Services

Forensic Research & Testing Program

The NV5 Forensic Engineering & Building Consulting team has an established research and testing program that focused on examining the duration of loss on various construction materials. The program was prompted by the question asked before all insurance investigations, “When and how long did the loss occur?”

Many water losses are the result of long-term, low volume releases. However, in our test program, we exposed wood and metal exemplars to both continuous and repeated sources of moisture to create the “worst case” conditions for comparison to the damaged materials in the claim. This approach simulated the shortest period of time necessary to cause observed damage.

All of the research protocols follow published ASTM test procedures. This was necessary to elevate the credibility of the research results as well as provide a method for others to recreate the test conditions.

The research program began in 2006 with the evaluation of wood and cabinet materials exposed to water, and later other tests evaluated water exposure on floor tile, metal cabinet components and painted surfaces.  Below is a list of the articles that have been published in accredited journals and presented at conferences.

Expertise

Building Envelopes

  • Refuting the Presumption of Hurricane-Caused Water Intrusion. Wilemon, Jeffrey, Robert Mulcahy.

Cabinets

  • Drip, Drip, Drip: Cabinet Damage, 2011. B. Davis, D. Rondy and R. Moon, Claims Advisor, Fall issue, Page 46‑51
  • Davis, B., R. Moon and D. Rondy, 2012. Differences in Cabinet Damage Exposed to Water and Water with Detergent, American Society of Civil Engineers, IN 6th Forensic Engineering Congress Proceedings, October 31– November 3, 2012
  • Feeling the Heat: Hot water can warp adjuster’s perspective on water‑damaged wood composite materials, R.E. Moon and J. Wilemon, Claims Advisor, pages 48‑52, Fall 2009
  • Moon, R. 2012. Interpreting Continuous v Repeated Water Damage, American Society of Civil Engineers, IN Forensic Engineering Sixth Congress Proceedings, October 31– November 3, 2012
  • Davis B. and R. Moon, Thickness Swell in Particle Board: A Forensic Tool for Duration of Loss, American Society of Civil Engineering, 7th Forensic Congress, 2015

Carpet Tack Strips

  • Swept Under the Rug, D. Nehrig, and R.E. Moon, Claims Advisor, Summer Issue. Pages 38‑41
  • Nehrig D. C., Yang, and R. Moon. Duration of Loss: Carpet Tack Deterioration Over an Eight Year Wetting Period, American Society of Civil Engineering, 8th Forensic Engineering Congress, November 29-December 2, 2018
  • Nehrig D. and R. Moon, 2012. Carpet Tack Strips: Determining the Duration of Loss, American Society of Civil Engineers, IN Forensic Engineering 6th Congress Proceedings, October 31– November 3, 2012
  • Carpet Tack Strips: Estimating the Duration of a Water Loss, Test Your Claims Knowledge, PLRB, July 2010

Ceiling Fans

  • Nehrig, R. Moon and E. Haller, 2013, Why So Down? The Science Behind Ceiling Fan Blade, Claims Management Magazine, April, pages 46‑51

Coating Systems

  • Al-Rafie, N., M. Bass and R. Moon, Elastomeric Coating Failure: Environmental Condition Effects (Temperature and Moisture) American Society of Civil Engineering,8th Forensic Engineering Congress, November 29-December 2, 2018
  • Wells N. Moisture Testing Coating Performance on Metal Materials, 2019 Department of Defense-Allied Nations Technical Corrosion Conference, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. August 13-15, 2019.

Concrete

  • All Backed Up, D. Herrmann and R.E. Moon, Ph.D. Claims, Claims Magazine, August 2007

Corrosion

  • Wells, N., Moon, R., Alrafie, N. and B. Davis, Moisture Testing Coating Performance on Metal Materials, 2019 Department of Defense-Allied Nations Technical Corrosion Conference, Kansas City, MO. August 2019.(accepted)
  • Dunn, D. and R. Moon, Copper Tubing Leaks: Interpreting Evidence of Failure, American Society of Civil Engineering, 8th Forensic Engineering Congress, November 29-December 2, 2018
  • Moon, G.C. Lozier and S.M. Vantassel, 2012. The 411 on Raccoon Scat, Claims Management Magazine, May 2012, Issue 5 Volume  1, Pages 28‑31
  • Wells, N. and R. Moon, Duration of Metal Corrosion: Plumbing and Construction Materials, American Society of Civil Engineering, 8th Forensic Engineering Congress, November 29-December 2, 2018
  • Wells, N. C. Martinez, M. Bass and R. Moon, Metal Corrosion: A Qualitative Analysis, American Society of Civil Engineering, 7th Forensic Congress, 2015

Duration of Loss

  • Absorbent Building Materials: Quantifying Moisture Exposure Duration, R.E. Moon and R. Price, Claims Magazine, Vol. 57, No. 9, September 2009

Hoarding

  • Moon and G. C. Lozier, 2011, Hoarding: An Investigative and Insurance Policy Challenge, Claims Advisor, Winter, Pages 50‑55

HVAC

  • Common Problems with Residential Air Conditioning in a Hot, Humid Environment, R.E. Moon and J. Barkey, Cleaning & Restoration, March 2010, Volume  47, No. 3. Pages 20‑21
  • Wells, N. Castellano P. and R. Moon, 2016, “Comfort Zone: Why Thermostat and Humidstat Wiring Matters, Claims Management Magazine, October, pages 32-35

Metal Corrosion

  • Dunn, D. and R. Moon, Copper Tubing Leaks: Interpreting Evidence of Failure, American Society of Civil Engineering, 8th Forensic Engineering Congress, November 29-December 2, 2018
  • Wells, N., Moon, R., Alrafie, N. and B. Davis, Moisture Testing Coating Performance on Metal Materials, 2019 Department of Defense-Allied Nations Technical Corrosion Conference, Kansas City, MO. August 2019.(accepted)

Moisture Management

  • Cave‑People Claims, J. Wileman and R.E. Moon, Claims Advisor, Fall Issue, 2010, Pages 12‑17
  • Moon R., and J. Wilemon, 50 Shades of Moisture, Claims Management Magazine August Volume 4,Issue 8, pages 34-38
  • LeJeune, J. and R. Moon, 2017 “50 More Shades of Moisture”, Claims Management Magazine, February 2017, Pages 30-35

Remediation

  • Wells, N. and R. Moon, Mold Regrowth after Effective Remediation, IICRC Journal, Winter, 2017 Pages 12-17

Restoration

  • High Temperature Restoration (>120oF): Effects on Building Materials, Contents and Safety, Part 3: Ralph E Moon, Ph.D., Cleaning and Restoration. Vol. 43, No. 7, July 2006
  • High Temperature Restoration (>120oF): Wood and Adhesives, Part 2: Ralph E. Moon, Ph.D., Cleaning and Restoration. Vol. 43, No. 6, June 2006
  • High Temperature Restoration (>120oF): Effects on Microorganisms and High Temperature Procedures, Part 1: Ralph E. Moon, Ph.D. Cleaning and Restoration. Vol. 43. No. 5, May 2006
  • Mold‑Contaminated Fabrics: Cleaning Effectiveness Comparison, Part 1. Ralph E. Moon, De‑wei Li, Ph.D. and Chin Yang, Ph.D. 2004. Cleaning and Restoration, Vol. 41, No. 10, 2004
  • Mold‑Contaminated Fabrics: Mycotoxin Removal and Transfer, Part 2. Ralph E. Moon, De‑wei Li, Ph.D. and Chin Yang, Ph.D. 2004. Cleaning and Restoration, Vol. 41. No. 11, 2004

Tile Studies

  • Wells, N., R. Moon, D. Nehrig and R. Mulcahy, 2019. Floor Tile Movement: The Effects of Temperature and Liquid Water Exposure, Cleaning Science Quarterly (accepted).
  • Rubin, K. Moore and R. Moon. Can A Single Flood Event Result in Fungal Growth Beneath Tile? American Society of Civil Engineering, 7th Forensic Congress, 2015
  • Wells N. Nehrig, D. Mulcahy, R and Moon, R 2017. Floor Tile Tapping: A Quantitative Analysis, IICRC Journal, Fall 2017, Pages 14-22

Wall Assemblies

  • Moon, R., M. Bass and C.J. Yang, Fungal Growth Succession on Gypsum Board Wall Assemblies, Indoor Air 2011 Conference Proceedings, Dallas Texas, June 10, 2011
  • Moon, R., M. Bass and C.J. Yang, “Fungal Growth Sequence on Wall Assemblies”, 2012, Indoor Air Quality Association Conference Proceedings, March 2012.

Wood Decay

  • Wilemon and R. Moon, 2015. “Dirty Rotten Fungi, A Breakdown of the Types of Wood Decay in Claims.” Claims Management Magazine, January, Issue 1, Vol.  4.pages 34‑37
  • Moon and A. Moon. 2013. Continuous and Repeated Water Exposure, Claims Management Magazine, February, pages 40‑45

Wood Swelling

  • Wells N. and Moon R., 2014. Cracking Under Pressure, The Consequences of Moisture Absorption and Effects of Swelling Pressure in Water Loss Claims. Claims Management Magazine, July, pages 36 ‑41
  • Interpreting Continuous v Repeated Water Damage, American Society of Civil Engineers; Forensics. October 2012 San Diego, California (Accepted)
  • Wells, N. and Moon R.,  Wood Swelling: Force Exerted from Saturated Wood Materials, American Society of Civil Engineering, 7th Forensic Congress, 2015

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