Blower Door Test

On 21 September 2007 the first blower door test took place. This test measures the ratio between the volume of air that is leaked within one hour (when via the blower door the house is either under or over pressurisd by 50 pascals) and the total volume of air in the house. For a house to be classified as a passive house, the ratio must be 0.6 or less. The result of this test was 1.2, which meant that some work still needed to be done to tape over holes and gaps, mainly in the roof and around the windows. The second test was done on 9 October 2007, and the ratio was 0.55, so the house meets one of the passive house criteria!! This is the best result that has ever been measured on a house in Slovakia! We will do a third test later, which should have an even better result, as more insulation, plaster, clay, wood, etc, has yet to be put on the outer and inner walls. For more info on blower door tests go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blower_door

The blower door.

Software is used to calculate the measurements.

Testing for leakages.

This was an interesting event for lots of people. Representatives from the Architectural Faculty, Passive House Institute, and the various companies working on our house attended.

The builders make sure that all of the gaps are covered with special tape. See "15 and 16 July 2007 - Air Tightness Tape and Beams" blog for more information.

18 September 2007 - Windows Go In

On 18 September 2007 the windows went in. They came from the Czech company called Janosik (not to be confused with the Slovak Robin Hood!). As our windows won't need to opened (the ventilation system will ensure that we always have fresh air in the house), half of them don't open. However, as people expect to be able to open windows, every room has at least one window that can be opened! They are red on the outside and pine (to match the beams, etc) on the inside.

Around the same time that the windows went in, insulation was put around the bottom of the outer walls.

One of the den windows. Airtightness tape is covering all the spots where air could go in or out.

The neighbours are building a wall around their garden that we'll have to cover with bushs or some other kind of attractive cladding.

Close up of window and tape used to seal it in. The windows have also been screwed in.

Progress Mid September

So much has happened over the past month that I haven't had time to update the blog! Here is a brief look at what happened in the first half of September. 8 September 2007: Thick cardboard cladding starts to go on the outside of the house.

11 September 2007: The interior walls have started to go up.

15 September 2007: Close up of cladding and guttering.

From 11-26 September the cellulose insulation was blown into the wall and roof cavities. This took a lot longer than expected, partly because of the number of cavities to fill, and partly because the machine wasn't stong enough to achieve the correct pressure. In the end it was done properly!

The cellulose pump.

Holes were cut into the walls (at intervals so that each cavity could be filled) in order to pump in the cellulose.

Alex, Adam and Emma in the play area.

15 September 2007: We have a cardboard box for a house!