Swanson Building Services

Is it just me or does my Blower Door look like a surprised cyclops?
Or has it just been a long hot day?

The Boo Radleys song was going through my head on this mornings dog walk.

Summers coming!!!!
What a great day it’s been, if you’ve been lucky enough to be outside!

I’m sure there’s going to be some lobster skin by the end of this week 🤣

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

Recently we had the pleasure of nipping over to the amazing Isles of Scilly to help a client out with an urgent air tightness test.
The client contacted us and within 24hours we were on a plane.
A massive thank you to Isles of Scilly Travel for helping to get the testing equipment out there.

What a cracking bit of winter sunshine we’ve had today.

We are proud to announce that we are now an Elmhurst Energy Approved Energy Assessor.
This means that we are able to conduct On Construction Domestic Energy Assessments using the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) to produce the required Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for building regulation compliance.
Email us on:
[email protected] to get a quote today.

To celebrate the fact that we are now a qualified On Construction Domestic Energy Assessor and able to conduct SAP assessments on new build dwellings to produce those vital EPC's, we thought that we should rebrand back to Swanson Building Services, which was the original business name back when it all began some 15 years ago.

It’s the weekend!!

Cracking view from Towan Headland west towards Crantock.

A wet and wild one out there today.
Winter time is here!
Need some windscreen wipers on my glasses!! ha ha

We’re here to help.
Next week we’ve got planned some out of hours testing to help the client try and get building regs sign off ASAP for their new home owner.

With views like this it’s easy to get distracted!

Please get in touch if your new build project requires air tightness testing.

Summers coming!
Another cracking day in the West Country.

Air leakage is sometimes not always the places that are obvious.
The joint between walls and floors is a key air leakage path that generally goes unaddressed.
It may have a skirting board to reduce the gap. But if you add up the surface area of this gap around a whole dwelling then it becomes quite substantial.
So ensuring the skirting board is tight to floor and wall will mitigate this path of air leakage.

Happy St Patrick’s Day ☘️

Sláinte!

Happy St Piran’s Day to all those lucky enough to live or be born in this beautiful far western land.

The “good” and the “could do better” when it comes to air tightness.
Any guesses as to which one is which?
With the ever increasing push for energy efficient houses, its the attention to detail that will separate the air tight efficient homes from the draughtier less efficient ones.

What a cracking few days of sunshine we’ve had.
Hopefully we’ve all enjoyed a bit of sun on our faces, and pushed along those projects with outside jobs that have been on hold for what seems like weeks of rain. Summers coming......

This is a photo looking West towards Longships Lighthouse and the Isles of Scilly.

A reminder that for final stage air tests all light fittings and electrical sockets need to be properly fitted.
If they are not fitted at the time of testing, there is a high likelihood that air will leak via these points and reduce the chance of the dwelling passing the test.
If in doubt as to whether you are ready then please get in contact to discuss.

Last week we undertook some air testing across the Tamar in Devon.


The dwelling failed the initial test but we identified the key areas of air leakage, which the builder swiftly remedied.
The dwelling was retested on the same day but this time with a successful result 👍

Sunday Stacks.
This stack was snapped on Saturday whilst getting some fresh air down Porthleven way.
But one of the most common issues that we come across whilst conducting air tightness testing of new builds is where the waste and stack pipes pe*****te walls, floors and ceilings and the gap between the pipe and the building fabric is not sealed up afterwards to create an air tight build.

So please remember to seal around your stack.

Not a bad view at work today!
Views like this never get boring.
CATT undertook a pre-test inspection survey to ascertain whether this property is ready for testing and to confirm some on site dimensions prior to testing.
If you need your new build air tightness tested then get in touch today. Details are in the Bio.

Good practice Friday.
A picture from a recent air tightness test.
A good tight seal around the cookerhood extractor duct where it pe*****tes the plasterboard.
A tight seal should be the goal around every pe*******on through the internal surface, whether it be waste pipes, water supply, power, gas, radiator pipework etc.
No gaps means that warm air can’t escape the house and it also helps to prevent those annoying cold draughts on windy winter days.

Well it was picture perfect in the bay today.
St Michael’s Mount was looking awesome in the morning light.

As the sun is rising on what is hopefully going to be a better year, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year from Cornwall Air Tightness Testing.
In 2021 I’m looking forward to air testing some of the amazingly crafted new builds that our local builders in the west country have created.

At CATT we want every log on the fire to heat the inside of the house, rather than escape to the outside.

Air tightness becomes crucial at this time of year, to prevent heat from escaping uncontrollably through those nasty gaps and cracks. Therefore factoring in air tightness during the build is an important activity.

A more air tight home not only prevents those unwanted cold draughts, but will also keep energy bills down.

CATT is available for air tightness testing in Cornwall and across the South West... so please get in contact if you’re developing a new build/s as we are eager to support developers in achieving air tight dwellings, to keep future residents nice and toasty in these cold winter months.

Merry Christmas to all our clients past, present and future.
Thank you for your support and trade in helping me to establish this new business.

Hi! It's Ben here, Managing Director of CATT.

I am so excited to announce the launch of my new air tightness testing consultancy. Having first established in 2007, I am looking forward to getting back into this industry!

Please like, follow and share my page and I'd appreciate you passing my details to anyone involved in the construction trade.

I'm based in West Cornwall, but able to travel across the SW. Fully qualified, registered and insured, offering competitive rates and a professional, prompt service!

All the best, Ben!

First testing completed with the new equipment!

This particular dwelling performed reasonably well with the predominant area of leakage being around the loft hatch (unsecured wooden board with no rubber seal). Properly installing and insulating the hatch would have boosted its performance... It's all in the detail!