Mexico Beach, Bay County
Blower Door Testing in Mexico Beach, Florida
Air leakage testing for new houses in Mexico Beach, booked with time left for a retest.
Blower door tests for new Mexico Beach houses
New houses in Mexico Beach, ZIP code 32456, need the air leakage test in the Florida energy code. Big Bend Services, Inc. runs that blower door test for builders and owners, and Mexico Beach tests are booked through our office at 511 S Highway 71 in Wewahitchka.
Call (850) 819-6031 from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays, or send the form.
Plan ahead
Book the Mexico Beach test well before you need the result
A high reading is what takes time: the leaks are corrected before the house is tested again, and the closer the first test sits to your deadline, the less room there is for that.
Put a date down early
Send an expected ready date as soon as you have one, even while the house is still being framed.
Move it when the build moves
If the shell will be done later than planned, call the office and the test date is reset.
Retest on the same setup
The second test runs under the same conditions as the first, so it shows what the corrections changed.
What to send
Details for a Mexico Beach booking
Address
The street address of the lot the house is on.
Permit number
The building permit number, so the test is tied to the right house.
Who to call
The person who can open the house on the day, and who will know first if the date moves.
Rebuilding in Mexico Beach
A house rebuilt in Mexico Beach is tested the same way as any new house: 7 air changes per hour at 50 pascals, under section R402.4.1.2 of the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 8th Edition (2023). All of Bay County is in Climate Zone 2, where that limit applies.
Raised houses
When a new house is raised above open space, the floor joins the walls and ceiling as part of the shell. Every pipe, drain, wire and duct that drops through that floor to the space below is an opening, and so is any hatch in the floor. Those openings are measured along with the rest, so they are part of what makes the house ready for its test.
Ready to test
The last openings that mark a ready shell
The code ties the test to the moment every opening through the shell exists, so the house is ready when the last trade to cut through it is done.
Plumbing
Vent pipes through the roof and hose bibs through the outside walls.
Electrical
The service entry, outdoor outlets, porch lights and any wiring run into the attic.
Heating and cooling
Duct runs, the refrigerant lines and condensate drain to the outdoor unit, and any fresh-air intake.
Exhaust
Bath fans, the range hood and the dryer vent, each through a wall or the roof.
Low-voltage and gas
Cable, phone and security lines, and a gas line if the house has one.
Windows and doors
Every window and exterior door set in its opening, so the walls are closed.
Attic access
The hatch or pull-down stair framed into the ceiling and fitted.
While the trades are on site
Gaps to close before the first Mexico Beach test
Closing these before the first test is easier than after a high reading, while insulation and trim have not yet covered them.
Top plates
Openings drilled through the top of a wall for wires and pipes lead into the attic until they are filled.
Recessed cans
Lights in the ceiling below the attic leave a ring of open space unless they are airtight and sealed in.
Duct boots
The gap between each register boot and the drywall opens into the attic or the floor below.
Air handler closet
A closet framed around the air handler, with a return built into it, can open into the attic or the wall cavities around it.
Soffits and chases
A framed soffit above the kitchen cabinets, or a chase for ducts or a flue, can open straight into the attic.
Test-day setup
On test day, the windows and exterior doors are closed but not sealed, fireplace and stove doors are closed, and exhaust, intake and flue dampers are shut. Interior doors are open where hung, the heating and cooling is off and the supply and return registers are fully open. A fan set in an exterior doorway then holds the house at the test pressure while the leakage is measured.
What can wait until after the test
Paint, flooring, trim, cabinets and countertops can all come after the test without changing the reading. That lets the test sit early in the finish stage, with the rest of the build carrying on around it. Appliances, window screens and closet shelving fall in the same group, since none of them affect how much air gets through the shell.
Attics on a Mexico Beach house
With a vented attic, the attic is not part of the test, and the ceiling below it is the boundary. With an attic sealed and insulated at the roof deck, the attic is opened to the house on test day and measured with it, so the roof deck and the gable walls become part of the boundary. Mention a sealed attic when you book.
Additions and owner-builders
Additions and alterations that make up less than 85 percent of the building shell are an exception in the code and are not required to be tested. An owner building a whole new house under their own permit books the test the same way a builder does, with the same details, and the house is held to the same limit as any other new house.
If the Mexico Beach house reads over 7
With a test booked at shell completion, corrections happen while the finish trades are still at work, not after the house is otherwise done. If you have more than one house on the booking, a high reading on one does not change the readings on the others.
Same county
Blower door testing in other Bay County towns
What to expect
Getting a Mexico Beach test on the calendar
- 1
Send the build details
Address, permit number and when the house will be ready.
- 2
Test booked
We give you a date for the test.
- 3
Test run
The house is tested once it is ready.
- 4
After a failed test
Corrections are made and the house is tested again.
Does a stair up from the ground level count?
Can a house be tested with plastic over the window openings?
Are decks and outside stairs part of the test?
Is a garage under a raised house part of the test?
Is an outdoor shower part of the test?
Do impact windows change anything?
Get a quote
Request a Blower Door Test in Mexico Beach
Send the Mexico Beach address, the permit number and your expected ready date.
