What Happens If my Enclosure Fails the Room Integrity Test?
If your protected enclosure fails the room integrity test, APT’s highly trained and experienced test engineers will be able to locate the problem areas and identify where air is leaking out of the building by walking around the test enclosure with a localised smoke puffer – as shown in the image below) checking the most common problem areas first.
By combining our door fan blower equipment and a small smoke puffer we can quickly pressurise the room, which makes smoke testing far more effective. Using this method can quickly locate any penetrations within the room envelope as the smoke is more visible. The smoke can then be photographed to provide a record of any external leakage paths so they can be accurately targeted during the air sealing works. Pressurised smoke tests are ideal for identifying both generic and torturous areas of air leakage. Crucial remedial sealing work should then be undertaken to reduce the leakage from the enclosure. The sealing works may include:
- Addition of door sweeps or drop seals, weather stripping around jambs
- Sealing all holes, cracks or penetrations leading into or out of the protected space
- Pipe chases and cable trays to be sealed around the outside and inside where they penetrate the perimeter boundaries of the enclosure
- Walls to be caulked around the inside perimeter at both high and low level
- Sealing of porous block walls
- Sealing of windows/glazed sections to the area
One of the advantages of the sealing works being conducted whilst a test fan kit is in place, is that it can be seen if the works being conducted are effective via ongoing smoke testing and sealing works as the smaller air leakage paths may not be visible until the larger penetrations are sealed. Once the appropriate remedial work has been undertaken the enclosure should be retested to confirm the acceptable retention time as been achieved, which is usually 10 minutes.
Air Pressure Testing provides the necessary Room Integrity Testing in London to the required NFPA 2001 or ISO 14520 methodologies. We have undertaken hundreds
If you require room integrity testing in London, please call Darren on: 07775623464 or email us at: info@aptsoundtesting.co.uk