Owner Operated | RESNET Certified | Serving Five Florida Counties
Finding the Problem, Not Just Measuring It
Stellar is a building performance company, not a blower door company. Code testing is the work most builders meet us through, and it is the largest part of what we do, but the same visit and the same equipment support diagnostics when a house is misbehaving and quality assurance when somebody wants an independent verifier on a project. This page is the full list, grouped the way the work actually divides.
Request a Diagnostic Visit
Tell us what the building is doing and when it started.
What Diagnostics Covers
Three groups, and most builder relationships end up touching all three. Code compliance is what the building department requires before a certificate of occupancy. Diagnostics is what you order when a number comes back wrong, or when you want to see a problem while it is still cheap. Quality assurance is what a builder or developer puts in place so the first two stop producing surprises.
Diagnostics at Stellar
Compliance testing tells you whether a building passes. Diagnostics tells you why it did not, and where.
Diagnostics is not a code requirement. It is what you reach for when a required test did not go the way it should have, or when you want to know the condition of a building before you commit money to fixing it.
How a Diagnostic Visit Works
Whichever service you need, the process is the same.
1.
Tell us about the project
Plans, the energy calculation, the stage of construction, and the date you need it by.
2.
we confirm the appointment
Confirmed, not requested. You get a time and we show up at it.
3.
The Work Gets Done Properly
Run to the standard, and interpreted rather than just recorded. If something is off, you hear it on site rather than reading it the next day.
4.
Report delivered by email
Electronic, to everyone on your team who needs it. Nothing gets left in a job box.
5.
One point of contact afterward
When the code official has a question, you call the person who was standing in the house.
Not Sure Which Service You Need?
Why Builders Choose Stellar Building Performance
Stellar Building Performance
No missed appointments or reschedules
We’re on the same team
Other Inspectors
You’re just another sale
Where We Work
Every service on this page is available throughout Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee Counties.
Recent Projects
A running record of the work, with real results from real houses across this service area.
Frequently asked questions about our services
Start with what the building department requires, which on Florida new construction is almost always a blower door test and, depending on your compliance path and duct location, a duct leakage test. Everything beyond that is either triggered by a test result, such as mechanical ventilation below 3.00 ACH50, or chosen deliberately, such as a pre-drywall inspection. Send the plans and the energy calculation and we will tell you which category each item falls into.
Every service below has its own page covering scope, process and the code sections behind it.
Code compliance:
Diagnostics and quality assurance:
Yes, and that is usually the sensible way to run it. Blower door, duct leakage and ventilation testing all happen at the same stage of construction and use overlapping equipment, so combining them means one trip, one appointment to coordinate and one set of reports.
A code test produces a number that goes to the building department, and the project either clears the threshold or it does not. A diagnostic produces an explanation. Nothing gets submitted, nobody passes or fails, and the value is in knowing why something is happening. Builders tend to order code tests because they have to and diagnostics because a code test came back wrong.
Yes, and repeat unit work is where the relationship is worth the most to both sides. When the same plan is built thirty or fifty times, the results become comparable, the recurring defects become obvious, and the testing stops being a series of separate events.
Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee Counties as standard, for every service on this page. For larger multifamily, townhome or affordable housing projects we travel further when the economics justify it.
Code Reference
The Code Behind the Testing
Most of the compliance work on this page traces back to a handful of code sections that decide what gets tested and what number it has to hit.
questions? give us a call, this is our specialty!
BIG CHANGES COMING IN 2026 FLORIDA BUILDING CODE UPDATES
Duct Leakage testing to be required on all homes with few exceptions, more stringent compliance targets, mechanical ventilation testing & more. Read our updates bulletin below.
2026 Florida Building Code Energy Conservation: What Builders Need to Know
Every new home in Florida gets an envelope leakage test, and the result reaches the code official before the certificate of occupancy is issued. This is the section almost every project meets us through.
R402.4.1.2 Testing.
The building or dwelling unit shall be tested and verified as having an air leakage rate not exceeding seven air changes per hour in Climate Zones 1 and 2, and three air changes per hour in Climate Zones 3 through 8. Dwelling units with an air leakage rate less than three air changes per hour shall be provided with whole-house mechanical ventilation in accordance with Section R403.6.1 of this code and Section M1507.3 of the Florida Building Code, Residential. Testing shall be conducted in accordance with ANSI/RESNET/ICC 380 and reported at a pressure of 0.2 inch w.g. (50 pascals). Testing shall be conducted by either individuals as defined in Section 553.993(5) or (7), Florida Statutes, or individuals licensed as set forth in Section 489.105(3)(f), (g) or (i) or an approved third party. A written report of the results of the test shall be signed by the party conducting the test and provided to the code official. Testing shall be performed at any time after creation of all penetrations of the building thermal envelope.
Exception: Testing is not required for additions, alterations, renovations or repairs of the building thermal envelope of existing buildings in which the new construction is less than 85 percent of the building thermal envelope.
During testing:
1.Exterior windows and doors, fireplace and stove doors shall be closed, but not sealed, beyond the intended weatherstripping or other infiltration control measures.
2.Dampers including exhaust, intake, makeup air, backdraft and flue dampers shall be closed, but not sealed beyond intended infiltration control measures.
3.Interior doors, if installed at the time of the test, shall be open.
4.Exterior doors for continuous ventilation systems and heat recovery ventilators shall be closed and sealed.
5.Heating and cooling systems, if installed at the time of the test, shall be turned off.
6.Supply and return registers, if installed at the time of the test, shall be fully open.
7.If an attic is both air sealed and insulated at the roof deck, interior access doors and hatches between the conditioned space volume and the attic shall be opened during the test and the volume of the attic shall be added to the conditioned space volume for purposes of reporting an infiltration volume and calculating the air leakage of the home.
Most Florida projects comply through the performance path, which means the air leakage target comes from the project’s own energy calculation rather than the code minimum. Working out which number a house is actually held to is half the job before anyone arrives.
R405.2.2 Building air leakage testing.
Building or dwelling air leakage testing shall be in accordance with Sections R402.4 through R402.4.1.2. If an air leakage rate below seven air changes per hour at a pressure of 0.2 inch w.g. (50 pascals) is specified for the proposed design, testing shall verify the air leakage rate does not exceed the air leakage rate of the proposed design instead of seven air changes per hour.
Duct leakage testing, at rough-in or at final depending on the project. The 2026 code removes the performance path exception, which means a great many projects that never carried duct testing are about to.
R403.3.3 Duct testing (Mandatory).
Ducts shall be pressure tested to determine air leakage by one of the following methods:
1.Rough-in test: Total leakage shall be measured with a pressure differential of 0.1 inch w.g. (25 Pa) across the system, including the manufacturer’s air handler enclosure if installed at the time of the test. All registers shall be taped or otherwise sealed during the test.
2.Postconstruction test: Total leakage shall be measured with a pressure differential of 0.1 inch w.g. (25 Pa) across the entire system, including the manufacturer’s air handler enclosure. Registers shall be taped or otherwise sealed during the test.
Exceptions:
1.A duct air leakage test shall not be required where the ducts and air handlers are located entirely within the building thermal envelope.
2.Duct testing is not mandatory for buildings complying by Section R405 of this code. Duct leakage testing is required for Section R405 compliance where credit is taken for leakage, and a duct air leakage Qn to the outside of less than 0.080 (where Qn = duct leakage to the outside in cfm per 100 square feet of conditioned floor area tested at 25 Pascals) is indicated in the compliance report for the proposed design.
A written report of the results of the test shall be signed by the party conducting the test and provided to the code official.
R405.2.3 Duct air leakage testing.
In cases where duct air leakage lower than the default Qn to outside of 0.080 (where Qn = duct leakage to the outside in cfm per 100 square feet of conditioned floor area tested at 25 Pascals) is specified for the proposed design, testing in accordance with Section R403.3.2 shall verify a duct air leakage rate not exceeding the leakage rate of the proposed design. Otherwise, in accordance with Section R403.3.3, duct testing is not mandatory for buildings complying by Section R405.
Below 3.00 ACH50 a Florida home requires whole house mechanical ventilation, and the installed system has to actually deliver the required airflow. As envelopes have tightened, this has gone from rare to routine.
R403.6.1 Whole-house mechanical ventilation system fan efficacy.
When installed to function as a whole-house mechanical ventilation system, fans shall meet the efficacy requirements of Table R403.6.1.
Exception: Where an air handler that is integral to tested and listed HVAC equipment is used to provide whole-house mechanical ventilation, the air handler shall be powered by an electronically commutated motor.
Review TABLE R403.6.1 WHOLE-HOUSE MECHANICAL VENTILATION SYSTEM FAN EFFICACY
R403.6.2 Ventilation air.
Residential buildings designed to be operated at a positive indoor pressure or for mechanical ventilation shall meet the following criteria:
1.The design air change per hour minimums for residential buildings in ASHRAE 62.2, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, shall be the maximum rates allowed for residential applications.
2.No ventilation or air-conditioning system make-up air shall be provided to conditioned space from attics, crawlspaces, attached enclosed garages or outdoor spaces adjacent to swimming pools or spas.
3.If ventilation air is drawn from enclosed space(s), then the walls of the space(s) from which air is drawn shall be insulated to a minimum of R-11 and the ceiling shall be insulated to a minimum of R-19, space permitting, or R-10 otherwise.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Start Here
The two services most builders meet us through.
Duct Leakage Testing
Verify duct system airtightness using professional duct leakage testing required for new construction inspections.
Blower Door Testing
Measure whole house air leakage against the Florida energy code threshold, and get the report the code official needs before your certificate of occupancy.