BINDT Registered Domestic Airtightness Testers Topup Training Why
BINDT Registered Domestic Airtightness Testers Top-up Training Why is this training required? § The government has made changes to the Building Regulations and Approved Documents § ATTMA has published a new test standard for dwellings – TSL 1, which replaces TS 1 § As a result, BINDT has made some changes to the way tests are reported ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 1
When do these changes take effect? § The new (2010) ATTMA TSL 1 only applies to tests carried out under the new (2010) Building Regulations & Approved Documents § These took effect on 1 st October 2010, but projects under way before this date will follow the old ones § There will be a period during which some buildings will be completed under 2006 Building Regulations & Approved Documents and others under the 2010 ones § Testers should always get clarification from the building control body on whether the building was built under 2006 or 2010 Building Regulations ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 2
Approved Document L 1 A A brief reminder… § The SAP assessor calculates the Dwelling carbon dioxide Emissions Rate (DER), which must be less than the Target carbon dioxide Emissions Rate (TER) § The equivalent of SAP for non-dwellings is SBEM § Specifying a low Design Air Permeability will help with achieving a DER lower than the TER § The worst allowable design air permeability is 10 m 3/(h. m 2) @ 50 Pa ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 3
Approved Document L 1 A Changes for 2010: Step change in energy use § The Target carbon dioxide Emissions Rate for new dwellings (TER) will go down by 25% § As a way of achieving these lower emissions, many designers will select lower design air permeabilities § However the worst allowable design air permeability remains unchanged at… 10 m 3/(h. m 2) @ 50 Pa ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 4
Approved Document L 1 A Changes for 2010: dwelling sampling § The number of dwellings that require testing will no longer depend on the method chosen for showing continuity of insulation § Testing should be carried out on three units of each type or 50% of each type, whichever is less i. e. 1 or 2 of a type Test 1 3 or 4 of a type Test 2 5 or more of a type Test 3 ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 5
Approved Document L 1 A Sample airtightness testing: 2010 Example A development with 30 identical end-of-terrace houses and 60 identical mid-terrace houses End-of-terrace: 3 is less than 50% so test 3 dwellings Mid-terrace: 3 is less than 50% so test 3 dwellings So a total of 6 dwellings in the development need to be tested ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 6
Approved Document L 1 A Changes for 2010: consultation with Building Control § Some new wording has been added to ADL 1 A: The specific dwellings making up the test sample should be selected by the Building Control Body (BCB) in consultation with the pressure tester. They should be selected so that about half are carried out during construction of the first 25% of each dwelling type. All tests shall be reported to the BCB, including any failures § This means testers will have more contact with the BCB, and also that there will be better enforcement of the existing rule that the sample size is increased by one each time a dwelling of that type fails ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 7
Approved Document L 1 A Changes for 2010: pass or fail § To pass the test, the assessed air permeability must be less than the design air permeability § Where the dwelling has been tested, the assessed air permeability is the measured air permeability § Where the dwelling has not been tested, but others of the same type have, the assessed air permeability is the average measured air permeability from dwellings that were tested, plus 2 m 3/(h. m 2)@50 Pa § Note that this is a penalty, and it may result in designers demanding that all units get tested ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 8
Approved Document L 1 A Pass or Fail: 2010 example § You have been asked to test 4 identical dwellings, with a design air permeability of 6 m 3/(h. m 2)@50 Pa § Only 2 are required to be tested, and you obtain results of 4 m 3/(h. m 2)@50 Pa and 5 m 3/(h. m 2)@50 Pa § Although both pass, the assessed air permeability of the other two is 6. 5 m 3/(h. m 2)@50 Pa so they both fail § In order to get all dwellings to pass with only one additional test, it will need to achieve a result of no more than 3 m 3/(h. m 2)@50 Pa in order to push the average down below 4 m 3/(h. m 2)@50 Pa § It may be easier to test both remaining dwellings ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 9
Approved Document L 1 A What is a dwelling type? ADL 1 A 2010 covers this, not ATTMA TSL 1 2010 For dwellings to be considered of the same type they must: § Be of the same generic form (detached, semi-detached, ground/mid/top-floor flat etc. ) § Have the same number of storeys § Employ the same construction for walls, floors & roofs § Have a similar number of significant penetrations § Have the same design air permeability § Have similar adjacency to unheated spaces such as stairwells, integral garages etc. ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 10
Approved Document L 1 A What is a dwelling type? (continued) § Under ATTMA TS 1 2007, for dwellings to be considered of the same type, the difference between the smallest and largest gross floor area has to be less than 15% § Under ADL 1 A 2010 The difference between the smallest and largest envelope area must be less than 10% § This means that if you’re doing sampling for a building built under 2010 Building Regulations, you will need the envelope area for every dwelling on the development. § It’s sufficient for sampling purposes to use the envelope area calculated by the SAP assessor ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 11
Approved Document L 1 A Reminder (applies to both 2006 and 2010 ADL 1 A) § A block of flats should be treated as a separate development irrespective of the number of blocks on the site § So in every block of flats, at least one ground floor, one mid floor and one top floor flat will need to be tested ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 12
Approved Document L 1 A Reminder (applies to both 2006 and 2010 ADL 1 A) Developments of one or two houses ONLY The designer can choose to omit airtightness testing. The SAP assessor would have to… either a. Use the measured air permeability from a house of the same type, built by the same builder, and tested in the last 12 months or b. Use an air permeability of 15 m 3/(h. m 2) @ 50 Pa ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 13
Other parts of the Building Regulations § Approved Documents F (Ventilation) and J (Combustion Appliances) have also been updated for 2010 § ADF 2010 has different ventilation provisions depending on whether the dwelling has air permeability less than or greater than 5 m 3/(h. m 2) @ 50 Pa § For dwellings with open-flued appliances, ADJ 2010 has different open area provisions depending on whether the dwelling has air permeability less than or greater than 5 m 3/(h. m 2) @ 50 Pa § If a dwelling gets an unexpectedly good result, you may wish to draw this to the attention of your client ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 14
ATTMA Technical Standards § ATTMA TS 1 was first published in 2006 § Issue 2 was published in 2007 – this is the issue that should be used for tests carried out under 2006 Building Regulations § In 2010, ATTMA published two new standards: TSL 1 for dwellings and TSL 2 for non-dwellings § Tests carried out under 2010 Building Regulations should follow the new technical standards § Testers should always get clarification from the building control body on whether the building was built under 2006 or 2010 Building Regulations ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 15
ATTMA Technical Standards Reminder: What makes a valid test under TS 1 2007? ¨ Exponent n >0. 5 and <1 ¨ Correlation coefficient r 2 >0. 98 ¨ Average zero-flow pressures (ΔP 0, 1+ ΔP 0, 1 - ΔP 0, 1 ΔP 0, 2+ ΔP 0, 2 - and ΔP 0, 2) all in the range -5 Pa to +5 Pa. ¨ Lowest building pressure >10 Pa and >5 x each of the average zero-flow pressures ¨ At least 7 data points if wind speed <3 m/s, and at least 10 points if wind speed is between 3 m/s and 6 m/s. ¨ No intervals of >10 Pa between building pressures. ¨ At least one building pressure >50 Pa (except in certain circumstances when 35 Pa is acceptable) ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 16
ATTMA Technical Standards Changes for 2010: § At least one building pressure >50 Pa for all tests (whereas under TS 1 2007, 35 Pa was acceptable in certain circumstances) § There is no longer a requirement to measure or record wind speed (however, it’s still a good idea to do so, as wind effects can still cause an invalid test) § Mechanical ventilation must be sealed, even if it can be manually closed (this is unlikely to affect dwellings) § Trickle vents must be sealed, not just closed § The minimum number of test points is 7 on all tests however 8 -10 are recommended ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 17
ATTMA Technical Standards Changes for 2010 (continued): § There must be at least 25 Pa between the highest and lowest building pressure § Where areas of the dwelling are connected by openings smaller than a single leaf doorway, differential pressure between highest and lowest floor of the dwelling at the highest flow rate achieved must be less than 10% of the building pressure § If this applies to a test you’re doing, an you’re not sure how to take this measurement, contact your original training body ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 18
Test Reports § As before, the test report can be in any format but must contain certain elements required by BINDT & ATTMA § ATTMA TSL 1 now specifically states that the test report should contain internal and external temperatures and barometric pressures measured before and after the test § The report should state clearly whether the test was carried out under 2006 or 2010 Building Regulations § For tests carried out under 2010 Building Regulations, if there are other dwellings of the same type which were not tested, you may wish to state the assessed air permeability for those ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 19
Links § Approved Document L 1 A 2006: www. planning portal. gov. uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADL 1 A_2006. pdf § Approved Document L 1 A 2010: www. planning portal. gov. uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_ADL 1 A_2010. pdf § ATTMA TS 1 2007: www. bindt. org/Downloads /ATTMA_TS 1_Issue 2_July 07. pdf § ATTMA TSL 1 2010: www. bindt. org/downloads /ATTMA%20 TSL 1%20 Issue%201. pdf § British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing: www. bindt. org § Training Bodies: www. stroma. com, www. bsria. co. uk ©The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 20
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