Modifications and adaptations would be required
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2025 6:37 am
All of these test methodologies only focus on water penetration at fasteners. This leaves design and construction professionals to consider other options to evaluate air leakage.
ASTM E2357, Standard Test Method for Determining Air Leakage of Air Barrier Assemblies, is an available option to quantify the air leakage of air barrier assemblies. This standard requires three exterior wall specimens for testing. The assemblies are approximately ) and typically include wall framing, exterior sheathing, and the AWB.
The first wall specimen is free of any penetrations, while the second includes several common penetrations such as brick ties, conduits, and windows (Figure 4). The third specimen includes the transitions between the wall and foundation, and between the wall and roof. The wall assemblies are preconditioned by being exposed to positive and negative wind loads (sustained, cyclic, and gusts). The results of the testing provide the air leakage rate with and without the various penetrations, and to be in rcs data compliance with certain building code provisions, must not exceed 5Pa. This can provide some understanding of the impact of the penetrations on the overall leakage of the assemblies, but it does not specifically identify the leakage of individual penetration types.
for users to determine if the leakage is associated with the fasteners only. While this is valuable preconstruction information, this test method may not accurately represent the multitudes of variations of fastener installations encountered in actual construction. This test also does not allow for easy substitution of new or additional fasteners or penetrations entering the marketplace without retesting the entire assembly.
ASTM E2357, Standard Test Method for Determining Air Leakage of Air Barrier Assemblies, is an available option to quantify the air leakage of air barrier assemblies. This standard requires three exterior wall specimens for testing. The assemblies are approximately ) and typically include wall framing, exterior sheathing, and the AWB.
The first wall specimen is free of any penetrations, while the second includes several common penetrations such as brick ties, conduits, and windows (Figure 4). The third specimen includes the transitions between the wall and foundation, and between the wall and roof. The wall assemblies are preconditioned by being exposed to positive and negative wind loads (sustained, cyclic, and gusts). The results of the testing provide the air leakage rate with and without the various penetrations, and to be in rcs data compliance with certain building code provisions, must not exceed 5Pa. This can provide some understanding of the impact of the penetrations on the overall leakage of the assemblies, but it does not specifically identify the leakage of individual penetration types.
for users to determine if the leakage is associated with the fasteners only. While this is valuable preconstruction information, this test method may not accurately represent the multitudes of variations of fastener installations encountered in actual construction. This test also does not allow for easy substitution of new or additional fasteners or penetrations entering the marketplace without retesting the entire assembly.