Flagship Projects

• Example Consulting - Air Testing IKEA
• Consulting - British Lending Library
• Existing building - Draft Problems - Case Study

Existing Building - Draft Problems - Case Study

Powys County Council appointed HRS Services to carry out comprehensive air tightness, smoke and thermographic testing on a school to ascertain the extent and cause of drafting problems. The drafting problems were so severe that in winter the school had to be moved to a warmer building as it was imposible to heat!!

Problem

Powys County Council needed to understand the full picture of why the school was drafty and cold. They knew from their own investigations that air leakage was a problem. However, their objective was to identify where and how air leakage occurred and whether other factors played a part, in terms of design issues, poor standards of construction and lack of insulation and how they might be remedied.

Air Tightness, Smoke Test and Thermographic Survey Carried Out

On a cold, overcast day in February, HRS Services turned up on-site with the full range of air tightness testing equipment. An air tightness test and smoke test was carried out on the whole building. Subsequently, a thermographic survey of the external envelope and a detailed visual inspection were carried out. The complete report was made available to Powys County Council on CD with a summary of where the problems were located and their extent.

Remedial Solution

HRS identified that the biggest air leakage path was through linear open joints in glulam beams which acted as purlins through out the school. The total area of beam joint which was open from all rooms in the school to a cold open roof space was 2 m2. The open joint could be easily accessed along it's full length form inside the school and be closed off by installing a backing rod and sealant.