1,000 cfm @ 50 pascals

We conducted the blower door test this afternoon. John the Building Performance Consultant set up the blower door (above), turned on the fan, and he, Barry the Builder and I went hunting for air leaks.

The result: 1,000 cubic feet per minute at 50 pascals. Recall that 2,380 cubic feet per minute (0.2 - 0.3 air changes per hour naturally) is the Energy Star requirement and that a more aggressive, but reasonable target is 1,200-1,500 cfm (0.1 - 0.15 air changes).

The blower door made it easy to find leaks that otherwise would have been missed, and Barry plugged as many as he could.

And we can do better -- there were a few areas that Barry couldn't seal right away, but which will be done before the drywallers come in. We think we can get down to 800 cfm, which is very, very good, particularly considering how much wall we have compared to the volume of the house.

Money well worth spending (I think, I haven't yet seen the bill).