Wewahitchka, Gulf County
Blower Door Testing in Wewahitchka, Florida
Air leakage testing for new Wewahitchka houses, booked through our office in town.
Blower door tests booked from our Wewahitchka office
Big Bend Services, Inc. has its office at 511 S Highway 71 in Wewahitchka, ZIP code 32465, and blower door tests for new houses in town are booked straight through it. The test measures air leakage for the Florida energy code.
Call (850) 819-6031, Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or send the form on this page.
Booking
What to send when you book a Wewahitchka test
The address
Where the house is, as it appears on the permit.
The permit number
The number on the building permit for the house, so the test is matched to the right job.
The ready date
The day you expect the shell to be ready. A close estimate is fine, and it can be moved by calling the office.
The site contact
A name and phone number for whoever can let us into the house and answer questions about it on the day.
Worth mentioning
Details that help set up the test
Some features of a house change what sits inside the measured boundary, so mention them when you book.
A sealed attic
If the attic is sealed and insulated at the roof deck, it is opened to the house and measured with it. A vented attic stays outside the test.
An attached garage
An unheated, uncooled garage is outside the test, and the wall and door it shares with the house are part of the boundary.
A raised floor
On a house built over open space, the floor is part of the shell, and every drain, duct and wire through it counts.
A bonus room
A heated and cooled room over the garage or under the roof is inside the test, along with the walls and floor that separate it from attic or garage space.
Several houses
Give the details for each one. Each house is tested on its own and gets its own result.
The limit
The number a Wewahitchka house is measured against
Gulf County is in Climate Zone 2 under Table R301.1 of the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation. For Climate Zones 1 and 2, section R402.4.1.2 of the 8th Edition (2023) sets the limit for new houses at 7 air changes per hour at 50 pascals.
What the reading means
How many times the full volume of air in the house would leak out and be replaced in an hour, with the house held at 50 pascals.
At 7 or under
The house is within the limit for air leakage.
Above 7
The leaks are corrected and the house is tested again under the same conditions. Call the office when the corrections are finished and a retest date is set.
The same across the area
All nine counties we serve fall in Climate Zone 2, so the limit is the same wherever the house is built.
When to call
Call once you can name the day the last opening through the shell will be made. Booking at that point, rather than at the end of the build, leaves time to spare before you need the result. Paint, flooring, trim, cabinets and countertops do not need to be done first, because they do not change the reading.
Before test day
Openings to look over before the Wewahitchka test
The reading counts every gap in the shell, and a builder can check these before the date.
Attic scuttle or stair
Weatherstripped, and latched so it pulls tight to the ceiling.
Top plates
Openings for wires and pipes into the attic filled.
Ceiling fixtures
Gaps around can lights, bath fan housings and register boots closed.
Outside walls
Gaps around the electric service, hose bibs and the air conditioning lines closed.
Air handler closet
A closet framed around the air handler, with a return built into it, closed off from the attic.
Soffits and chases
A soffit over the kitchen cabinets, or a chase for ducts or a flue, capped where it meets the attic.
Fireplace chase
The framed box around a flue closed off from the attic and the walls.
Crews working during the test
Anyone working inside should stay put or step out before the fan starts, instead of coming and going while it runs, since an opened door changes the reading. Work that needs a door propped open, like carrying in flooring or cabinets, can start again as soon as the test is over.
Owner-builders in Wewahitchka
An owner building a house under their own permit books the test the same way a builder does, with the same details. As the owner, you will be the first to know when your plumber, electrician and air conditioning installer have made their last openings, so that is the date to give us.
Additions and alterations
An addition or alteration that makes up less than 85 percent of the building shell is an exception in the code and is not required to have the test. A project at or above that share is tested like a new house.
Test-day setup in brief
On the day, the windows and exterior doors are shut but not sealed, fireplace and stove doors are closed, and every exhaust, intake and flue damper is closed. Interior doors are open where they are hung, the heating and cooling is off, and the supply and return registers are fully open. A fan is then fitted in an exterior doorway, and it holds the house at the test pressure while the leakage is measured.
Same office
Other work for a new Wewahitchka house
The office that books the test also books the other services we offer for a new house in town. Mention them on the same call, and each one is scheduled at the stage of the build it fits.
Gutters
Seamless gutters, formed on site and hung once the roof and fascia are done, scheduled around the builder.
Garage door
A new door measured to the opening, with a new opener if wanted.
Wire shelving
Shelving for closets, the pantry, the laundry room and the garage, which we supply and install.
Same county
Blower door testing in other Gulf County towns
What to expect
How a Wewahitchka test is booked
- 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.
Do you test houses outside Gulf County?
Does a bigger house get more room on the limit?
Is a safe room inside the house part of the test?
Do the exterior doors need their weatherstripping?
Is a porch ceiling part of the test?
Does a storm shelter outside the house count?
Get a quote
Request a Blower Door Test in Wewahitchka
Send the Wewahitchka address, the permit number, the ready date and a site contact.
