The objectives of this paper are to review measurements of airtightness in two domestic refurbishment projects in England, and to attempt to determine the effects of basic construction method and approach to refurbishment on airtightness.
In the framework of the Flemish Impulse Programme on Energy Technology (VLIET), the project called SENVIVV is running from January 1995 till September 1997. The major objective is to obtain a detailed picture of various characteristics of dwellings constructed during the period 1990-1995. To achieve this, a representative sample of 200 dwellings is analysed in detail. The final report of this project is expected to be available at the end of 1997.
This study aimed to research the airtightness of the building envelope in apartments before and after renovation. Measurements were carried out in three apartment buildings. One to four apartments were examined in each building. Typical renovation measures included changing the windows and refurbishing the interior surfaces. In some cases the ventilation system was renovated as well. No special emphasis was placed on the sealing of the envelope. The airtightness of the apartments increased in most cases. There were, however, apartments that became leakier during the renovation.
Although several investigations on how to design airtight buildings have been performedand the results furthermore have been published, many designers and contractors are stillunaware of this knowledge. Therefore, the aim of this work is to collect existing knowledgeand put it together to a practical guide. The target groups are architects, designers, contractorsand building services engineers.This paper is a summary of the report "Good Airtightness - guidelines to architects, buildingdesigners and contractors "published in Sweden during the autumn of 1997 [1].
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