of-loss report: dated, numbered photo log, findings, mechanism, recommended remedy.
- Moisture map and infrared survey on plan; test logs with locations and results.
- A bid-ready scope other contractors can price, or our proposal to build it.
- Written for insurers, counsel and building officials; the engineer of record is named separately.
Questions about testing
Can you find a deck leak without tearing up the deck?
Yes. Electronic leak detection to ASTM D7877 pinpoints breaches in deck and plaza membranes without flooding or demolition. Where finishes allow, flood testing to ASTM D5957 holds the membrane under water to prove it holds.
My window leaks only in wind-driven rain. Can that be tested?
Yes. We spray-test it to ASTM E1105 and AAMA 501.2 to prove which joint leaks. Usually it is the flashing around the opening, not the glass: the sill pan, the head flashing or the perimeter sealant.
What do I get after the testing?
A cause-of-loss report: dated, numbered photo log, findings, mechanism, recommended remedy; the moisture map and infrared survey on plan; test logs with locations and results; and a bid-ready scope other contractors can price, or our proposal to build it.
Should I dry out a flooded room first, or document it first?
Do both the same day, in that order. Stop the water if it is safe, photograph everything and take moisture readings, then start drying. Most insurance policies expect you to limit the damage, and the adjuster will want proof of what was wet. L3 records the damage and runs the dry-out in one visit.
Look no further and pick up the phone!
One licensed contractor answers, finds the source, makes the repair and writes the report. Not a call center that passes your job to whoever is nearby.
No photograph of the home leaves the file without written consent. We work through the estate manager, the architect or the family office when that is how the house is run.
Where we work: Orange County coast · Capistrano Beach · Long Beach Peninsula · Newport Beach · Malibu · Laguna Beach · San Clemente · home
L3 Energy Construction LLC, CSLB #1149191, Southern California coast, Malibu to La Jolla. Water-intrusion practice since 1999 as Hydrotech Construction, including construction-defect expert witness work. Figures in the log are as reported by the linked sources; the reading of what they mean inside a house is ours.