For the airtightness test, the building’s airtight envelope (ground floor, walls, roof) must be complete, the doors and windows must be installed, and all penetrations must be complete and sealed (ventilation ducts, range hoods, chimney flues for fireplaces and sauna stoves, water pipes and sewer lines, the central vacuum system’s discharge pipe, base floor penetrations, such as conduits for power supply or geothermal heat pipes, etc.).
The measurement can be performed even if one door has not yet been installed or is still being used during the construction phase. In this case, the door opening must be less than 1 meter wide and have jambs or a frame to which the mounting structure for the measurement door can be attached.
If a garage is attached to the building, an exterior door must be installed.
The air/vapor barrier should still be visible so that any potential leaks can be easily repaired. However, this is not necessary.
The ventilation unit does not need to be installed. It is easier to take the measurement before the ventilation unit has been installed.
The following installations must be completed before the measurement:
Exterior doors and windows- The gaps caused by settlement above doors and windows have been sealed with tape, at least on the inside.
- The joint between the jambs and the bucks has been sealed with tape.
- (Not required: At the locations of windows and doors, the joints between the studs and logs have been sealed with tape or a suitable sealant.)
Ground-supported tile- Pipe penetrations have been sealed to the floor using urethane or a suitable sealing compound.
- The foundation strip is fully compressed between the log and the cast concrete, and any gaps have been sealed with urethane applied from beneath the strip. (An effective but not mandatory practice is to cut a groove in the surface of the concrete and then apply a suitable sealing compound to the joint between the wall and the subfloor.)
Ventilated base floor- The air barrier—made of plastic or paper—has been sealed to ensure a continuous seal along the seams and attached to the log wall with double-sided tape. A fastening batten has been installed on top.
- The lead-through pipes have been sealed to the floor’s air barrier (plastic or paper) using sealing collars and vapor barrier tape.
Roof- The air barrier (plastic or paper) has been sealed to the log wall with double-sided tape, and a fastening batten has been installed on top.
- In the case of sloped roofs, the log joints have been sealed with urethane or a suitable sealing compound.
- The supports for the roof structure have been installed. The measurement will be conducted under increased negative pressure, which could damage an unsupported roof air barrier.
- The pipe penetrations have been sealed with collars and vapor barrier tape to the air barrier paper or plastic.
- The fireplace flue is sealed to the air barrier (paper or plastic).
Walls- Any potential power cable channels inside the log wall have been sealed with urethane or a suitable sealing compound, preferably from the outside (so that the channels do not fill with cold air in winter, which would cool the wall structure).
- Penetrations through the exterior wall (such as the fresh air duct for the ventilation unit, the discharge pipe for the central vacuum system, and electrical conduits) have been sealed with urethane or a suitable sealing compound.
- Make sure the log framework has been tightened before taking measurements.
- It is a good idea to perform the airtightness test before painting and filling work, or a few days afterward.
Other things to note- The block walls and chimney have been fully lined on the inside (including the basement and utility room walls). A block wall or flue that has not been lined will allow air to leak, which will compromise the measurement results.
- It has been ensured that the envelope air barrier is uniform in areas such as wet rooms, saunas, and utility rooms.
- Temporary openings created for the construction phase and any other holes in the building envelope have been sealed.
- Standard mains power is available in the building.
- In the case of semi-detached houses, the openings between the units must also be sealed.
- Buildings with two or more floors: Ladders must be provided between the floors so that the person conducting the measurements can access all floors from inside the building.
- Roof safety equipment must be in place, as the person conducting the measurement may need to seal the chimney flue or some ventilation ducts from the roof.
Before measurement:- Close all windows and doors carefully.
- Do not heat the fireplace for about 24 hours before taking the measurement.
- If the building is cold, turn on the heater 24 hours before the measurement, for example.
- Move construction supplies, furniture, and other movable items that you can reasonably relocate to a distance of about 1 meter from the wall to facilitate leak detection.
- Provide sufficient general lighting for the building to ensure visibility during the measurement.