Welcome to Orkney Air Testing, leading provider of Air Leakage Testing in the Orkney Islands. At Orkney Air Testing we offer air tightness/pressure testing for domestic buildings to comply with Section 6 of the Scottish Building Regulations. Our experienced assessors will also be happy to offer advice on the best ways to gain your target rating. If you have any enquiries, please contact us.

What Air Leakage services do we provide?
  • Investigation test
  • Pre-completion Test
  • Official Test
Frequency of testing

In larger developments (40 or over), it is advisable to test more than one example of the same dwelling type, completed at different stages in the overall development, to help establish consistency in quality of construction.

In smaller developments (up to 40), the proportion of dwellings tested may need to increase, dependent on the range of type and form of dwellings present, to ensure a representative sample is taken.

Normally for a development of one dwelling, an air-tightness test should be carried out as it will not be possible to obtain comparative data on the quality of construction from similar dwellings.


Common home air leakage areas  See enlarged version

Air permeability explained

The air-tightness of a building is known as its 'air permeability' or leakage rate. Air leakage can occur through gaps, holes and cracks in the fabric of the building envelope which are not always visible. This air leakage affects the building's performance and is now firmly enshrined in Section 6 of the Building Regulations & Conservation of Fuel and Power. Making a building substantially air tight reduces the amount of fuel needed to heat it. This in turn reduces the CO2 produced and reduces your carbon footprint.