Last week we performed air leakage and water leakage testing at a new construction office building in Indianapolis.   The project involved chamber testing per ASTM E1186, utilizing a liquid solution and smoke to identify air leaks in a wall assembly.

A 10' x 10' air-tight chamber was constructed and sealed tightly to the exterior wall assembly.   A small fan was used to pressurize and de-pressurize the chamber while a technician used a smoke puffer and liquid solution inside the chamber to identify air leakage sites.

Using a hi-lift, we performed a water leakage test following AAMA 501.2 testing guidelines.   Horizontal and vertical seams were checked utilizing a calibrated sprayer unit.

While spraying the exterior, technicians inside the building searched for water infiltration.

For more information on water leak and air leak testing, visit http://www.tsienergysolutions.com.

Indianapolis ACOE Testing

In April of 2014 we performed air barrier testing on 4 military buildings in Indianapolis, IN.   The largest building had a building envelope area well over 100,000 s.f.    The buildings were amazingly tight as we are seeing a vast improvement in air barrier details and construction monitoring.

On-site ingenuity----center stabilization piece created for double doors

 

 



 

 

 

Based on the square footage of the building, 12 fans should have been required to hit the passing rate.  However this building was so tight that we only ended up using 2 of our 3-fan systems.

 

For more information on air barrier testing, please e-mail tdunn@thermo-scan.com



Retro-Commissioning Air Barrier Testing

As part of a retro-commissioning project at a military base in Florida, TSI performed Air Barrier Testing, Building Envelope Scans and Pressure Diagnostics for 31 existing buildings.   The goal of the project was to develop a baseline that could be used to determine priorities for energy improvements in these buildings.

Software has recently been developed that allows us to control many fans from one centralized laptop.    The software allows better control of the fans and facilitates quicker testing results.  Visit  http://www.thermo-scan.com for more information on our testing capabilities.

Air Barrier Test of

TSI just performed an air barrier test of a 37,000 sf building for the Army Corps.   This building has 2 sections:   an office area and a warehouse area.

There were a couple concerns with this building.   First, the building has a warehouse and an office section and there were concerns that the warehouse area would not be sealed tightly due to the construction type.   Second, the building has a standing seam metal roof and the client wasn't convinced they could get it sealed tightly.

Six fans were used to test this building and the building did not pass on the first run, but it was close.   With some "tweaking", the air leakage was easily reduced to bring the building into compliance.

Please visit http://www.thermo-scan.com if you have any questions regarding Air Barrier Testing.

Air Barrier Testing Of Grocery Story (New Building)

In December 2012 we performed air barrier testing and a building envelope scan at a new grocery store in Texas. The goal of the project was to help the client identify areas where they could improve the energy efficiency of their buildings so they could implement better strategies in upcoming projects. 

Grocery stories and other similar buildings can be challenging due to unique penetrations, delivery doors,  mechanical equipment on the roof and other challenges.

Smoke was used to identify air leaks.

When trying to identify air leaks, it may be possible to use just 3 fans or 6 fans to create the necessary  pressure difference.   However, if testing to the Army Corps Of Engineer specs it would take 9-12 fans to properly pressurize or depressurize the building.

All of our inspections are performed by a Level 2 or Level 3 certified infrared thermographer and our air barrier testing technicians have years of experience testing commercial buildings.

If you need more information on air barrier testing or if you'd like to have a test performed, please visit our web site at http://thermo-scan.com/air_leak_testing.html



The week of May 7^th we were at an Air Force Base in Texas.  We performed an Air Barrier Test and Thermal Envelope Scan on a 42,200 square foot NATO jet pilot training facility.

This building had a lot of air volume in it.  The building not only had a three story tall entry, it also had a full sized auditorium.  The building required six Minneapolis fans in order to get the needed 30,000+ CFM.  The building was very well built and used triple layer windows, additional insulation, and thick weather stripping on the doors all to aid in sound deadening.  This building was located only a few hundred feet from the runway on base.

This was one of the first buildings we have seen pass ASTM E779 on the first try that didn’t use spray on insulation on the bottom of the roof deck.

The building was well built and easily passed the infrared scan the second morning.

For more information on air barrier testing, please visit our web site, www.thermo-scan.com.  You may contact Thermo-Scan Inspections directly for Air Barrier Testing and Infrared Scan Inspections at 800-481- 5748 or tdunn@thermo-scan.com

Air Barrier Testing For LEED

Air Barrier Testing can be used to gain points under the Innovation in Design Category.   We recently performed a building envelope thermal scan and air leakage test at a LEED Certified bank.

LEED Certified Bank

To meet the LEED required air exchange rate, 3 fans would have been required if the building was built to the maximum allowable air leakage rate.  This building was so tight, though,  it took just 1 fan to reach the required pressure differential.

If you have a LEED project that requires air barrier testing or infrared scanning, please contact Thermo-Scan Inspections at tdunn@thermo-scan.com or 1-800-481-5748.  Visit our web site, http://www.thermo-scan.com/ for more information.