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Air Tightness Testing

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Air Tightness Testing – The Building Regulations.

The Building Regulations 2006 Approved Documents L1A (Domestic) and L2A (Non-Domestic) came into effect in April 2006, requiring air tightness testing to be carried out in new properties. This was followed in 2013 and 2016 with further revised documents.

Uncontrolled ventilation in dwellings and other buildings through leakage paths around doors and window frames accounts for a significant proportion of heat loss, particularly as the insulation value of walls and glazing has improved. In order to control this energy loss, the Building Regulations will regulate the overall leakage of the building structure by testing, using a pressurising / depressurising fan method.

Air Permeability.

Air leakage is quantified as air permeability, which Is the leakage of air (m3/hour) in or out of the building, per square metre of building envelope at a reference of 50 Pascals (Pa) between the inside and outside of the building.

New dwellings will be required to achieve a minimum standard of 10 m3/h.m2 at 50 Pa. However, the target air permeability set out in the SAP calculations (sometimes called Q50 / DAP figure) for a property will frequently be lower than this.

Air Tightness Test.

The air tightness testing of the building would be carried out in accordance with the Air Tightness Testing & Measurement Association (ATTMA), Technical Standard 1 – Measuring Air Permeability of Building Envelopes for domestic testing. Testing would be carried out in accordance with the ATTMA Technical Standard 2 for non-domestic testing.

Acoustic Associates now trading as AcousticSE are competent through ATTMA to undertake domestic and non-domestic air tightness testing and can also issue Certification and Test Reports.

We have Level 2 Testers in house. This enables us to be able to test a whole range of larger commercial properties in addition to testing dwellings.

In addition to single-fan residential/commercial testing we can test with Multiple fans, for large buildings (up to 80,000m2 envelope area), for tall buildings (up to 20 storeys) and for complex layouts in buildings where spaces are not commonly linked.

Building variations include but are not limited to:

  • New Commercial Extensions
  • Industrial Buildings
  • Dwellings
  • Hospitals
  • Retail Units
  • Schools
  • Care Homes
  • Office Buildings
  • Shell & Core
  • Sports Facilities

Other Services of Interest

  • Sound Insulation Testing
  • Design Advice

Case Studies

Westbrooke Developments & Roffey Homes
Premier Inn & Beach Residences

Orchard Place – “Efficient, On Time, Good Job” – Victoria Geary of Globe Estates.

Portland Villas, Hove – “We have always found Acoustic Associates to be a very reliable & professional company” – Stephen Packham of Packham Construction Ltd.

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