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Stellar Building Performance is a Florida family-run company providing energy code testing across Okeechobee County, including Taylor Creek. Taylor Creek is unincorporated, so permits and inspections run through the Okeechobee County Building Department rather than a town office.
What Is a Duct Leakage Test?
A duct leakage test measures how much air escapes the duct system instead of reaching the rooms it was sized for. In Taylor Creek, it is the last check before a new home or conditioned addition can close out with the Okeechobee County Building Department.
Taylor Creek is an unincorporated community of about 4,500 residents (2020 census) on the north shore of Lake Okeechobee next to the City of Okeechobee, where the Taylor Creek lock connects the creek to the lake. It is a waterfront community with an older population, close to a third of residents 65 or over.
Registers are sealed and a calibrated fan pressurizes the system to 25 Pascals, reporting the result as CFM25 per 100 square feet of conditioned floor area. The result is filed with the Okeechobee County Building Department against the Florida Energy Conservation Code.
Request Duct Leakage Testing
we coordinate Taylor Creek duct leakage testing around your stage of construction, with the report sent the same day.
Projects Our Team has Worked On Across Our Service Area
Florida Energy Code Duct Leakage Requirements
A duct test is required here whenever any part of the duct system or the air handler sits outside the conditioned space. Total leakage must be no more than 4 CFM25 per 100 square feet of conditioned floor area, or 3 CFM25 per 100 square feet at rough-in where the air handler is not yet installed. Where every duct run and the air handler are inside the thermal envelope, the code does not require a test at all.
Taylor Creek is unincorporated, so the Okeechobee County Building Department issues the permit and handles the inspections. The county runs the department under contract with SAFEbuilt, offers online permitting and inspection requests, and has a permit technician review construction documents for completeness before a submittal is accepted, so an incomplete package costs time before it ever reaches plan review.
Why is Duct Leakage Testing Beneficial?
Taylor Creek sits in Florida’s hot, humid Climate Zone 2, which is unforgiving about air and moisture, and the duct system is where conditioned air goes missing.
Ducts losing air outside the conditioned space can cause:
For Taylor Creek projects the test does two jobs at once: it satisfies the Okeechobee County Building Department and it tells the builder whether the assembly actually performed the way it was drawn.
How We Keep Our Services Simple and Easy
We want completing your Duct Leakage Testing in Taylor Creek to be as easy as possible.
1.
Schedule your test
You tell us the Taylor Creek address and when the home will be ready. Okeechobee County is a longer drive for us than our coastal work, so put the test on our calendar as early as you can and we will line it up with your final inspection.
2.
onsite testing
We show up at the Taylor Creek address with everything needed. Registers are sealed and the duct blaster is connected to the system, which is then brought up to test pressure.
3.
Diagnostics and Measurements
We measure total duct leakage in CFM25 per 100 square feet and compare it against the limit for the test stage. If it is over, we identify where it is going rather than just handing you a fail.
4.
Report delivered same day via email
Everyone on the Taylor Creek project team gets the signed report the same day, not on the next visit.
5.
Ready for Final Inspection approval
With the report on file, the Okeechobee County Building Department can close out the permit and issue the certificate of occupancy.
Contact Us for Convenient Duct Leakage Testing in Taylor Creek
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Recent Duct Leakage Tests
Checking in from the field! See some highlights of our recent Duct Leakage Test site visits!
Frequently asked questions about Duct Leakage Testing
Typically 30 to 60 minutes for a Taylor Creek home. The setup takes longer than the measurement itself, and nothing about it is destructive.
Simple rule of thumb: if it’s a conditioned space intended for people, it will require duct leakage testing.
By code definition, any dwelling unit permitted for residential use requires duct leakage testing in Taylor Creek. This includes:
Common Structures Like:
Additional Structures Like:
In Taylor Creek, duct leakage testing is required for new residential buildings where any part of the duct system or the air handler sits outside the conditioned space. That covers most homes with ducts in an attic, a garage, a crawlspace, or a soffit chase. If every duct run and the air handler are inside the thermal envelope, the code exempts the system from testing.
Yes. If duct leakage testing is on the permit and the result is not documented, the Okeechobee County Building Department can hold final approval until it is. That is the whole reason to book the test early, with a provider who shows up when they said they would.
Either one is allowed. A rough-in test is run before the drywall closes the system up, which is the better moment to catch a problem because the ducts are still reachable. A postconstruction test is run near the end, once the air handler is in and the home is approaching final inspection. The limit is 4 CFM25 per 100 square feet in both cases, except at rough-in without the air handler installed, where it tightens to 3.
In most cases, no. Other trades can keep working in Taylor Creek while we test — we only need the openings closed and the house in its final configuration.
Okeechobee County. Taylor Creek is unincorporated, so even though it sits right next to the City of Okeechobee, the permit and the inspections run through the Okeechobee County Building Department. We schedule the test against the county inspection date.
The method is the same. A lakefront or canal-side lot does not change how the test is run, but Lake Okeechobee humidity is exactly why a well documented result matters here. Okeechobee County is a longer drive for us than our coastal work, so put the test on our calendar as early as you can and we will line it up with your final inspection.
Want the longer version? Read our complete duct leakage testing FAQ.
Duct Leakage Testing Code Reference
Duct Leakage Test Florida Requirements Explained
Duct leakage testing is required in Taylor Creek under R403.3.3 of the 2023 Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, Eighth Edition, which calls for ducts to be pressure tested at 25 Pascals either at rough-in or after construction.
The limits live in R403.3.4. Total leakage must be no more than 4 CFM25 per 100 square feet of conditioned floor area on a postconstruction test, and the same 4 CFM25 on a rough-in test where the air handler is installed. If the air handler is not in place at rough-in, the limit tightens to 3 CFM25 per 100 square feet.
There is a real exception: no duct test is required where the ducts and air handlers are located entirely within the building thermal envelope. Homes on the performance path under R405 are handled differently again, and are tested against the duct leakage rate assumed in the energy calculation.
We keep the full code language, including the complete text of R403.3.3, R403.3.4 and the R405 provisions, on our main duct leakage page: read the full Florida duct leakage code references.
questions? give us a call, this is our specialty!
Need Duct Leakage Testing in Taylor Creek to Pass Final Inspection?
Helping Taylor Creek Builders Stay on Schedule
Coordinated Scheduling
Testing in Taylor Creek gets scheduled to land before the inspection, not chase it.
accurate results
Calibrated equipment and a RESNET certified inspector, so the number holds up when the Okeechobee County Building Department reviews it.
same day reports
Same-day digital reporting to the whole Taylor Creek project team, with deficiencies named if there are any.
Other Areas We Serve
Local duct leakage testing in Taylor Creek, with additional service throughout Okeechobee County, Brevard County, Indian River County, St. Lucie County and Martin County.