1.1 This specification covers minimum performances and specification criteria for an air retarder (AR) material or system for framed walls of low-rise buildings. The intended users are purchasers of the AR, specifiers of the AR and regulatory groups. The provisions contained in this specification are intended to allow the user to design the wall performance criteria and increase AR specifications to accommodate a particular climate location, function, or design of the intended building. Air retarder performance and specification minimums were selected with the service life of the building wall in mind.

1.2 This specification focuses on ARs for opaque walls. Other areas of the exterior envelope, such as roofs, floors, and interfaces between these areas are not included in this specification.

1.3 This specification does not address air leakage into the wall cavity, that is, windwashing. No standardized test has been developed that adequately identifies all of the influencing factors and measures the impact of this effect on the wall's thermal performance.

1.4 The specifications in this standard are not intended to be utilized for energy load calculations and are not based on an expected level of energy consumption.

1.5 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as the standard. The values in parentheses are for information only and are closely approximated.

1.6 The following safety hazards caveat pertains only to the test method portion, Annex A1, of this specification. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents

C755 Practice for Selection of Vapor Retarders for Thermal Insulation

E1424 Test Method for Determining the Rate of Air Leakage Through Exterior Windows, Curtain Walls, and Doors Under Specified Pressure and Temperature Differences Across the Specimen

E241 Practices for Increasing Durability of Building Constructions Against Water-Induced Damage

E283 Test Method for Determining the Rate of Air Leakage Through Exterior Windows, Curtain Walls, and Doors Under Specified Pressure Differences Across Specimen

E330 Test Method for Structural Performance of Exterior Windows, Curtain Walls and Doors by Uniform Static Air Pressure Differences

E331 Test Method for Water Penetration of Exterior Windows, Curtain Walls, and Doors by Uniform Static Air Pressure Difference

E96 Test Methods for Water Vapor Transmission of Materials

ASHRAE 62 Acceptable Indoor Air Quality

Index Terms

• air barrier : ASTM
• standards: ASTM : air retarder
• ventilation: infiltration of buildings : ASTM
• wind induced pressure on building
• wood frame houses and walls, wood structure : ASTM air retarder

1. ASTM C991-03 Standard Specification for Flexible Glass Fiber Insulation for Metal Buildings
2. C1046-95, Standard Practice for In-Situ Measurement of Heat Flux and Temperature on Building Envelope Components
3. C1060-90(1997)e1 Standard Practice for Thermographic Inspection of Insulation Installations in Envelope Cavities of Frame Buildings
4. C1134-90(2001) Standard Test Method for Water Retention of Rigid Thermal Insulations Following Partial Immersion
5. C1155-95, Standard Practice for Determining Thermal Resistance of Building Envelope Components from the In-Situ Data
6. C1193-00 Standard Guide for Use of Joint Sealants
7. C1199-00 standard test method for measuring the steady-state thermal transmittance of fenestration systems using hot box methods
8. C1363-97 standard test method for the thermal performance of building assemblies by means of a hot box apparatus
9. C1498-01 standard test method for hygroscopic sorption isotherms of building materials
10. C168-01 Standard Terminology Relating to Thermal Insulating Materials
11. C177-85 Standard test method for steady-state heat flux measurements and thermal transmission properties by means of the guarded-hot-plate apparatus
12. C209-98 standard test methods for cellulosic fiber insulating board
13. C236-89, Standard test method for steady-state thermal performance of building assemblies by means of a guarded hot box
14. C518-91, Standard test method for steady-state heat flux measurements and thermal transmission properties by means of the heat flow meter apparatus
15. C755-85 Standard practice for selection of vapor retarders for thermal insulation
16. C976-90(1996)e1 standard test method for thermal performance of building assemblies by means of a calibrated hot box
17. D1413-76 Standard method of testing wood preservatives by laboratory soil block culture
18. D3273-00 Standard Test Method for Resistance to Growth of Mold on the Surface of Interior Coatings in an Environmental Chamber
19. D3274-95 Standard Test Method for Evaluating Degree of Surface Disfigurement of Paint Films by Microbial (Fungal or Algal) Growth or Soil and Dirt Accumulation
20. D3679-02 Standard Specification for Rigid Poly(Vinyl Chloride) (PVC) Siding
21. D4442-92(1997)e1 standard test methods for direct moisture content measurement of wood and wood-base materials
22. D4444-92e1 standard test methods for use and calibration of hand-held moisture meters
23. D4933-99 Standard guide for moisture conditioning of wood and wood-base materials
24. D6329-98 standard guide for developing methodology for evaluating the ability of indoor materials to support microbial growth using static environmental chambers
25. E1105-00 Standard Test Method for Field Determination of Water Penetration of Installed Exterior Windows, Skylights, Doors, and Curtain Walls by Uniform or Cyclic Static Air Pressure Difference
26. E1186-98 Standard practices for air leakage site detection in building envelopes and air retarder systems
27. E1258-88 Standard Test Method for Airflow Calibration of Fan Pressurization Devices
28. E1424-91, Standard test method for determining the rate of air leakage through exterior windows, curtain walls, and doors under specified pressure and temperature differences across the specimen
29. E1503-06 Standard Test Method for Conducting Outdoor Sound Measurements Using a Digital Statistical Sound Analysis System
30. E1557-02 standard classification for building elements and related sitework-UNIFORMAT II
31. E1646-95 Standard Test Method for Water Penetration of Exterior Metal Roof Panel Systems by Uniform Static Air Pressure Difference
32. E1700-95(1999), standard classification for serviceability of an office facility for structure and building envelope
33. E1825-96 Standard Guide for Evaluation of Exterior Building Wall Materials, Products, and Systems
34. E1825-96, standard guide for evaluation of exterior building wall materials, products, and systems
35. E1827-96 Standard Test Methods for Determining Airtightness of Buildings Using an Orifice Blower Door
36. E1827-96(2002) Standard Test Methods for Determining Airtightness of Buildings Using an Orifice Blower Door
37. E2099-00 standard practice for the specification and evaluation of pre-construction laboratory mockups of exterior wall systems
38. E2099-00, standard practice for the specification and evaluation of pre-construction laboratory mockups of exterior wall systems
39. E2128-01a Standard Guide for Evaluating Water Leakage of Building Walls
40. E241-04 Standard Guide for Limiting Water-Induced Damage to Buildings
41. E283-04, standard test method for rate of air leakage through exterior windows, curtain walls and doors
42. E29-04 standard practice for using significant digits in test data to determine conformance with specifications
43. E330-02 standard test method for structural performance of exterior windows, curtain walls, and doors by uniform static air pressure difference
44. E331-00 Standard Test Method for Water Penetration of Exterior Windows, Skylights, Doors, and Curtain Walls by Uniform Static Air Pressure Difference
45. E331-00, Standard test method for water penetration of exterior windows, curtain walls, and doors by uniform static air pressure difference
46. E547-00: water penetration of exterior windows, curtain walls, and doors by cyclic static air pressure differential
47. E631-93a(1998)e1 Standard Terminology of Building Constructions
48. E632-82(1996) standard practice for developing accelerated tests to aid prediction of the service life of building components and materials
49. E72-98 Standard Test Methods of Conducting Strength Tests of Panels for Building Construction
50. E74-04 standard practice of calibration of force-measuring instruments for verifying the force indication of testing machines
51. E741-00 Standard Test Method for Determining Air Change in a Single Zone by Means of a Tracer Gas Dilution
52. E773-01, Standard test method for accelerated weathering of sealed insulating glass units
53. E779-03, ASTM Method for Determining Air Leakage Rates by Fan Pressurization Test
54. E779-99 Standard test method for determining air leakage rate by fan pressurization
55. E783-02 standard test method for field measurement of air leakage through installed exterior windows and doors
56. E917-99 standard practice for measuring life-cycle costs of buildings and building systems
57. E964-93(1998)e1 Standard Practice for Measuring Benefit-to-Cost and Savings-to-Investment Ratios for Buildings and Building Systems
58. E96-93 Standard test methods for water-vapor transmission of materials
59. F1249-90(1995) Standard Test Method for Water Vapor Transmission Rate Through Plastic Film and Sheeting Using a Modulated Infrared Sensor
60. F372-99 Standard Test Method for Water Vapor Transmission Rate of Flexible Barrier Materials Using an Infrared Detection Technique
61. G84-89(1999)e1 standard practice for measurement of time-of-wetness on surfaces exposed to wetting conditions as in atmospheric corrosion testing
62. Heat transmission measurements in thermal insulations
63. Performance of exterior envelopes of whole buildings VIII: integration of building envelopes
64. Standard guide for statistical evaluation of indoor air quality models. ASTM D 5157-97