Quality Asssurance of Passive House construction in Frankfurt

Quality assurance accompanying construction work in Frankfurt

The City of Frankfurt am Main has published a procedure for quality assurance accompanying construction work. It can be downloaded here in German. Klimaschutz in Frankfurt: Baubegleitende Qualitaetsicherung für Passivhaeuser (DE)

Basically, this is divided into the following stages:

Preliminary information: This is an information meeting where the basic principles and the prerequisites are explained to the planner. If a decision is made for a Passive House application, the procedure is as follows:

Step 1: Consultation: The planner brings the following to this consultation: a site plan, the relevant part of the master urban development plan, a project description and pictures of the plot location.

Step 2: Preliminary planning: The planner submits the preliminary design, the building services concept, and the preliminary project planning with the PHPP for appraisal. This results in assessment of Passive House suitability, or also appropriate suggestions for optimisation.

Step 3: Approval planning: The planner provides the complete approval planning and the complete PHPP calculation (all worksheets). A decision is made regarding Passive House suitability, or suggestions for improvement may be made for the reassessment.

Step 4: Implementation planning: The planner submits the complete implementation planning and works planning, the detail drawings of all relevant connections, and the building services plans with the project planning for the heating/ventilation. Evaluation of the implementation planning takes place, suggestions for improvement may be made for the reassessment.

Step 5 Quality control/site supervision: 2 on-site meetings (on-site quality assurance). Prerequisite for the first meeting: completion of the building shell with roof structure without plaster, window installation. For the second meeting: defects remedied previously, completion and accessibility of the building envelope. The planner submits the updated implementation and work plans and the updated details lists. An airtightness test for leakage detection is carried out before/at the second meeting. Information relating to defects and suggestions for rectification are provided to the construction management.

Step 6 Completion: This is a results check with a final meeting after completion of the work. The planner provides the product data sheets of all components and building elements as well as the details list, the result of the pressure test, the documentation of flow rate adjustment of the ventilation system, a thermographic image where necessary, and the user handbook. The result is a record of the optimisation process and documentation of the quality assurance.