I just did a blower door test on my 2700' new build, followed all of your and Steves advice to a tee. Ended up blowing a .67 ACH50! Pretty excited to see how the house feels in these hot Texas summers!

@SubigyaShakya

Ай бұрын

Custom build or mass builder built

@pyroman590

Ай бұрын

@@SubigyaShakya Custom, I was the GC

I'd love to see a video on how to air seal a home that is being fully remodeled so we can test it out with these blower door tests. Kind of a best practices for what to do to a home that is about to get a full remodel.

@tealkerberus748

Ай бұрын

This part. Also, I'd love to see them build to this standard without plastics everywhere. Some of them might be unavoidable, but like any carcinogen, reducing the dose reduces the risk.

Great video on blower door testing. Matt, since your house is encapsulated, did you open the attic stairs during the test? Testing should include all calculated volume during testing. Available air should have a path out of the attic to the blower door for a more accurate reading.

Cool test but how do we seal older homes without spending tons of cash?

@PeatedSander

Ай бұрын

Board up your windows 🪟

@BLKMGK4

21 күн бұрын

Replace windows, replace doors, seal AC ducts, sprayfoam the attic floor and insulate over it, sprayfoam the crawlspace or do the sill plates in a basement, do a blower door test with a professional who will help you hunt leaks - then solve them if possible. Yup, did this and while I don't know what my reading is off the top of my head it's WAY better. No longer do my curtains move when the wind blows in Winter and my energy bills have plummeted. If you have your siding replaced see about having the walls insulated, do housewrap, or rigid foam. I never got to do any of those :(

You guys should do a positive and negative pressure test to see how your house truly performs under a windload.

@kc9scott

Ай бұрын

Yes. If/when the zip tape adhesive starts to fail, a negative pressure test won’t show the problem, but positive pressure will. OTOH, even with poor adhesion, with real-world wind, the tape should still mostly block the air entry on the upwind side.

@stevemullen8457

Ай бұрын

Why would the Zip tape fail? It's covered by siding.

@ChristopherCurtis

Ай бұрын

@@stevemullen8457 I think the basic answer is that everything degrades over time. I'm no ZIP tape expert, but heat is one method for overcoming adhesives, siding or not.

@kc9scott

Ай бұрын

@@stevemullen8457 The vast majority of site-applied adhesives eventually fail due to age.

What happened to Aero Barrier getting you below 0.10...? Did that not last?

4:29 yeah your pal did mention pollen. You need to listen to him more carefully - he knows what he's talking about.

3:50 you just described both Teslas I've purchased over the years.

My houses are so tight... we test them with the HVAC mini fan!!

Hi Matt! Right now on the Green Building Advisor website there is an article by Jon Harrod about the Ephoca Cold Climate Heat Pump which doesn't need an outdoor unit. It can mount on the wall or ceiling and you can also get it with an ERV included. There is also video from Taitum Engineering about the unit on this site. Have you heard of them before?

It would have been cool if you talked about the energy cost that you have on the house to make the ACH50 reading real in a $ figure...

@Ilove3SGTE

Ай бұрын

That would be great but money is the only concern.

Get that back draft damper in Matt...good for ~200 cfm50

Mache das schon 25 Jahre. Macht nur sinn bei neubauten im Rohbau. 350€ in 🇩🇪.👍👍

Blower door testing and air sealing are under appreciated tools to increase energy efficiency and comfort. Wasting energy wastes money.

Honest question: if we go through all this effort to condition or limit the heat transfer in the attic, why not BUILD a dedicated mechanical room for all the equipment on the first floor.?

So what's the mineral oil thing you said you did? I'm interested in learning about it but can't seem to find anything in it

@csquared9660

Ай бұрын

He put emergency overflow drains in the laundry room and underneath the dishwasher. Just a floor drain that goes outside. He filled the p trap on the drain with mineral oil so it doesn’t evaporate.

@ChristopherCurtis

Ай бұрын

@@csquared9660 Any idea why it wasn't run into existing plumbing?

@scottrabinow2773

Ай бұрын

@@ChristopherCurtis My best guess is for detection purposes... In the existing plumbing he'd have no idea if one of the overflows was occurring, but if water is gushing out of one of these outside, it would be really obvious he had a problem.

Any recommendations on great contractors that do blower tests in the Dallas, TX area?

@sloth6765

Ай бұрын

Wonder what their contractor pricing is when the equipment is 4-6,000 dollars. You could buy it, DIY, then sell the equipment... for less than $1000?

@AussieInSeattle

Ай бұрын

​@sloth6765 check your local tool library if you're lucky enough to have one. mine has one. Seattle area

IBC calls for no more than 4 ACH on a conventional newly built home. CDC says a house needs a minimum of 5 ACH for a healthy environment. How do we bridge this gap?

Is there a crude way to check how well your house is sealed without using a blower door? My house was built in the 1960's and I've never had it tested, so before I spend money on a professional, is there a way to see if I would benefit from hiring a professional? Can I make or buy something myself that would give me an idea of how well my house is sealed?

@chptech

Ай бұрын

Yeah just use an old furnace blower seal it up around the window or door and use a manometer to get the inside and outside pressure difference you could just use a tube filled with water will work just fine if you want to be real cheap. And while it's under negative pressure you can walk around with a smoke stick and figure out where your biggest leaks are at.

@vegasguy73

Ай бұрын

@@chptech I like that idea! I'm not sure if anything is wrong, so a down and dirty approach is exactly what I am looking for! Thanks man!

Major yard clutter.

Also, your backyard is a disaster zone. I can well believe you need most of that stuff, but you need to put in a shed with a whole lot of shelves and store your stuff out of the weather and tidy so you can find everything.

Matt I thought you scored a 0.2557 on your last blower door test? kzread.info/dash/bejne/dGyJqKmneNCsepc.htmlsi=ysQ4SscEbJsYhlWW Or did you perform another after that video?

@wjthehomebuilder

Ай бұрын

He mentioned his back draft damper was still not installed. On the video you referenced, I believe the damper was masked off which would give a lower ACH overall. 🤷

No but my wallet is

I like my 100 year old house to leak, it was designed that way. Fresh air is nice vs modern houses.

to much talking!

It comes down to the Hippocratic oath. First do no harm. The Doctors need to decide what is important to them, and act as Christ told them to. Help everyone.