The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) requires that all newly constructed military buildings incorporate a continuous and tightly constructed air barrier. The requirement set out by the USACE has limited the acceptable air leakage rate of new buildings to a maximum of 0.25 ft3/min per square foot of wall area at a pressure difference of 75 pa, when tested in accordance with the procedure set out in ASTM E-779. Buildings that do not meet this criterion will not be accepted by the USACE at hand over upon the building completion.
This requirement has challenged design and construction teams to invest additional effort into ensuring that a full and continuous air barrier is incorporated into the envelope system. When considering all the parties involved in the design and construction of a building, it is perhaps the contractor who carries majority stake in responsibility for ensuring that the air barrier is installed according to the minimum acceptable standards. If the new construction does not pass the final whole building commissioning test, it is the contractor who is left with the potentially costly job of troubleshooting and repairing the already finished building and bringing the air barrier to spec. To avoid such scenarios, it is important that the design and construction teams consider the air barrier as a system from the early stages of construction through to its completion.
This paper discusses steps that can be taken to ensure the smooth and successful installation of an air barrier system as part of the building envelope. Attention is also given to issues that may require consideration when installing an air barrier. The intent of this paper is to serve as a conceptual guide for the design and construction team on how to install an air barrier.