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A new home failed four duct-leakage tests, with the testing uncovering unsealed connections and damaged ducts. The case, reported by GreenBuildingAdvisor, illustrates why testing duct systems—especially those placed in unconditioned attics—can identify defects before a home is finished.
A new home failed four duct-leakage tests, with testing revealing unsealed connections and damaged ducts, according to a November 9 report by GreenBuildingAdvisor. The case highlights how testing can identify problems in duct systems before construction is complete, particularly when ducts are installed in an unconditioned attic.
Randy Williams, the report’s author and a building-performance tester, said he was asked to conduct duct-tightness and blower-door tests at a newly built home in his city. The house measured just over 1,150 square feet, and the contractor planned to place its ducts in an unconditioned attic. City officials requested results from both tests.
The home also failed its blower-door test under the air-changes-per-hour-at-50-pascals measure. Williams reported a result of 3.56 ACH50, above his state’s stated limit of 3 ACH50 or less. He noted that the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code included an optional blower-door metric for homes smaller than 1,500 square feet, but said his state was still using a version of the 2012 code. The report does not provide the final outcome of the blower-door compliance issue.
For the duct system, Williams said repeated testing exposed leaking connections and physical damage. His account describes four failed duct-leakage tests, but the supplied report excerpt does not include the measured leakage results, the full repair sequence, or a final passing result. The report also says local officials have begun enforcing duct-testing requirements that had been in place in the state for more than a decade.
Ducts move heated or cooled air through a home. If joints or sections leak, some of that air may escape before reaching the rooms it is meant to serve. The location of the ductwork matters: a leak into an unconditioned attic or crawlspace can send conditioned air outside the home’s living area, rather than into the rooms occupants use.
The reported failures show why visual inspection alone may not be enough to establish that a system is tight. A duct-leakage test can expose problems that may otherwise go unnoticed until after the home is occupied. Finding damaged sections and loose connections while construction is underway gives the builder an opportunity to investigate and repair them, though the article excerpt does not report whether this particular home ultimately passed after repairs.
For homeowners, the case also draws attention to the difference between a home’s airtightness and its duct system’s airtightness. Williams reported a separate blower-door failure as well as duct-test failures. These tests examine different parts of building performance, and a result from one does not establish whether the other meets its applicable requirements.
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Code Testing Reaches Local Enforcement
Williams wrote that duct-leakage testing has been required by code in his state for more than a decade, but local code officials had only recently begun requiring test results more consistently. He said he could not explain the change in enforcement. He suggested that officials may have received more education or may be responding to problems in the field, but presented these as possibilities rather than confirmed reasons.
The report focuses on a new home with slab-on-grade construction and ducts planned for an unconditioned attic. It also discusses the state’s use of an older energy-code edition. The excerpt notes that the 2021 IECC added an optional blower-door metric for smaller homes, while the state remained on a version of the 2012 IECC. The different code editions help explain why the tester raised an alternative measurement, but the excerpt does not say that officials accepted it.
“I can’t say.”
— Randy Williams, GreenBuildingAdvisor report author
Test Results and Repairs Remain Unreported
The available report excerpt does not provide the numerical duct-leakage readings, the testing protocol, or the specific repair steps taken after the four failures. It also does not say whether the ducts passed a later test or whether the home received approval after any repairs.
The reason local officials increased enforcement is also unresolved. Williams offered possible explanations but said he could not confirm them. The excerpt further leaves open how officials handled the home’s blower-door result of 3.56 ACH50 against the state’s stated 3 ACH50 limit, including whether an alternative metric was accepted.
Repairs and Follow-Up Testing
The practical next step for a system that fails a leakage test is to locate and address the defects, then test again to determine whether the work resolved them. The report excerpt does not confirm that this process was completed at the featured home. Its final compliance status remains unknown from the material available.
Builders and buyers can ask which code edition applies, whether duct testing is required for the project, and whether the ducts are located outside conditioned space. For this home, the next reported milestones would be the outcome of any duct repairs and retesting, along with the city’s decision on the blower-door result.
Key Questions
What happened at the new home?
The home failed four duct-leakage tests, according to Randy Williams’s GreenBuildingAdvisor report. Testing exposed unsealed connections and damaged ducts. The excerpt does not say whether the system later passed.
What is duct-leakage testing?
It is a test used to assess whether air escapes from a building’s duct system through leaks. The report describes testing at a home but does not provide the test method or measured leakage values.
Why does duct location matter?
The featured home’s ducts were planned for an unconditioned attic. Air leaking from ducts outside the home’s conditioned area may not reach the rooms the system is meant to serve.
Did the home pass after repairs?
That is not reported in the available article excerpt. It describes four failed duct tests and the defects found, but gives no final retest result or approval decision.
Why did local officials begin requiring tests?
The reason is unclear. Williams said the requirement had existed in state code for more than a decade and suggested education or field problems as possible explanations for stronger enforcement, without confirming either.
Source: greenbuildingadvisor.com
