The variation of airtightness of wood frame houses over an 11 year period.

This paper summarizes the most recent results from an ongoing, multi-year research program to monitor the long-term performance of residential air barrier systems. Airtightness tests were conducted on I 7 houses, located in Winnipeg, Canada, ranging in age from 8 to I I years, for which there was extensive historical data. Eight of the houses used polyethylene air barrier systems and nine used an early version of the airtight drywall approach (ADA). The latest tests were conducted in 1997.