ᐅ What can a blower door test reveal? Which house performance values are measured?
Created on: 16 Feb 2012 09:30
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kako78
Hello everyone!
We have built a prefabricated house and are moving in this week. A few weeks ago, we noticed that the right side of the attic was damp. We reported this to the prefab company, and were told that “the issue had been fixed.” Afterwards, the blower door test was conducted. We received a report (n50=1.0) and confirmation that the test was successful. However, we later found out that the problem in the attic had not been resolved (only the wet insulation wool was replaced, but the cause was not fixed), and now we already have mold on the wooden beams.
My question is: shouldn’t this have been detected during the blower door test? Were we just shown a blower door test as a formality, or is it true that openings in the vapor barrier cannot be detected with this test? I had thought that this was exactly what a blower door test is for???
Thank you very much for any information regarding this topic!
Katrin
We have built a prefabricated house and are moving in this week. A few weeks ago, we noticed that the right side of the attic was damp. We reported this to the prefab company, and were told that “the issue had been fixed.” Afterwards, the blower door test was conducted. We received a report (n50=1.0) and confirmation that the test was successful. However, we later found out that the problem in the attic had not been resolved (only the wet insulation wool was replaced, but the cause was not fixed), and now we already have mold on the wooden beams.
My question is: shouldn’t this have been detected during the blower door test? Were we just shown a blower door test as a formality, or is it true that openings in the vapor barrier cannot be detected with this test? I had thought that this was exactly what a blower door test is for???
Thank you very much for any information regarding this topic!
Katrin
H
Häuslebauer4024 Feb 2012 12:34Bauexperte schrieb:
Hello,
That is partly correct because it is only a snapshot in time; on the other hand, it reveals leakages and thus helps prevent heating costs from spiraling out of control.
Construction quality should be monitored by the site manager during the building process or – as I often suggest here – if there is any uncertainty about the expected performance, it should be outsourced to a trusted institution or person.
Best regardsBauexperte is right.
The third possibility would be, as has happened to me, that there is actually confidence regarding the expected performance, but this later turns out to be incorrect.
B
Bauexperte24 Feb 2012 12:40Hello,
What exactly happened to you?
Kind regards
Häuslebauer40 schrieb:
The third possibility would be what happened to me: there is supposed to be certainty regarding the expected performance, but it later turns out to be incorrect.
What exactly happened to you?
Kind regards
H
Häuslebauer4024 Feb 2012 12:41TomTom1 schrieb:
Hello!
Isn’t there a basic principle: either insulated and heated, or uninsulated and (of course) unheated!?
Otherwise: see above.
Best regards,
Tomtom.However, that alone cannot be the solution to the problem in my house shell. The insulation is present even in the heated and finished attic areas, as I was able to verify through two existing inspection openings.
Furthermore, this still does not explain the moisture in the ground floor.
We’ll see, the external expert will tell me on Tuesday.
H
Häuslebauer4024 Feb 2012 12:52Bauexperte schrieb:
Hello,
What happened to you?
Kind regardsHi Bauexperte,
see the previous page. We are currently more or less in the final phase. The drywall work in the attic is finished, painters and tilers were just working when last weekend, following a bad feeling because there was still so much condensation moisture in the attic, I took the liberty to open the vapor barrier. Behind it, I found completely soaked insulation and significant condensation on the underlay membrane.
This was not only in the unheated attic but also in the heated rooms that are already fully finished and wallpapered. These rooms have inspection openings that allow access behind the knee walls, so I was able to check there as well, unfortunately with the same disappointing result.
In addition, moisture is forming on the exterior walls of the ground floor, especially in the corners and in the unheated utility room along the entire outside wall as well as on the dormer at the transition to the attic drywall. This has already caused the first signs of mold.
Quite a mess, in short.
Häuslebauer40 schrieb:
...In addition, condensation forms on the exterior walls of the ground floor, especially in the corners... A geometric thermal bridge!Best regards
H
Häuslebauer4024 Feb 2012 13:11€uro schrieb:
A geometric thermal bridge!
Best regards.That’s what I assumed as well and have been relatively relaxed about it so far. It should actually improve over time once most of the construction moisture has left the building, or am I mistaken?
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