Airtight test questions

[gwebstech]

Hi guys

 

Im getting ready to book my airtightness test and im wondering what they do with the vents on the windows and doors? do they just tape them up and tjhe same for the extraction fans too?

 

im a bit worried as i have french doors and all that joins the 2 doors is a pipece of plastic screwed in place, it doesnt seem to have any rubber seal around it

 

and what if you dont pass the test - do you need to rebook it and pay again?

 

thanks

[Nickfromwales]

What score were you looking to achieve? Are you referring to trickle vents in the doors and windows?

[Bored Shopper]

During our test the guy sealed all MVHR vents, and any other bits which looked suspicious to him. We plugged all sinks and showers, sealed the extraction hood over the hob, and sealed the loft hatch. Dont have any trickle vents but would probably close them as well.  They normally take a preliminary reading, just to see how bad it is, and then three proper readings which go into the paperwork, and apparently select the best result achieved. 

[tonyshouse]

Block up fans/ fan ducts, i.e. try to make them air tight, window tv’s should be air tight when closed, I would foam them up permanently ?

 

Best plan is get it ready the day before and get the biggest fan you can borrow and depressurise the building and go round listening and looking for infiltration, under window boards, under skirtings, behind archutraves, through sockets and light fittings, ducts, consumer unit pipes and wires, airing cbd, under bath, under thresholds. Rectify, reenergise fan and look again then do the test 

[joe90]

@SteamyTea helped me do ours, we went round with joss sticks looking fir draughts. 

[PeterW]

Trickle vents get closed but you cannot do anything more as they are designed to leak - hence why you have to have them or have MVHR. Plugs in sinks are a good shout, extractor fans just get taped over from the outside. 

[nod]

12 hours ago, gwebstech said:

Hi guys

 

Im getting ready to book my airtightness test and im wondering what they do with the vents on the windows and doors? do they just tape them up and tjhe same for the extraction fans too?

 

im a bit worried as i have french doors and all that joins the 2 doors is a pipece of plastic screwed in place, it doesnt seem to have any rubber seal around it

 

and what if you dont pass the test - do you need to rebook it and pay again?

 

thanks

I wouldn’t worry

Ive never heard of a air test fail

They normally work around the number you give them 

 

pictured is a site that we are doing at the moment The houses leak like a civ 

But ALL scot a 2

[Oz07]

No chance that is a legit score @nod

 

When I told the site manager where I'm working what mine scored he genuinely thought it was impossible. OP the test company should tape everything up. 

[nod]

No 

None of them are 

If you look online how many companies are offering air testing it explains Tge oresure they are under to follow the sap 

 

Before this all began I was working on one of the largest Medicine storage facilities We where still sealing the building when four range rovers arrived with four massive fans and requested no one leave for 60 minutes 

It was several days before we finished sealing the building yet it still scored slightly under two 

While it is a very well put together refrigerated building It simply wasn’t ready 

[gwebstech]

thanks for the help guys,  i suppose im worrying a bit too much as its my first attempt at building a house. As far as i know, there are no big leaks anywhere, and everything that needs sealing has been

 

I think im allowed 10m3 as a pass, the house does "sweat" a bit when its been hot, so thats a sign its well sealed

 

ill soon find out

[gwebstech]

On 14/11/2020 at 20:40, Nickfromwales said:

What score were you looking to achieve? Are you referring to trickle vents in the doors and windows?

 

i think its 10m3 hr i might be wrong, but yes its the window vents im referring to

[nod]

55 minutes ago, gwebstech said:

 

i think its 10m3 hr i might be wrong, but yes its the window vents im referring to

They will tape all the trickle vents chimney  fans etc 

[recoveringbuilder]

The one who did ours did a trial run first and identified any leaks which he then taped up but not the trickle vents , they just had to be closed.

[AliG]

I am having my test done next week. I just got a checklist through and they want the MVHR system sealed.

 

As some vents are in double height ceiling internally or in the roof/eaves externally this would not be easy.

 

Can I seal them by sealing the filters inside the units?

[joth]

12 minutes ago, AliG said:

Can I seal them by sealing the filters inside the units?

That's what our tester did.

 

(We got 0.4 ACH on a retrofit, pre-1st fix - so happy!  And this thread about faked results makes me sad)

 

[Oz07]

4 hours ago, AliG said:

I am having my test done next week. I just got a checklist through and they want the MVHR system sealed.

 

As some vents are in double height ceiling internally or in the roof/eaves externally this would not be easy.

 

Can I seal them by sealing the filters inside the units?

Haven't you been in years now? I would think the room vents are redundant if you block off the ducts to outside

[AliG]

12 minutes ago, Oz07 said:

Haven't you been in years now?

Yes, but it hasn't been done yet and I keep asking the architect to get everything signed off so I can get a completion certificate. TBF we were in for almost a year before everything was finished.

 

Unfortunately two of the MVHR vents go up through the roof and two are in the eaves which are 6m up so not easy to block them up.

 

 

[Oz07]

Bloody hell have you had bco sign off yet? Have you been ok with house insurance? Like you say just blocking the filters seems easiest. Or removing the two external duct from top of unit and taping up. Mine are on a flexible silencer with rubber like push fit.