ABAA Air Barriers: Tested and Trusted

Calling itself the “national voice of the air barrier industry,” the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA) is a national, non-profit trade association that promotes air barrier knowledge and quality assurance. ABBA’s mission includes evaluating air barriers to make sure they meet key wall air barrier assembly criteria. Commonly called ABAA Evaluated Air Barriers, products that pass all tests and requirements earn “ABAA Evaluated Air Barrier Material” status. Henry Company offers several “ABAA Evaluated” air barriers.

Meeting ABAA Evaluation Requirements
To earn ABAA Evaluated Air Barrier Material status, Henry provided ABAA with a range of product-specific test reports and supporting documents. The documentation had to demonstrate that the Henry air barriers would, as the ABAA requires, “meet the rigors encountered during their service life and under the buildings imposed loads”.

Wall Air Barrier Assembly Evaluation
Air barrier assemblies are made up of air barrier materials and connected with air barrier accessories. These assemblies that carry an “ABAA Evaluated” status, have been tested in accordance with ASTM E2357.

ABAA has set a maximum air leakage rate for wall air barrier assemblies as being 0.04 CFM/ft2 at a pressure difference of 1.57 lb./ft2 [0.20 L/(s·m2) at a pressure difference of 75 Pa] when tested in accordance with ASTM E 2357 Standard Test Method for Determining Air Leakage of Air Barrier Assemblies.

ABAA evaluates a wide range of air barrier material types, self-adhered sheet membranes, fluid applied membranes, mechanically fastened commercial building wraps and more. They share many of the test and performance requirements of self-adhered and fluid applied air barriers like those from Henry, and ABAA test requirements are tough:

• Self-Adhered Sheet Air Barriers must be tested for air permeance, water vapor permeance, resistance to puncture, tensile strength, water resistance, peel or stripping strength of adhesive bonds, lap adhesion, low temperature flexibility, nail sealability, pull adhesion, tear initiation and tear propagation, and crack bridging.
• Fluid Applied Membranes must be tested for air permeance, water vapor permeance, nail sealability, pull adhesion and crack bridging.

ABAA Evaluated Air Barriers from Henry
The following air barrier products from Henry have received the “ABAA Evaluated Air Barrier Material” status, earning them a place in the ABAA Master Specifications list:

• Blueskin SA – A self-adhered membrane consisting of an SBS rubberized asphalt compound laminated on a blue polyethylene film.
• Air-Bloc 16MR – A fluid applied, vapor impermeable air and water barrier when applied to above-grade wall assemblies.
• Air-Bloc 17MR – A fluid applied, vapor permeable air and water barrier when applied to above-grade wall assemblies.
• Air-Bloc All Weather STPE – A fluid applied, vapor permeable air and water barrier with extremely fast cure times and long-term UV resistance.

Need more information on ABAA Evaluated Air Barriers from Henry, or about air barrier performance or selection in general? Henry Company is always here help. We can walk you through the pros and cons of self-adhered vs. fluid-applied air barrier systems for any project. Schedule a meeting with one of our expert advisers today!