Cottondale, Jackson County
Blower Door Testing in Cottondale, Florida
Booking an air leakage test for a new house in Cottondale, and keeping finish work moving around it.
Blower door tests for new Cottondale houses
Big Bend Services, Inc. tests new houses in Cottondale for air leakage against the Florida energy code limit of 7 air changes per hour at 50 pascals, which covers all of Climate Zone 2.
Call (850) 819-6031, Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or use the form.
Booking
Four details that book a Cottondale test
Send all four with the first call or form, and the test can go on the calendar.
Street address
The address of the house being tested, with ZIP 32431. That ZIP covers more than one town, so the full street address matters.
Permit number
The building permit issued for that house.
Ready date
The day the house will have every opening through its shell made.
Site contact
The name and phone number of the person who handles access on the day. A superintendent, the owner or a trade working there can all be named.
Changes after booking
When a detail changes after booking
The ready date moves
Call the office and a new test date is set.
Someone new is on site
Send the new name and phone number so the right person is reached about access.
A new permit number
Send it with the address it belongs to.
A second house is added
Send its four details. It is booked and tested on its own and gets its own result.
Finish work
Finishes that do not change the reading
The fan measures air passing through the shell: the outside walls, the ceiling under the attic and the floor. Finish work sits inside that shell, so it can go on before the test, after it, or around it.
Paint
Wall and ceiling paint neither opens nor closes any path to the outside.
Flooring
Tile, wood, vinyl or carpet laid over the subfloor leaves the result where it was.
Closet shelving, mirrors and hardware
Anything fixed to the inside face of a wall stays inside the shell.
Appliances
Setting the refrigerator, range and washer in place changes nothing.
Window treatments
Blinds, shades and curtain rods hang inside the shell.
Not quite finish work
Late work that sits on the boundary
A few things go in late, alongside the finish trades, yet they belong to the shell. Their state on test day does affect the reading.
Weatherstripping on outside doors
The seal along the jambs and head of each exterior door, including the door from an attached garage.
Thresholds and door bottoms
The strip or sweep that closes the gap between the door and the floor.
The attic hatch
The stop it rests on and any gasket around it. A hatch cover set loosely on its frame leaks all the way round.
Fan and hood dampers
The flaps on bath fans and the range hood close off their ducts when the fans are off.
Work to have finished before the ready date
On a new house, the openings made near the end of the build are worth tracking: exterior light boxes, outdoor outlets, the line set to the outdoor unit, the condensate drain, and the cable and phone entries.
By that date, the drywall on the outside walls and on the ceiling below a vented attic should be up, since it forms part of the barrier the fan pushes against. Windows and outside doors need to be hung by then as well, since they are closed for the test.
What the fan measures
A fan is fitted in an exterior doorway and holds the house at 50 pascals against the outdoors while the leakage is measured. The airflow it takes to hold that pressure, set against the volume of the house, gives one figure in air changes per hour for the whole house.
The panel around the fan seals the doorway it sits in, so one outside doorway needs to be clear for it on the day.
On the day
How the house is left while the fan runs
Leave the house as the code sets out: windows and outside doors shut but not sealed, fireplace and stove doors shut, exhaust, intake and flue dampers closed, interior doors open where they are hung, heating and cooling off, and every supply and return register open.
Drain traps
Run water into any drain that has not been used, so its trap is full.
Results
After the test
Over 7, the leaks are corrected and the house is tested again under the same conditions, and a reading well above 7 points to more sealing than one just over it.
Booking a retest
Send the date the corrections will be done, with the address and permit number.
Other services
Other work for the same house
Gutters, a garage door and wire shelving are all handled by the same office.
Same address, same call
List the other work when you send the four details for the test.
Same county
Book the test in another town
What to expect
How the test gets 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.
Does the driveway or garage floor need to be done first?
Do the outlet and switch cover plates need to be on?
Is a house on a raised floor booked any differently?
Is the attic part of the test?
Does the house need to be cleaned before the test?
Get a quote
Request a Blower Door Test in Cottondale
Send the Cottondale street address, the permit number, the ready date and the site contact.
