Replies

1. 
   rdesigns | Jun 16, 2009 12:54am | #1

   No.

   At least not as of the 2006 edition.

   However, any local jurisdiction could require above-code items as allowed for in section N1101.7 of the '06 IRC.

2. 
   jonblakemore | Jun 16, 2009 03:34am | #2

   It depends what code you're under. As RDesigns noted, the 2006 IRC does not require it.

   However, 2009 will be completely different. I don't have chapter and verse to site, but I took a class a few months ago and one of the topics was the effect of the green building movement on the 2009 IRC. For all those who don't know, there are going to be some big changes, not the least of which is a required blower door/duct blaster test.

   Of course, it all depends on what your AHJ adopts. Our wall bracing requirements in VA are more stringent than the IRC, but our stair rise/run specs are more lax, so it all depends on your representatives.

    

   Jon Blakemore

   RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA

1. 
   systembuilder | Jun 16, 2009 02:20pm | #3

   Jon,

   I guess that's what I was really asking. Will the next version of IRC require it, and is this knowable now?

   Thx

1. 
   rdesigns | Jun 16, 2009 05:07pm | #4

   You can go to the ICC Website and find the link to proposed changes.

   There you will see who is making the proposal, what their rationale is for the proposal, and how the technical committee has commented on it.

   That's just the first step. Next, at the code development meeting, the technical committee's  recommendation can be approved, modified, or challenged by a floor vote of members. The report on this phase is also made available online.

   The final step is at the Annual Business Meeting, where the code changes are accepted for publication.

1. 
   systembuilder | Jun 16, 2009 05:38pm | #5

   Thank you for explaining the process, but what is the informed concensus opinion. Do the insiders think these tests will become mandatory?

1. 
   rdesigns | Jun 16, 2009 07:16pm | #6

   To find answers to your question, I have since spent a little time in the ICC Website (which is confusing, even if you have a fair understanding of the process), and the '09 version has no requirement for blower door testing or duct blaster testing. Such were not even proposed, as far as I have been able to find.

   I assume that any such proposal would have been in the energy requirements section of the IRC (Chapter 11, Energy Efficiency). Nothing there.

   As to your Q about the future, my best guess is that blower and duct blaster testing will not make it into the codes in the foreseeable future. ("Foreseeable future"--we use that term, but it's kind of stupid, isn't it? Nobody I know can foresee the future.) Anyway, because of the makeup of the membership of the ICC Technical Committee(s) that are the first hurdle to any code change proposal, I think it would be very unlikely that such testing could make it past them. They have a fairly balanced representation of the various parties that would be affected. (Code officials, industry people, manufacturers, labor, NAHB, etc.) The added cost would be the objection.

   Testing would create a whole new layer of cost because there would have to be some acceptable means of certifying the testers, and paying for their equipment, labor, reports, and training would all add up. There would be strenuous objections from the homebuilding industry, and even code officials would be reluctant to open up another arena of enforcement and verification.

   The wild card would be government-mandated programs like have happened in California recently. There, duct systems that run in unconditioned spaces are required to be tested for leakage and must meet a certain level of tightness. This applies to replacement equipment as well as new construction, if I understand it right.

   For now, such testing is required to meet Energy Star standards, and there are some electric utilities across the country that have incentive programs similar to Energy Star.

2. 
   systembuilder | Jul 02, 2009 03:53am | #7

   Doesn't the current FHB say it's now required in Chapter 11 of IRC2009?

3. 
   jonblakemore | Jul 02, 2009 04:44am | #8

   Thanks. I knew I saw it somewhere.Here's a quote:PERFORMING BLOWER-DOOR TESTS

   Code: N1102.4.2 Building-envelope tightness must be less than

   or equal to 7 ACH (air changes per hour) when tested with a blower

   door at a pressure of 50 pascals. Testing can occur any time after

   rough-in and after all penetrations of the building envelope are made. 

   Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA