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Subjects · Leaving Cert Construction Studies

Leaving Cert Construction Studies: Airtightness & ventilation

How often Airtightness & ventilation comes up on the Construction Studies papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 6 of the last 9 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. most years

OL Asked on 2 of the last 9 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2022.

June 2028 is the first exam on the new Construction Studies course. These come from the 2016–2025 papers, so read them as a guide.

Airtightness & ventilation, Higher Level(6 marks)

Quick ones on Airtightness & ventilation.

(a)How is a house tested for airtightness?
  1. Burning a stove and watching the smoke
  2. Blower-door fan pressurisation at 50 Pa
  3. A thermal image only
(b)Tool used to find leaks during an airtightness test?
  1. Moisture meter
  2. Laser level
  3. Smoke pencil
(c)In an MVHR system, stale air is extracted from?
  1. Wet rooms: kitchen, bathrooms, utility
  2. The attic and the landing ceiling
  3. Bedrooms, living room and study
Show the answers

(a) Blower-door fan pressurisation at 50 Pa

(b) Smoke pencil

(c) Wet rooms: kitchen, bathrooms, utility

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Airtightness & ventilation.

Higher Level

Asked on 6 of the last 9 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Q8
2024Q7
2023Q10a
2022Q9
2021Not asked
2019Not asked
2018Q7
2017Q10a
2016Not asked

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Airtightness & ventilation questions

Airtightness & ventilation, 2 marks

MVHR supplies fresh air to which rooms?

  1. Only the wet rooms: the kitchen and bathrooms
  2. Only the attic and the hot press
  3. Habitable rooms: bedrooms and living rooms
Show the answer

Habitable rooms: bedrooms and living rooms

Fresh, warmed air goes where people spend time and is extracted from kitchens and bathrooms, so air moves through the house from clean areas to moist ones.

Airtightness & ventilation, 3 marks

Units of air permeability measured in an airtightness test?

  1. kWh/m² per year
  2. m³/(h·m²) at 50 Pa
  3. W/m²K
Show the answer

m³/(h·m²) at 50 Pa

Air permeability is the leakage per hour per square metre of envelope at 50 Pa. The n50 figure instead divides the leakage by the house volume, giving air changes per hour.

Airtightness & ventilation, 3 marks

Why draw a continuous airtight line on the section drawings at design stage?

  1. So every junction's airtight detail is planned
  2. It marks the site boundary on the section
  3. It shows the route of the radon sump pipe
Show the answer

So every junction's airtight detail is planned

In the pencil test, if a pencil can trace the airtight layer round each section without lifting, the design is continuous. Gaps found on paper are cheap to fix.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 2 of the last 9 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2022.

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Not asked
2024Not asked
2023Not asked
2022Q8c
2021Not asked
2019Not asked
2018Q8d
2017Not asked
2016Not asked

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Airtightness & ventilation questions

Airtightness & ventilation, 2 marks

What does airtightness mean in a house?

  1. Keeping every window and door shut all year round
  2. Removing all ventilation from the house
  3. Stopping uncontrolled air leaks through the building
Show the answer

Stopping uncontrolled air leaks through the building

Gaps round pipes, sockets and joints let warm air leak out. An airtight house stops these draughts, then ventilates in a controlled way.

Airtightness & ventilation, 2 marks

Test used to measure how airtight a house is?

  1. Slump test
  2. Blower door test
  3. Percolation test
Show the answer

Blower door test

A fan fitted in the front door pressurises the house. The air flow needed to hold the pressure shows how leaky it is, and leaks can then be found.

Airtightness & ventilation, 3 marks

Why does an airtight house need planned ventilation?

  1. To remove stale, moist air and bring in fresh air
  2. To keep the house much cooler during the winter months
  3. To let radon into the house from the ground
Show the answer

To remove stale, moist air and bring in fresh air

With draughts sealed, moisture and stale air from cooking, washing and breathing build up. Controlled ventilation keeps the air healthy and dry.

Other Construction Studies topics

All of Leaving Cert Construction Studies