Replies

1. Expert Member
   NICK KEENAN | Jul 08, 2021 01:18am | #1

   There's really no such thing as a standard house.

2. 
   walta100 | Jul 08, 2021 10:00am | #2

   I agree no two houses are the same so the answer to your question is different for every house.

   .6 ach50 is an ambitious goal for new construction and all but unattainable as a retrofit.

   Would you want to tell us about your project?

   Walta

1. 
   airtight_ninja | Jul 08, 2021 09:38pm | #3

   Thanks for the reply.

   I am trying to achieve the PH standard (.6 ACH) in my new house. (Climate zone 5A or 6A).
   At that time, I want to spend more money and build in areas where air leaks more easily. (Prioritize them).
   So I wanted to know the percentage of the air in my house that leaks from which places and how much.
   Sorry for the vague question.

   Best regards.

3. 
   Andrew_C | Jul 08, 2021 10:27pm | #4

   A couple of thoughts, since you appear to be in the design phase. Now is the time to buy a membership to GBA Prime so that you can access some of the good detailed information that's behind the pay wall. If you're new to building, a membership will pay for itself many times over.

   Search on this website (GBA) and at BSC's website for air barrier articles.

   To answer your question a bit more directly, houses don't tend to leak in solid planes much, they leak at intersections. From Info-408 document at BSC,
   "In building air barriers, the field of the opaque wall typically does not contribute strongly to the building’s overall air leakage. Instead, details that connect building components are often the cause of much of the air leakage, such as the roof-to-wall interface, wall-to-foundation interface, and other details (e.g., bathtubs, fireplaces, service penetrations)."

   The rim joist/wall-to-foundation interface (down low) and the uppermost ceiling (up high) are particularly critical for good sealing, partly because they're the farthest from the neutral pressure plane. Minimizing penetrations through the ceiling to the attic (canned lights, attic hatches in insulated ceilings, chimneys, etc) is a good place to start.

   Many of these articles come with links to other pertinent articles, so they should provide reading material for a least a day or so, and help you to perhaps refine your general question.

   Regards,

1. 
   airtight_ninja | Jul 09, 2021 03:49am | #7

   Thanks for the reply.
   Thank you for the detailed information about airtightness of houses.
   I will try to go to the BSC website and other information.

   Best regards,
   airtight ninja

4. Expert Member
   MALCOLM TAYLOR | Jul 08, 2021 10:51pm | #5

   a-n,

   Andrew has given you good advice. If you are trying to reach an ambitious air-tightness rate, you will have to address all the problematic areas in the house. Trying to quantify which are most important doesn't yield much useful information.

1. 
   airtight_ninja | Jul 09, 2021 03:47am | #6

   Thank you for your reply.
   You say that it is important to improve the airtightness of the whole house.

   Best regards,
   airtight ninja

5. 
   tundracycle | Jul 09, 2021 01:46pm | #8

   What is your goal? Do you just want to be able to say you meet PH spec? Do you want to meet the stricter EU/International spec or the more lax US/Resnet spec? Do you want to reduce energy use? Overall cost of ownership (so spend less $'s on energy)?

   For the latter I've not seen a project in the U.S. where 0.6 is worth it, even a lax 0.6 Resnet as the cost for the last few % gets quite high. This can be different outside the U.S. depending on energy costs vs costs of materials and labor to achieve 0.6.

1. 
   airtight_ninja | Jul 11, 2021 07:49pm | #9

   Thank you for your reply.
   I'll give it some thought.