Bascom, Jackson County
Blower Door Testing in Bascom, Florida
The number a new house in Bascom has to meet on its air leakage test, and how to put the test on the calendar.
Air leakage testing in Bascom
Big Bend Services, Inc. runs blower door tests on newly built houses in Bascom, ZIP 32423. The limit a house has to meet comes from section R402.4.1.2 of the Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 8th Edition (2023): no more than 7 air changes per hour at 50 pascals in Climate Zones 1 and 2. Table R301.1 places Jackson County, along with every other county we serve, in Climate Zone 2.
Call (850) 819-6031, Monday to Friday from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or use the form to book. Tests are booked through our office in Wewahitchka.
What it covers
Which parts of a project the limit reaches
Additions and alterations
Work that makes up less than 85 percent of the building thermal envelope is an exception. The building official decides where a project falls.
An attic sealed at the roof deck
Opened to the house for the test and measured along with it.
An unheated, uncooled attached garage
Left outside the test. The wall and door between it and the living area are part of the boundary.
Booking
What to send to book a Bascom test
Put four things in one message, by phone or through the form.
Street address
Where the house is, with ZIP 32423.
Permit number
The building permit for that house.
Ready date
The day every pipe, wire, vent and duct that crosses the outside walls, the ceiling below the attic or the floor will be in. Paint, floors, trim and cabinets do not have to be done.
Site contact
Whoever will be at the house or can open it, with a phone number.
Changes
If the ready date moves
The ready day slips
Call the office and a new test date is set.
Another detail changes
If the permit number or the site contact changes after booking, send the new one.
Keeping under 7
What a builder can check before the test
Top plates
Openings drilled for wires and pipes through the tops of the walls, sealed from the attic side.
Attic hatch
Weatherstripping around the hatch or pull-down stair so it closes snug.
Ceiling boxes and cans
The gap around each fixture box and recessed light in the ceiling below the attic.
Register boots
The seam between each duct boot and the drywall around it.
Plumbing stacks and fan housings
Where vent stacks rise through the top plates, and where each bath fan box meets the ceiling.
Exterior wall penetrations
The line set, the condensate drain, hose bibs and outdoor outlets.
Fireplace
The framing around a factory-built unit and where its flue passes through the ceiling.
Dryer and hood ducts
Where each passes through an outside wall.
Electrical panel
Where cables enter a panel set in an outside wall.
Garage wall
Door weatherstripping, and any wire or pipe through the wall between an unconditioned garage and the house.
Over the limit
If the house reads over 7
The leaks are corrected and the house is tested again under the same conditions as the first test: outside windows and doors closed without tape, dampers and fireplace doors shut, inside doors open, registers open, and heating and cooling off.
Send the date
Call with the date the corrections will be done, and the retest is booked.
Other services
Other work on the new house
Big Bend Services, Inc. also installs gutters, garage doors and wire shelving.
One call
Mention any of those when you book the test, and they can be quoted for the same address.
Same county
Other towns where we run this test
What to expect
The path from booking to a result
- 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.
Why is the limit a rate and not a total?
How much leakage does 7 allow on a 1,500 square foot house?
Does a house with more windows get a different limit?
Does an open attic hatch count against the limit?
Does a metal or shingle roof change the limit?
Can I book while the house is still being framed?
Get a quote
Request a Blower Door Test in Bascom
Send the Bascom address, the permit number, the ready date and who to call on site.
