Old North State Building Company

04/18/2026

The results are in ! Let us design / build your new home !

10/21/2025

See our project here !

10/13/2025

We are excited about the release of this series ! Check it out.

10/02/2025

Tune into This Old House tonight at 8pm; as they continue their series on Hurricane Helene ! You never know who you might see.

09/22/2025

Please join us Thursday September 25th for the new series of This Old House. The series focuses on WNC and Hurricane Helene.

09/18/2025

ONSBC is excited to be included in season 47 of This Old House. The new series provides a focus on Hurricane Helene; and its impact on WNC. Tune in on Sept. 25th for the first episode !
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09/11/2025

This Old House releases the Hurricane Helene series in two weeks. Be sure to keep an eye out for Old North State Building Company.

06/14/2025

Cooling bills a burden this summer ? Check out these statistics!

04/02/2025

03/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1RLjRSfF28/?mibextid=wwXIfr

If you're hiring a contractor to build your home, airtightness needs to be part of the conversation. Ideally, your contractor will say, “I test every home I build with a blower door, and we consistently hit 2 ach50 or lower.”

If you’re unlucky, however, your contractor might say something like this: "Blower-door tests aren’t required here, so I wouldn’t worry about it,” and that’s a red flag.

If their response falls somewhere in between, you might still have concerns. So what should you do? First, get educated.

Before talking to contractors, it’s good to know as much as you can about:
- Local building code requirements, and how (or if) these requirements are enforced
- The basic facts about blower-door tests
- The typical leakage points that contribute to airtightness problems

Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be more prepared to talk to your contractor about airtightness.

In the third in his series on finding competent contractors, Martin Holladay dives into how to communicate with your builder efficiently.

Read: https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/talking-to-contractors-about-airtightness