Marianna, Jackson County
Blower Door Testing and Retests in Marianna, Florida
For a new Marianna house that has to meet the energy code air leakage limit, including one whose first reading came back high.
Blower door test for a new house in Marianna
Big Bend Services, Inc. runs blower door tests on newly built houses in Marianna, ZIP codes 32446 and 32448. The Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, 8th Edition (2023), caps air leakage in a new house at 7 air changes per hour at 50 pascals in Climate Zone 2, and all of Jackson County is in that zone.
Call (850) 819-6031, Monday to Friday from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or send the form. Tests are booked through our office in Wewahitchka.
Over the limit
When a Marianna house reads over 7
The result is one number for the whole shell.
Leaks corrected first
The leaks are corrected before the house is tested again. A test run while sealing is still under way would measure a house in the middle of changing.
Before the second test
Openings to look at before a retest
Air leaves a new house through the openings made while it was built.
Tops of interior walls
Wires and pipes run up through the top plate into a vented attic. Each opening left there joins the wall cavity to the attic.
The attic access
A hatch or pull-down stair that does not sit tight in its frame passes air all the way around its edge.
Ceiling fixtures
Recessed lights, fan boxes and smoke alarm boxes cut into a ceiling that has the attic above it.
Duct boots
The gap between a supply or return boot and the drywall cut around it.
Lines leaving the house
Refrigerant lines, the condensate drain, water and gas lines, and cable entries through an outside wall.
Tubs and showers on outside walls
The framing behind a tub set against an exterior wall can be open to the attic above.
Chases and soffits
A dropped soffit over the kitchen cabinets or a chase for a flue can be open to the attic at the top.
The door from the garage
With an unheated, uncooled attached garage, the shared wall and the door into the living area are part of the measured boundary.
Between the two tests
Getting the house ready for its second test
The test-day state
Windows latched but not taped, fireplace doors and all dampers closed, interior doors open, registers open, and the heating and cooling off, just as for the first test.
Additions and alterations in Marianna
The air leakage test is written for new houses. The code makes an exception for additions and alterations that make up less than 85 percent of the building thermal envelope, so a single added room or a remodel of part of a house can fall outside it. Your building official decides whether the exception covers a given project.
Booking with room for a retest
The code allows the test any time after every penetration of the thermal envelope exists. Booking at that point, while paint, flooring and trim are still going in, keeps a slot on the schedule for sealing and a second test if the first number is high.
Send the street address, the permit number, the ready date and the name and phone number of whoever will be on site. If the ready date slips, call the office and a new test date is set.
A builder with more than one house can book them together. Each house is tested on its own and gets its own result, so one high reading never holds up a house that came in under the limit.
Other services
More work on the same new house
Big Bend Services, Inc. also installs gutters, garage doors and wire shelving, and any of them can be raised on the call that books the test.
Gutters
Seamless gutters and downspouts, with new construction scheduled around the builder.
Garage door and shelving
A new garage door and opener, and wire shelving for the closets, pantry and laundry room.
Same county
The same test in nearby towns
What to expect
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.
Can the retest be run before cut drywall is patched?
How far over the limit is a reading of 8.4?
Does a high first reading hold up the finish work?
Is the attic part of a Marianna test?
Where does the fan go?
Get a quote
Request a Blower Door Test in Marianna
Send the Marianna address, the permit number and the ready date, or the date corrections will be done for a retest.
