Preparing To Air Seal The Attic

It s usually the hardest place to air seal because the cramped space underneath the eaves where the roof rafters rest on the outer wall makes it hard to move your hands and head.

Preparing to air seal the attic.

Small air leaks into uninsulated attic space are a major source of heat loss in many homes. Air sealing the wall plate around the perimeter of your attic blocks air from escaping around the outer edges of your home. I was preparing to use caulk on narrow gaps top plates and spray foam on larger gaps penetrations for cables plumbing vent stack etc. You want to be paying attention to the big ones.

Chances are your ceiling has the equivalent of a 2 ft. Square hole that s acting like a chimney drafting expensive heated. Don t worry too much about the small leaks. Most people just add insulation to their attic this will not stop the escaping warm air.

Investigate the perimeter of your attic. Your focus should be on the attic when you begin air sealing. Imagine that you have a small boat and steered it into a cluster of jagged rocks. Without air sealing your attic you are allowing warm air to escape from your home carrying with it your hard earned winter heating money.

The boat suffers and has a few holes in the bottom of it. Before you start adding any attic insulation you want to make sure that all or most air leaks have been sealed first. Not being a pro i was going to just stay away from anything thermally hot like the furnace vent. Seal attic air leaks first.

Air seal your attic for energy savings. Here s how to locate the leak spots and plug them without spending a lot of money. Attic air sealing is the priority. The first spot to check is where the floors meet the wall.