Testing the quality and durability of your building envelope.Although often thought of as something just used for Passive House Certification, testing your building envelope for airtightness is commonly used to assess the quality and durability of your building.
Gaps in your walls, floor and roof will enable air to flow through your building fabric. This will result in heat loss and higher bills, but will also result in moisture getting into your build ups - once in there it may condense on your framing or building wrap and create the conditions for mould and rot, or get absorbed into your insulation causing it to sag, and again creating the conditions for mould to form where you can't see it. Using a blower door to put the building under pressure, and testing it for air leaks will enable you to find and seal these gaps before any issues arise. The air coming through these holes will never be enough for adequate ventilation so you're not impacting the air quality significantly, and any ventilation approach will be more successful due to fewer uncontrolled leaks. |
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The Process
Two tests are usually recommended, and two are required for Passive House and Homestar 8* and up Certification.
The first is the 'pre-line' test, which is undertaken prior to any interior linings being installed, in a building with a defined airtightness strategy such as Intello membrane, SIPs, plywood, etc. The blower door fan pressurises, then depressurises the building, taking measurements along the way. It will then provide the result, and allow us to decide whether any further leak finding is required.
The second is the 'final' test, once the building work is complete. Sometimes things can go wrong following the pre-line test. A sub-contractor may have accidently pierced the airtightness system, and it's best to know sooner rather than later that there's a problem!
Get in touch today to book in your test
The first is the 'pre-line' test, which is undertaken prior to any interior linings being installed, in a building with a defined airtightness strategy such as Intello membrane, SIPs, plywood, etc. The blower door fan pressurises, then depressurises the building, taking measurements along the way. It will then provide the result, and allow us to decide whether any further leak finding is required.
The second is the 'final' test, once the building work is complete. Sometimes things can go wrong following the pre-line test. A sub-contractor may have accidently pierced the airtightness system, and it's best to know sooner rather than later that there's a problem!
Get in touch today to book in your test