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2.0101.1 Air Sealing Worker Safety

Topic:

Safe Work Practices

Subtopic:

Air Sealing

Desired Outcome:

Work completed safely without injury or hazardous exposure

For supporting material, see Referenced Standards and Building America Solution Center.

Single-Family Homes Manufactured Housing Multifamily Homes

	Title	Specification(s)	Objective(s)
	2.0101.1a Worker safety	Worker safety specifications will be in accordance with SWS Global Worker Safety Complete safety action plan based on hazard; plan will be in place for each job site	Prevent injury Minimize exposure to health and safety hazards
	2.0101.1b Moisture precautions for crawl spaces and basements	Exposed earth will be covered with a continuous, durable, and sealed class I vapor retarder Vapor retarder A material that slows the passage of water vapor and contains a perm rating above 1 that is suitable for ground contact exposure to normal service traffic Causes of air dew points greater than 55°F will be identified and eliminated in crawl spaces connected to conditioned spaces Seasonal dehumidification (e.g., dehumidified or conditioned with air conditioner supply) will be recommended where humidity sources, including outdoor air incursion, cannot be eliminated Undesigned penetrations between the crawl space or basement and the outdoors will be sealed Holes between the crawl space or basement and the living space will be sealed Open sumps and intentional slab or vapor barrier Vapor barrier A material that retards the passage of water vapor and contains a perm rating of less than 1 penetrations will be sealed or capped to control moisture and radon levels	Ensure durability of repairs Reduce potential for occupant exposure to mold and other moisture-related hazards Reduce potential for occupant exposure to radon and other soil gases
	2.0101.1c Moisture precautions: living space	Moisture sources in the building will be identified and reduced or removed Where local ventilation will be installed, (e.g., baths, kitchens), exhaust units will be vented to the outdoors in accordance with ASHRAE ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, www.ashrae.org 62.2 Unvented heaters will be removed except when used as a secondary heat source and when it can be confirmed that the unit is listed to ANSI ANSI American National Standards Institute, www.ansi.org Z21.11.2 Unvented gas or propane cooking stoves will be tested for carbon monoxide ( CO CO Carbon monoxide ) per BPI BPI Building Performance Institute, www.bpi.org Standard and corrected as required before air sealing work begins If replacing air conditioning system, new system will be sized to optimize dehumidification Properly sized dehumidifier will be installed to satisfy latent and sensible loads, when necessary ANSI ANSI American National Standards Institute, www.ansi.org / ACCA ACCA Air Conditioning Contractors of America, www.acca.org 2 Manual J-2011 (Residential Load Calculation) will be used to size replacement AC and heat pumps Enhanced dehumidification will be installed in the Gulf Coast region areas on the Gulf side of the warm humid line on the International Energy Conservation Code map	Ensure durability of building components and repairs Reduce potential for occupant exposure to mold and other moisture-related hazards Reduce potential occupant exposure to CO CO Carbon monoxide
	2.0101.1d Moisture precautions for exterior water	Before air sealing and insulating building components, exterior water management will be addressed Before insulating basement or crawl space walls near wet areas, surface water pooling near the foundation will be addressed by repairing, modifying, or replacing gutters and downspouts Grading and subsurface drainage at critical locations (e.g., localized drain and grading beneath valleys) will be in accordance with EPA EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov Indoor airPLUS Construction Specifications Section 1.1	Reduce potential for occupant exposure to mold and other moisture-related hazards

	Title	Specification(s)	Objective(s)
	2.0101.1a Worker safety	Worker safety specifications will be in accordance with SWS Global Worker Safety Complete safety action plan based on hazard; plan will be in place for each job site	Prevent injury Minimize exposure to health and safety hazards
	2.0101.1b Moisture precautions for crawl spaces and basements	Exposed earth will be covered with a continuous, durable, and sealed class I vapor retarder Vapor retarder A material that slows the passage of water vapor and contains a perm rating above 1 that is suitable for ground contact exposure to normal service traffic Causes of air dew points greater than 55°F will be identified and eliminated in crawl spaces connected to conditioned spaces Seasonal dehumidification (e.g., dehumidified or conditioned with air conditioner supply) will be recommended where humidity sources, including outdoor air incursion, cannot be eliminated Undesigned penetrations between the crawl space or basement and the outdoors will be sealed Holes between the crawl space or basement and the living space will be sealed Open sumps and intentional slab or vapor barrier Vapor barrier A material that retards the passage of water vapor and contains a perm rating of less than 1 penetrations will be sealed or capped to control moisture and radon levels	Ensure durability of repairs Reduce potential for occupant exposure to mold and other moisture-related hazards Reduce potential for occupant exposure to radon and other soil gases
	2.0101.1c Moisture precautions: living space	Moisture sources in the building will be identified and reduced or removed Where local ventilation will be installed, (e.g., baths, kitchens), exhaust units will be vented to the outdoors in accordance with ASHRAE ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, www.ashrae.org 62.2 Unvented heaters will be removed except when used as a secondary heat source and when it can be confirmed that the unit is listed to ANSI ANSI American National Standards Institute, www.ansi.org Z21.11.2 Unvented gas or propane cooking stoves will be tested for carbon monoxide ( CO CO Carbon monoxide ) per BPI BPI Building Performance Institute, www.bpi.org Standard and corrected as required before air sealing work begins If replacing air conditioning system, new system will be sized to optimize dehumidification Properly sized dehumidifier will be installed to satisfy latent and sensible loads, when necessary ANSI ANSI American National Standards Institute, www.ansi.org / ACCA ACCA Air Conditioning Contractors of America, www.acca.org 2 Manual J-2011 (Residential Load Calculation) will be used to size replacement AC and heat pumps Enhanced dehumidification will be installed in the Gulf Coast region areas on the Gulf side of the warm humid line on the International Energy Conservation Code map	Ensure durability of building components and repairs Reduce potential for occupant exposure to mold and other moisture-related hazards Reduce potential occupant exposure to CO CO Carbon monoxide
	2.0101.1d Moisture precautions for exterior water	Before air sealing and insulating building components, exterior water management will be addressed Before insulating basement or crawl space walls near wet areas, surface water pooling near the foundation will be addressed by repairing, modifying, or replacing gutters and downspouts Grading and subsurface drainage at critical locations (e.g., localized drain and grading beneath valleys) will be in accordance with EPA EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov Indoor airPLUS Construction Specifications Section 1.1	Reduce potential for occupant exposure to mold and other moisture-related hazards

	Title	Specification(s)	Objective(s)
	2.0101.1a Worker safety	Worker safety specifications will be in accordance with SWS Global Worker Safety Complete safety action plan based on hazard; plan will be in place for each job site	Prevent injury Minimize exposure to health and safety hazards
	2.0101.1b Moisture precautions for crawl spaces and basements	Exposed earth will be covered with a continuous, durable, and sealed class I vapor retarder Vapor retarder A material that slows the passage of water vapor and contains a perm rating above 1 that is suitable for ground contact exposure to normal service traffic Causes of air dew points greater than 55°F will be identified and eliminated in crawl spaces connected to conditioned spaces Seasonal dehumidification (e.g., dehumidified or conditioned with air conditioner supply) will be recommended where humidity sources, including outdoor air incursion, cannot be eliminated Undesigned penetrations between the crawl space or basement and the outdoors will be sealed Holes between the crawl space or basement and the living space will be sealed Open sumps and intentional slab or vapor barrier Vapor barrier A material that retards the passage of water vapor and contains a perm rating of less than 1 penetrations will be sealed or capped to control moisture and radon levels	Ensure durability of repairs Reduce potential for occupant exposure to mold and other moisture-related hazards Reduce potential for occupant exposure to radon and other soil gases
	2.0101.1c Moisture precautions: living space	Moisture sources in the building will be identified and reduced or removed Where local ventilation will be installed, (e.g., baths, kitchens), exhaust units will be vented to the outdoors in accordance with ASHRAE ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, www.ashrae.org 62.2 Unvented heaters will be removed except when used as a secondary heat source and when it can be confirmed that the unit is listed to ANSI ANSI American National Standards Institute, www.ansi.org Z21.11.2 Unvented gas or propane cooking stoves will be tested for carbon monoxide ( CO CO Carbon monoxide ) per BPI BPI Building Performance Institute, www.bpi.org Standard and corrected as required before air sealing work begins If replacing air conditioning system, new system will be sized to optimize dehumidification Properly sized dehumidifier will be installed to satisfy latent and sensible loads, when necessary ANSI ANSI American National Standards Institute, www.ansi.org / ACCA ACCA Air Conditioning Contractors of America, www.acca.org 2 Manual J-2011 (Residential Load Calculation) will be used to size replacement AC and heat pumps Enhanced dehumidification will be installed in the Gulf Coast region areas on the Gulf side of the warm humid line on the International Energy Conservation Code map	Ensure durability of building components and repairs Reduce potential for occupant exposure to mold and other moisture-related hazards Reduce potential occupant exposure to CO CO Carbon monoxide
	2.0101.1d Moisture precautions for exterior water	Before air sealing and insulating building components, exterior water management will be addressed Before insulating basement or crawl space walls near wet areas, surface water pooling near the foundation will be addressed by repairing, modifying, or replacing gutters and downspouts Grading and subsurface drainage at critical locations (e.g., localized drain and grading beneath valleys) will be in accordance with EPA EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov Indoor airPLUS Construction Specifications Section 1.1	Reduce potential for occupant exposure to mold and other moisture-related hazards