Blower door testing
Blower Door Testing for New Homes in the Florida Panhandle
Air leakage testing for newly built houses under the Florida energy code, booked by builders, contractors and owners.
Blower door tests from Big Bend Services
Big Bend Services, Inc. runs blower door tests on newly built houses across the Florida Panhandle. The test measures how much air leaks through the shell of the house, and the Florida energy code sets a limit a new house has to meet.
To book, call (850) 819-6031, Monday to Friday from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, or send the form with the address and the date the house will be ready.
Who books it
Who books a blower door test
Builders and superintendents
The test is a step in the build schedule, booked for the point when the shell is complete. On a job with several houses, each one gets its own test and its own reading.
Custom home builders
One house at a time, on builds that can run long and where the ready date can move. A call when the date moves resets the test date.
Owner-builders
A person building their own house books the test the way a builder does.
The limit
The Florida limit for a new house
Section R402.4.1.2 of the 2023 Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, sets the air leakage limit for new homes in Climate Zones 1 and 2 at 7 air changes per hour at 50 pascals.
If a house tests over the limit, the leaks are corrected and the house is tested again.
When the test can run
The code allows it any time after every opening through the shell has been made, so paint, flooring and trim do not have to wait for it, and the finish trades can still be at work that week.
50 pascals
The pressure the house is held at while the leakage is measured, so every house is measured under the same push.
Air changes per hour
How many times the air inside the house would be replaced in one hour at that pressure. A reading of 7 means the leaks would swap out the whole volume of the house seven times an hour. A tighter house has a lower number.
How the test is run
A fan is fitted in an exterior doorway, set in a frame and panel that fill the opening. The fan moves air through the doorway until the house is held at the test pressure, and the amount of air it has to move to hold that pressure is the leakage.
The walls, ceiling and floor around the heated and cooled rooms are measured together, as one shell. The attic counts as part of that shell only when it is sealed and insulated at the roof deck.
Before the fan runs, the house is set to the conditions the code lists: windows and exterior doors closed but not sealed, fireplace doors and dampers closed, interior doors open, heating and cooling off, and registers open.
What the reading tells you, and what it does not
The reading shows whether the house is at or under the limit, and by how much it sits above or below 7. It covers the whole shell at once, so it does not point to any single leak. It also describes the house as it stood on test day, with the openings it had then.
The test does not rate the insulation, the windows or the heating and cooling equipment.
Before you call
Details the office needs to set a test date
Where the house is
The street address, or the lot number and subdivision name on a new street that has no house numbers yet.
The building permit number
The permit issued for that house.
When it will be ready
The date the last opening through the shell will be made. The new construction page lists the trades whose work has to be in by then.
A contact on site
The name and number of whoever handles access to the house.
For a group of houses
The same details for each one, set out one line per house.
Where we work
Blower door testing in your town
Each town page covers booking a test for a house in that town.
Somewhere not listed? Call (850) 819-6031.
How it works
From booking to 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.
Does an addition need a blower door test?
Is duct leakage part of the blower door test?
Is the limit the same in every county you cover?
How strong is 50 pascals?
How is the air changes per hour number worked out?
Get a quote
Request a Blower Door Test
Send the address and the date the house will be ready, and the office will follow up.
