Ponce de Leon, Holmes County
Blower Door Testing in Ponce de Leon, Florida
What happens when a new Ponce de Leon house is tested for air leakage, and how to get it ready.
Blower door tests for new houses in Ponce de Leon
A blower door test measures how much air leaks through the shell of a newly built house. The Florida energy code requires it, and Big Bend Services, Inc. runs it on new houses in Ponce de Leon, ZIP code 32455.
To book, call (850) 819-6031 between 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday to Friday, or send the form on this page.
How it works
What the blower door does
The door panel
An adjustable frame covered with an airtight sheet fills one exterior doorway, with the fan set into an opening in it.
The fan
The fan runs until the pressure inside the house sits 50 pascals away from the pressure outdoors.
The gauge
A gauge reads two things: the pressure difference between inside and outside, and how much air is passing through the fan.
The figure
The airflow needed to hold 50 pascals is the leakage. Taken over an hour and divided by the volume of the house, it becomes air changes per hour.
Where the air goes
The gaps the fan pushes air through
On a new house those gaps sit where the shell was cut or pieced together.
Into the attic
Around the attic hatch, recessed light cans, bath fan housings, the boots where ducts meet the ceiling and the openings drilled through the top plates for wires.
Through outside walls
Around window and door frames, outdoor light boxes, the dryer vent and the air conditioning lines.
Through the floor
Where pipes rise through the slab, and under a tub set on an outside wall.
Into the garage
Around the door from the house and through pipes or wires in the shared wall.
Around exterior doors
Past worn or missing weatherstripping, under thresholds and along the seals of sliding doors.
At the service side
Where the electric, cable and gas lines come in and the hose bibs go out.
Around the fireplace
Through the framed chase around a flue, which can run from the attic down inside a wall.
What the Ponce de Leon reading is measured against
You get the reading for the house. The limit in section R402.4.1.2 of the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 8th Edition (2023), is 7 air changes per hour at 50 pascals, and Holmes County is in Climate Zone 2, where that limit applies. The limit is the same whatever the size or layout of the house, because the volume is already part of the arithmetic.
If the reading is over, the leaks are corrected and the house is tested again with the same setup, so the second figure can be compared directly with the first.
Houses with a sealed attic or a heated garage
A sealed attic, insulated at the roof deck, is opened to the house for the test and measured with it, so its roof deck, gable walls and eaves become part of the shell the fan pushes on. Say so on the booking.
An attached garage that is not heated or cooled stays outside, with the wall and door between it and the house counted as part of the boundary. A garage with its own heating or cooling is part of the house instead.
Test day
Setting up the house, room by room
The code fixes how the house is left during the test, and each setting keeps the fan measuring the gaps in the shell and nothing else.
Front, back and side doors
Closed and latched, with nothing taped over the gaps. Tape would hide gaps that are really there.
Every window
Shut and latched, not sealed. An open window would be counted as one huge leak.
Living room
Fireplace or stove doors closed and the flue damper shut.
Kitchen and laundry
The range hood and dryer vent dampers closed. A damper is built to close, so an open one would count a gap that stays shut in daily use.
Bathrooms
Exhaust fan dampers closed, with the bathroom doors left open.
Bedrooms and closets
Doors open where they are hung. A shut door would keep that room from reaching the test pressure, and its gaps would be missed.
Thermostat and registers
Heating and cooling off, since a running air handler moves air of its own, and every supply and return register fully open with any construction covers taken off.
Timing
When the house is ready for the fan
The code allows the test any time after every opening through the shell has been created.
The last opening is made
Every pipe, wire, vent and duct that passes through the walls, ceiling or floor is in place.
Finishes are optional
Paint, flooring, trim, cabinets and countertops can still be going in. They do not change the reading.
Room for a retest
Booking early in the finish stage leaves time to correct leaks and test again if the first figure is high.
A date that moves
If the house will not be ready on the booked day, call the office and a new test date is set.
Booking
Booking a Ponce de Leon test
Tests are booked through our office at 511 S Highway 71 in Wewahitchka.
The address
Where the house stands.
The permit number
The building permit for the house.
The ready date
The date the shell will be complete.
Who to call on site
The person we should reach about access.
Same county
Blower door tests in other towns in this county
What to expect
From booking to reading in Ponce de Leon
- 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 the house need to be empty for the test?
Does the attic hatch need to be closed?
Do the bath fans need to be installed?
How is the result written?
How is the volume of the house found?
Do upstairs rooms get tested too?
Get a quote
Request a Blower Door Test in Ponce de Leon
Use the form for a new Ponce de Leon house, and the office will follow up about the test date.
