Blountstown, Calhoun County
Blower Door Testing in Blountstown, Florida
Blower door tests and retests on new houses in Blountstown.
Testing and retesting new Blountstown houses
Big Bend Services, Inc. runs blower door tests and retests on newly built houses in Blountstown, ZIP code 32424. A retest is booked the same way as the first test, through the same phone number and form.
Call (850) 819-6031, Monday to Friday from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or send the form. Requests are handled from our office in Wewahitchka.
What a reading over 7 tells you
The reading is a single number for the whole shell, taken at the test pressure. It says how much air got through, not where it got through. A reading just over 7 and one well above it both mean the leaks are corrected and the house is tested again under the same conditions.
Same conditions
The test conditions, both times
The first test and the retest run under the same conditions, so the two readings can be compared.
Windows and exterior doors
Closed, but not sealed or taped.
Fireplace and stove
Their doors closed.
Dampers
Exhaust, intake and flue dampers closed.
Interior doors
Open where they are installed.
Heating and cooling
Off.
Registers
Supply and return registers fully open where they are installed.
Booking the Blountstown retest
The retest date goes after the corrections are finished, not while work is still going on in the house. Tape, plastic or covers put over a register, fan or vent during that work come off before the retest. On a job with several houses, only the house that read high is tested again, and the others keep their own readings. The site contact needs the retest date as well as the builder.
Keeping the house the same between tests
Between the first test and the retest, the only change to the shell should be the corrections. A new opening made in the meantime, for a late line, a vent or outdoor wiring, is part of the second reading. Any trade with work still to do that crosses the outside walls, ceiling or floor needs to finish it before the retest, so the second number describes the house as it will stay.
Several houses
Booking several Blountstown houses on one job
Builders can book several Blountstown houses in one request, one line per house.
Dates per house
Each house gets a test date that follows its own ready date.
Spec houses
A house with no buyer yet is booked like any other, since the test is tied to the house.
Getting in
Any gate code or lockbox for each house, on its own line.
Houses in other towns
Houses elsewhere in the counties we serve can go in the same request, each under its own street address.
Crews in the house on retest day
Painters, flooring crews and cabinet installers can keep at it during a Blountstown retest, provided the house stays in the test-day set-up and the doorway with the fan in it is left alone until the test ends. Work at other houses on the job has no effect on the reading. Whoever opens the house that day is the one to pass this on to the crews.
No need to wait
Work that can go ahead before the retest
Anything that stays inside the rooms or outside the house altogether leaves the reading as it is.
Finishes
Paint, flooring, trim, cabinets and countertops.
Fixtures
Light fixtures on boxes that are already in, and shelving inside closets.
Outside
Driveway, walks, landscaping and gutters.
Booking
What to send with a Blountstown booking
Where
The street address of the house.
Permit
The building permit number for the house.
When
The ready date for a first test, or the date the corrections will be done for a retest.
Who
A name and phone number for the person who opens the house.
How the test is run
A fan is fitted in an exterior doorway, in a frame and panel that close off the rest of the opening. The fan holds the house at the test pressure, and the air it has to move to do that is the leakage. Every heated and cooled room is measured at once, so the test cannot read one room or one wall on its own, and a retest reads the entire shell again.
The limit
The limit for a new Blountstown house
Section R402.4.1.2 of the 2023 Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, allows a new house no more than 7 air changes per hour at 50 pascals in Climate Zones 1 and 2. Table R301.1 places Calhoun County in Climate Zone 2.
Exactly 7
A reading of 7.0 is within the limit, since the code allows no more than 7.
Any size of house
A small house and a large one are held to the same 7, because the reading is scaled to the volume inside the shell.
The boundary
What sits inside the measured boundary
The attic and an attached garage decide where the measured shell runs.
Vented attic
Outside the test. The ceiling below it is the boundary.
Attic sealed at the roof deck
Opened to the house for the test and measured with it.
Attached garage
Outside the test when it is not heated or cooled. The wall and the door between the garage and the living area are part of the boundary, while the big vehicle door is not.
A room over the garage
When it is heated and cooled and the garage is not, its floor is part of the boundary.
Scope
What the Blountstown reading does not measure
The retest, like the first test, measures air leakage through the shell alone.
Insulation
The amount of insulation in the walls, floor and attic is outside the reading.
Windows
Their energy ratings are covered by other parts of the code.
Heating and cooling
The size and efficiency of the system are not measured.
Other services
Other work on the same Blountstown house
Gutters, a garage door and wire shelving for the same house go through the same phone number and form.
Gutters
Seamless gutters for houses and commercial buildings, with downspouts moved or added above ground.
Garage doors
Repair, new doors measured to the opening, and commercial and roll-up doors.
Wire shelving
Closets, pantries, laundry rooms and garages, supplied and installed.
Same county
Blower door tests in other Calhoun County towns
What to expect
From booking to result in Blountstown
- 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.
Will adding insulation bring the number down?
Is the floor of a raised house part of the retest?
What does 50 pascals equal?
Does the heating and cooling system need to be finished?
What does air changes per hour mean?
Can dry drain traps raise the reading?
Get a quote
Request a Blower Door Test in Blountstown
Use the form to book a first test or a retest on a Blountstown house.
