SUCCESS! Blower door test at .50 ACH

Well, we got great news today - after a couple days of troubleshooting and fixing air leaks we had a blower door test conducted again today. Initially we weren't looking really great with an average of just below the required number of .60.  After  rechecking the equipment due to a puzzling difference between the pressurized and depressurized test the problem was found and the test yielded much closer results. The depressurized test showed .48 ACH at 50 Pa and the pressurized showed .52 ACH at 50 Pa.  That averages out to .50, a full .10 below the mandated .60 ACH at 50 Pa.  What that equates to is 421 CFM (which when multiplied by 60 and divided by the total volume of the house of 50,348 cubic feet yields that .50 number) of leakage, some of which we know is from windows and doors as well as a couple less than perfect duct sealing jobs (which we'll repair where possible).

 Just so show that the work wasn't easy, here are pictures of the corners we were working on as well as the results of some patching to the water and geothermal penetrations in the concrete walls.

Kevin peeling off the section of the roof on the Southeast corner that was showing large amounts of leakage.  Due to the  box construction of the Southeast and Northeast corners they proved most difficult to seal from the inside so we resorted to this method of tearing off the sheathing and sealing the envelope from the outside.  We then replaced the roofing panels and re-taped the appropriate seams. Tedious work but in the end it was well worth it.

The repair work on the leaking penetrations on the geothermal and water which meant hydraulic cement around the PVC sleeves and pure silicone between the sleeves and the pipes.  

Last night brought another torrent of rain, with the property being heavily drenched.  We did have some significant accumulation around the front of the house and in the still-open trenches for the geothermal and well lines. A little work with the Mexican hoe and shovel helped divert that water to lower ground - and of course there was a little bailing required to get the water below the penetrations so the sealing could take place.

Water collected in the trench for the well and geothermal as well as the collection area in front of the house. The prediction was for 1.9 inches of rain and this seems to indicate there was more than that on the site.

A face in the trees - look closely at that knot on the left side of this tree - it looks like the Hunchback of Notre Dame staring in through the family room windows. This face only appears when it has been raining.