Member Spotlight: Denali Jones, Technical Director at ABAA

Testing Big Buildings, Fixing Bigger Gaps

An Interview With Denali Jones, Technical Director at ABAA

Name: Denali Jones

Title: Technical Director

In a recent podcast, ABAA Technical Director Denali Jones shared insights into his career journey, the growing demand for airtightness testing, and what makes ABAA’s Whole Building Airtightness Certification Program uniquely rigorous.

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Denali, tell us a bit about how you got started in the industry.

A: I stumbled into it, like many others. My degree from UBC was in Integrated Engineering, and I had an interest in fluid dynamics—at one point, I was considering aerospace. After graduating, I found a posting with Retrotec and got sucked into the world of building science through the lens of air leakage. That was my first job—developing products like the DM32 and helping with training. From there, I moved to RDH Building Science, where I focused more broadly on building science, enclosure consulting, and field testing for over a decade before joining ABAA.

Did your field experience begin working at a blower door manufacturer?

A: Very little. I mainly worked on the technical side, but I would occasionally get out into the field to support customers on their tests. My hands-on experience really developed at RDH, where I routinely worked on 5 to 10 buildings at a time. It was a crash course in how and where air barriers fail—something you only learn by being on site.

What are some common problem areas for air leakage?

A: Interfaces between trades are a common source of problems, but I’ve often found major leaks in areas that don’t get wet—undersides of roof eyebrows, soffits, or where conditioned space intersects underground garages. These areas are frequently overlooked during construction. People tend to be more thorough and thoughtful about sealing things up where they expect rain exposure.

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How many buildings have you tested? What’s the most complex?

A: Somewhere between 200 and 300. The largest by volume was a giant warehouse, but the tallest was a 35-story high-rise. We had fans deployed across multiple levels—roof, mid-level, and ground—to ensure uniform pressure. That kind of testing demands careful planning. Stack effect becomes a real challenge.

What’s different when testing existing buildings?

A: They’re more unpredictable. With new construction, you often know what to expect. With existing buildings, it’s detective work—you’re troubleshooting failures, chasing leaks through parapets, soffits, windows, and mechanical penetrations. Each building type behaves differently.

How do you handle buildings where whole-building testing isn't feasible?

A: In some high-rises, we’ve done guarded testing floor by floor, especially when stack effect would skew results. For example, in Seattle, we collaborated with the city to create a sampling protocol—testing the top, bottom, transitions, and every 10th floor. It required code variance requests and careful coordination.

You now lead ABAA’s Whole Building Airtightness Training. What makes this program stand out?

A: This is a full-week training course. Students learn everything from theory to hands-on blower door testing, culminating in testing a real building. We currently offer the course in Seattle, Daytona Beach, and soon, Chicago. We’re expanding to other regions, including the Northeast and Texas.

Is the training tied to any specific equipment?

A: No. We train with both Retrotec and Energy Conservatory systems. Our philosophy is: this is driver’s ed—we teach you how to drive, regardless of the car. It’s about mastering the methodology and standards.

What are the biggest mistakes you see among new testers?

A: Tubing errors are common—incorrect placement or averaging pressures across floors. Others misplace exterior reference points, ignoring stack effect. These seem small but can completely invalidate a test. We stress these fundamentals in training.

The industry seems to be standardizing around ASTM E3158. Why is that important?

A: Most existing standards were developed for single-family homes—E779 and others date back decades. E3158 is tailored for large building testing and reflects the complexity of commercial structures. It’s the standard we emphasize throughout our training.