Div 07 · Thermal & Moisture Protection · ASTM D7877

The last test before the roof disappears.

Once the pavers, soil, or solar go down, a pinhole becomes a five-figure excavation. We electrically scan finished roofs and waterproofing, mark every breach to the centimeter, and hand you a stamped report before the membrane is buried.

BOOK A TEST WINDOW SPEC LANGUAGE FOR CONSULTANTS

Low-voltage EFVM & high-voltage dry scanning · zero flood water · overburden stays in place

FIG. 01 · ELECTRIC FIELD VECTOR MAP● LIVE

MOVE CURSOR: VECTORS FIND THE BREACHLEAK CURRENT 000 µA

$89kAVG COMMERCIAL WATER-LEAK INCIDENT

±5 cmTYPICAL BREACH LOCATE PRECISION

0 galFLOOD WATER ON YOUR STRUCTURE

24 hrSCAN-TO-STAMPED-REPORT TURNAROUND

§ 00FIELD DEMONSTRATION · SCROLL TO ADVANCE TIME

DAY 0MEMBRANE COMPLETE

Looks perfect. They all do.

Somewhere in this brand-new membrane is a 3 mm seam void. Invisible from standing height. Invisible to a flood test's yes-or-no. Very visible to water, eventually.

DAY 12OVERBURDEN BEGINS

Every layer buries the question.

Insulation, filter fabric, growing medium. Schedules do not pause for certainty: cranes are booked, and the truth gets more expensive by the lift.

DAY 14400 TONS LATER

The void didn't close. It went invisible.

Soil and pavers now sit on the question mark. When water finds it, the repair begins with excavating a finished roof to search for a dot this size: ·

DAY 13THE ALTERNATIVE · ONE AFTERNOON

We scan. Found. Fixed. Stamped.

Current can't miss a hole; it's the only way through. The field converges on the breach, the roofer patches it while we stand there, we retest and stamp the record. Then bury it proud.

FIG. 02 · SECTION THROUGH THE BURIALSTATUS: UNVERIFIED

BREACH LOCATED · MARKED

3 mm VOID

SCROLL · TIME ADVANCESOVERBURDEN LOAD 0 t

§ 01THE METHOD

A membrane is an insulator. Water is a conductor. We exploit the difference.

Energize one side of the waterproofing, ground the structural deck on the other, and current can only flow where the membrane is breached. Two field methods, one physics.

Low-voltage · EFVM

WET SCAN

A bare wire loop rings the test area; a thin film of water becomes the energized plate. Field techs walk the surface with A-frame probes reading the direction of current flow. The vectors converge on the breach like iron filings on a magnet.

Works through overburden: green roofs, ballast, pavers stay in place

Membrane can be damp: no waiting on weather

Pinpoints to centimeters; repair and retest same visit

BEST FOR: IRMA / vegetated / plaza decks · post-overburden forensics

High-voltage · dry scan

DRY SCAN

A pulse generator grounds to the deck; a phosphor-bronze broom sweeps the dry membrane at 2–40kV and microamp current: static-level energy, not a hazard. The instant the bristles cross a breach, the circuit closes and the unit alarms.

Fastest coverage: one tech at walking pace

Finds pinholes smaller than a wet scan can resolve

The QA pass every membrane deserves before burial

BEST FOR: new construction closeout · pre-overburden QA · PMMA details

EXHIBIT A · ACCEPTANCE TESTING, COMPARED

A flood test proves it leaks. ELD proves where.

The old acceptance test loads your finished structure with standing water for one to two days and returns a single bit: pass or fail. Electronic testing loads the deck with nothing, names every breach to the centimeter, and verifies the repair before the crew leaves. Most consultants now specify electronic methods precisely because flood testing risks the thing it's testing.

METHOD A · FLOOD TEST

WATER ON YOUR STRUCTUREHUNDREDS OF TONS

TIME ON ROOF24–48 HOURS

FINDING"IT LEAKS. SOMEWHERE."

IF IT FAILSSATURATED ASSEMBLY + TEAR-OFF

SUPERSEDED

METHOD B · ELECTRONIC LEAK DETECTION

WATER ON YOUR STRUCTUREZERO

TIME ON ROOFHOURS, AT WALKING PACE

FINDINGBREACH LOCATION ±5 CM

IF IT FINDS ONEREPAIRED + RETESTED SAME VISIT

SPECIFY · ASTM D7877

§ 02WHO CALLS US

Nobody wakes up wanting a leak test. Four people end up needing one.

ELD is a verification trade: demand comes from a spec, a warranty, or a leak that's already costing money. Here's the casework.

CASE / CLOSEOUT

The spec says "tested." The soil arrives Monday.

GENERAL CONTRACTORS & PMs

The envelope consultant wrote ELD into Division 07. No test, no sign-off, no substantial completion, no final payment. We mobilize inside your window, scan, and the milestone clears.

TYPICAL CALL: 6 days before overburden placement · URGENT

CASE / WARRANTY

No test, no warranty. No warranty, no acceptance.

ROOFING & WATERPROOFING SUBS

Manufacturers increasingly require electronic testing before warranting covered assemblies. We test your installation, you repair anything we flag while crews are still mobilized, and the warranty issues clean.

TYPICAL CALL: before demobilization · SCHEDULED

CASE / FORENSIC

Somewhere under 40,000 sq ft of pavers, there's a hole.

OWNERS & PROPERTY MANAGERS

The alternative is exploratory demolition: lifting overburden section by section, hoping. We locate the breach through the assembly and mark it to the centimeter. You excavate one square, not one roof.

TYPICAL SAVE: five figures of exploratory tear-off · SURGICAL

CASE / MONITOR

The roof that reports its own leaks.

OWNERS · CRITICAL FACILITIES

A conductive grid installed under the membrane during construction turns the whole roof into a sensor. We monitor it and flag breaches as electrical events, before water ever reaches a ceiling tile.

DELIVERED AS: annual monitoring subscription · CONTINUOUS

§ 03PROCESS

One visit. Six steps. The report is the product.

Screen

Send the roof plan and assembly. We confirm testability (deck conductivity, membrane type) before anyone mobilizes.

T-MINUS 3–5 DAYS

Rig

Wire loop laid, deck grounded, field energized, or broom rigged for a dry scan. Setup measured in minutes per zone.

DAY OF · AM

Scan

Techs sweep the surface grid by grid. Every anomaly is chased to source: not a probable area, a point.

WALKING PACE

Mark

Each breach gets paint on the membrane and coordinates on the plan, photographed and logged in sequence.

±5 cm

Retest

Your roofer repairs on the spot; we rescan the repair before leaving. Nobody mobilizes twice.

SAME VISIT

Stamp

Stamped test report with method, voltage, findings map, and pass condition: the page your closeout binder is waiting on.

WITHIN 24 HR

The page everyone is actually buying.

Consultants file it. Manufacturers warranty against it. Lenders and owners sleep on it. Every scan closes with a one-page finding record (method, instrument, findings, repairs, retest, verdict) formatted to drop straight into a closeout binder or warranty application.

Machine-readable copy on request. Findings mapped to your roof plan grid, not ours.

TEST RECORD № 26-0341SHEET 1/1

SITE	Plaza deck, 38,400 SF
ASSEMBLY	Hot-applied + IRMA, pre-overburden
METHOD	EFVM · ASTM D7877
FINDING 01	BREACH · N4 GRID +0.06 m
FINDING 02	BREACH · DRAIN 3 FLASHING
REPAIRS	2 of 2, same visit
RETEST	NO CURRENT PATH DETECTED
VERDICT	WATERTIGHT · RELEASED FOR OVERBURDEN

VERIFIEDARCTIGHT · 07/2026

§ 04THE NETWORK

One standard. One report. Certified techs where your project is.

ArcTight Roof is a dispatch network: we train and certify field techs out of working waterproofing crews, audit their work, and put every job through the same instrument protocol and report format. You call one number; the nearest certified tech mobilizes.

Hiring us

One point of contact for multi-market portfolios. Same spec language, same report, same pass standard in every metro, so your closeout process stops depending on who answered the phone locally.

National dispatch, local mobilization Uniform test protocol & QA audits One report format across your portfolio

BOOK A TEST WINDOW

Joining us: for waterproofing & roofing techs

You already know membranes. We add the instrument, the certification, and the work. Kit in the low five figures, vendor training measured in days, and dispatch that keeps it busy. Testing pays consulting rates, not labor rates.

We hand you booked jobs, not leads Certification + field audit pathway Territory protection by metro

APPLY TO THE NETWORK

NOW DISPATCHING: DENVER · AUSTIN · CHARLOTTE · NEXT METROS OPEN BY DEMAND. TELL US WHERE YOUR PROJECT IS.

§ 05FOR SPECIFIERS

Write us into the spec. We'll handle the rest of the job.

Architects and envelope consultants: this language drops into Division 07 quality-assurance articles. Edit the bracketed fields; the standard does the arguing for you.

SPEC INSERT · QUALITY ASSURANCE · FIELD QUALITY CONTROL

## PART 3: EXECUTION / FIELD QUALITY CONTROL

A. Electronic Leak Detection (ELD): Prior to placement of any
   overburden, wear course, or overlying construction, the
   completed membrane shall be tested for breaches by an
   independent testing agency using electronic leak location
   methods in accordance with ASTM D7877.

B. Method: [Low-voltage electric field vector mapping (EFVM)]
   [High-voltage spark testing], as appropriate to membrane
   type and assembly. Conductive medium shall be provided
   beneath membranes over non-conductive decks.

C. All breaches identified shall be repaired by the installer
   and retested prior to acceptance. A written test report,
   including findings mapped to the roof plan, shall be
   submitted within [2] business days and included in
   closeout documents.

D. Acceptable testing agency: ArcTight Roof or approved
   equal, with technicians certified on the instrument and
   method employed.

§ 06FIELD NOTES

Straight answers, because the physics has rules.

Can every roof be tested?

No, and anyone who says yes is selling something. Both methods need a conductive layer under the membrane: concrete and metal decks qualify natively; wood and fully insulated decks need a conductive medium (primer, mesh, or grid) installed during construction. That's why we screen your assembly before quoting, free.

Why not black EPDM?

Black EPDM is loaded with carbon black, which makes the membrane itself conductive, so the test current flows through the sheet instead of through a breach, so there's no signal to read. Lighter-color laminated EPDM, TPO, PVC, hot-applied, and mod-bit assemblies test cleanly.

Is this the same as a flood test?

It replaces it. A flood test loads the structure for two days and answers one question: yes or no. ELD answers the question that matters (where) with zero water load, then verifies the repair the same visit. The full side-by-side is in Exhibit A, up in § 01.

Is high voltage dangerous on my roof?

The dry scan runs 2–40kV at microamp current: energy on the order of a static shock, current-limited by design. It's safe for the membrane and the operator when run to procedure, which is what certification is for.

What does it cost?

Quoted per project: area, assembly, access, and schedule drive it. The honest anchor: a scan typically prices at a rounding error against the overburden going on top of it, and an order of magnitude under one exploratory tear-off. Send the plan; you'll have a number in 24h.

§ 07DISPATCH

Send the roof plan. Get a test window.

Closeout deadline, warranty requirement, or a leak nobody can find: tell us the assembly and the date you're up against.

DISPATCH@ARCTIGHT.COM
+1 (000) 000-0000 · MON–SAT 07:00–19:00
RESPONSE < 1 BUSINESS DAY