Air Sealing In The Attic

For that space if all the insulation in there now is coming out and being totally replaced as part of the insulation job so the attic floor will be completely exposed anyway for roughly 3000sf of attic normal air sealing cost would probably be in the 250 400 range depending on whether your attic was used for ducting and wiring runs or not.

Air sealing in the attic.

Air sealing in the attic is generally a challenging diy project but the benefits can be substantial. Attics are often under insulated and under sealed leading to wasted energy and wasted spend by the homeowners. Properly air sealing an attic with vermiculite insulation requires that the vermiculite be removed. Imagine that you have a small boat and steered it into a cluster of jagged rocks.

While in your attic look for areas where the insulation is darkened see photo a result of filtering dusty air from the house. Install drywall then seal the seam from the attic side with caulk foam or drywall adhesive but not other construction adhesives. Air seal drywall to top plates at all attic wall interfaces to minimize air leakage. Sealing duct leaks can improve the efficiency of your hvac system by around 20.

A home energy company has proposed a solution that involves sealing air leaks in the bedroom ceilings attic floor sealing around the chimney weatherizing the attic hatch insulating a few roof areas that the builders missed and adding cellulose to the rest of the attic to bring it up to r 60. Attic air sealing is the priority your focus should be on the attic when you begin air sealing. Without air sealing your attic you are allowing warm air to escape from your home carrying with it your hard earned winter heating money. If you have vermiculite insulation in your attic that s bad news.

The safest approach to attic vermiculite is to assume that the vermiculite contains asbestos. If you are doing a major home renovation project now may be a great time to tackle this project too. Air sealing uncontrolled leaks and adding insulation between the attic and the home is one of the most cost effective measures to improve your home s performance. That means that you shouldn t disturb it.

Even though most of the gaps spilling warm air into your attic are buried in insulation you ll still see evidence of the escaping air.