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The National Building Code 1985 identified the need to control movement of air through the exterior walls of buildings. The upcoming 1995 National Building Code has now placed recommendations on the amount of allowable leakage.
When the air barrier is being installed during the construction period it is practically impossible to monitor air tightness of the installation, in a quantified form. Retro-Specs Ltd. has developed equipment and a method for identifying leaks in construction details of air barrier systems, during construction, with "pass/fail" results. This report examines the performance and durability of the test equipment.
Phase 1 covers the development of the testing equipment to a working model stage, suitable for field testing.
Phase 2 incorporates field tests, both locally in Manitoba and one building in Montreal. Comparative testing was conducted versus existing smoke trace leakage tests, fan curve tests, pressure differential activated chamber testing system, pressure differential versus elapsed running time and pressure differential versus leakage area tests. The results were analyzed and conclusions drawn on the performance of the new testing method and equipment.