// COMPANY DOSSIER
Airtight Spaces
Airtight Spaces is the authorized AeroBarrier dealer and automated building-envelope air-sealing contractor for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It is a division of Halifax-area engineering firm Tate Engineering Inc., applying AeroBarrier's fully automated aerosol sealing technology to new and existing buildings to cut air leakage and improve energy performance.
📍 Fall River (Halifax area), Nova Scotia, CanadaEst. 2019✓ 82% first-party verified
// CLIPS FROM Airtight Spaces
“people ask us who's your number one competitor and I say the granite countertop guy down the road”
“they did a test in Toronto using low Teddy buildings and they ran that test for up to two weeks”
“Finance trumps everything isn't just for private this is something you deal with publicly as well”
“the feds put out the program for the green homes right they're going okay we're going to spend this money”
“we had a developer involved locally who was kind of a front-runner and a leader as far as Net Zero”
“I was thinking about a post I seen on LinkedIn this winter I think it was esport properties did a test”
“when the 2020 code went out for public consultation it had mandatory blower door testing in it”
“it was interesting when Roxanne and I started our business we were looking for an opportunity”
“Keith and I did a presentation for public works and that was their piece”
// LESSONS FROM Airtight Spaces
Sequence net-zero upgrades by demand reduction first: super-insulate, right-size windows, right-size mechanicals, then offset residual load with renewables — in that order.
Splitting capital and operating budgets across different entities (province builds, school board pays bills) is the structural root cause of under-investment in building energy performance.
Developers with tenant-paid utilities have a rational incentive to build to minimum code; removing that misalignment requires either mandatory labelling or split-incentive reform.
BC’s step code — a pre-announced ratchet of air-tightness and insulation targets every 3–5 years — is the most replicable model for driving industry-wide performance improvement without market shock.
Mandatory energy labelling at point-of-sale is the single fastest behaviour-change lever for the existing housing stock, provided it is phased in starting with new construction.
Air-tightness is the highest-ROI first step in any retrofit because it reduces the demand on every downstream system — mechanicals, renewables, and insulation all shrink.
// SELECTED PROJECTS
Habitat for Humanity Fredericton Area — pilot new build (2-storey single-family home)
CompletedAeroBarrier air-sealing contractor
One of two 2020 Habitat for Humanity pilot projects. Per the company: tested 2.26 ACH50 at drywall stage and 0.74 ACH50 after AeroBarrier; resulting EnerGuide ~50 GJ/year vs ~86 GJ/year for a code-built house (a ~42% improvement). Self-reported figures.
Habitat for Humanity Fredericton Area — pilot retrofit (60+ year old bungalow renovation)
CompletedAeroBarrier air-sealing contractor
Second 2020 Habitat pilot. Per the company: main level tested 4.75 ACH50 before and 1.42 ACH50 after AeroBarrier (~70% improvement). Self-reported figures.
Passive House (Houssam Elokda residence)
CompletedAeroBarrier air-sealing subcontractor
Company-published client video testimonial; client reports a result of 0.14 ACH (well inside the 0.6 ACH Passive House threshold). Houssam Elokda is the client/homeowner, not staff. ACH figure is the client's self-report, not independently verified.
DC Woodworks home renovation
CompletedAeroBarrier air-sealing contractor
Testimonial from Denika Coakley, owner/carpenter of DC Woodworks (a client/contractor, not Airtight Spaces staff). Date not stated.
// KEY PEOPLE
RT
Roxanne Tate
Founder & President, Tate Engineering Inc. (parent); President, Airtight Spaces
profile ▸// NOTABLE
Airtight Spaces is a division of Tate Engineering Inc., a Halifax-area engineering and project/construction-management consulting firm founded by Roxanne Tate (P.Eng.) in 2012.
SOURCE ▸Airtight Spaces is the authorized AeroBarrier dealer serving Nova Scotia and New Brunswick; AeroBarrier publicly announced its arrival in Nova Scotia via Airtight Spaces.
SOURCE ▸AeroBarrier is a fully automated aerosol building-envelope sealing technology; it won Best in Show / Most Innovative Building Product at the 2018 International Builders' Show and is certified GreenGuard Gold.
SOURCE ▸