Are you considering air sealing your home?
If so, you’re probably wondering whether or not it’s even worth it, especially if you already have insulation installed. The short answer here is yes; it is always worth it to air seal your home. In fact, air sealing is one of the most important things you can do to improve your home’s comfort level, air health, and energy efficiency.
Most homeowners and even some contractors tend to overlook this, which is why so many homes aren’t as energy efficient as they could be and have higher heating and cooling costs. Below we’ll cover everything you need to know about air sealing your home.
What Is Air Sealing?
Air sealing is the process of finding and sealing all the gaps, nooks, crannies, and open seams throughout your home. Air sealing is often thought of as something that only needs to be done to the attic. However, we can assure you that there are gaps and open seams on each level of your home — and many more than you might think.
A well-sealed home has perfectly regulated airflow, meaning it’ll be less stuffy inside during the summertime and less drafty in the colder months. Air sealing also improves the air quality within your home by reducing humidity. This increases your home’s overall health and comfort and saves your HVAC system from consuming more energy while it cools or heats your home.
Lastly, it should be noted that air sealing is highly technical work. You need a specialist to get the job done right as those gaps and open seams often occur in some pretty hard-to-reach areas of your home. Therefore, it’s not recommended as a DIY type of job.
Why Air Sealing Your Home Is a Must
All homes should have natural and healthy airflow throughout. This is what prevents mold and mildew from building up throughout the house. It also supports your mechanical airflow (such as the vent from your furnace) in preventing unwanted or dangerous air from being trapped inside the house.
The problem with many houses — especially older houses — is that there’s too much airflow. That’s due to all the gaps and cracks in your attic, foundation, wall joists, etc., that create pathways for air to travel through. While these gaps and cracks may be too tiny to notice, they add up to something much bigger and much more problematic.
When left alone, these little holes all over your home can equate to having an extra window or two open all year round. That’s a whole lot of wasted energy. 😲
Not to mention, it invites moisture, allergens, debris, and other bacteria directly into your home. Eventually, these little holes can become huge weak spots that require expensive repairs.
That’s why air sealing is recommended, even if you have insulation. Air sealing shuts those metaphorical windows to ensure that your home has the fresh airflow it requires while keeping out excess moisture and unwanted particles while protecting the structural integrity. This is something that insulation cannot do on its own.
The Average Cost of Home Air Sealing
The average cost of air sealing your home depends on a variety of factors, like the following:
- Your location
- The size of your home
- The type of insulation materials being used (usually spray foam)
- The R-Value of the insulation
- The installation technique being used
- The number of gaps and open seams that need to be sealed
- Any other handy work required to complete the project
- Your contractor
Depending on the age of your home, you may also need to consider the costs of potential repairs if any significant damages are caused by excess airflow and moisture.
Where Do Air Leaks Occur?
Put simply; air leaks can occur anywhere in your home. However, they most commonly occur in a home’s foundation and the attic.
As a house ages, the foundation is one of the first places to develop weak points. The small gaps and cracks that develop in the foundation become a primary source of excess airflow, which is one of the first areas a contractor will tackle when air sealing.
The attic is the second most likely place to develop air leaks. Not only do gaps and cracks occur here over time, but ductwork, electrical wiring, bathroom vents, plumbing, and even certain lighting fixtures can create pathways for unwanted airflow. This creates a vacuum effect, which sucks air into your home from the attic.
This vacuum effect is solved by sealing off the air leaks in the attic (and capping any light fixtures with fire-retardant boxes from above).
However, your foundation and attic aren’t the only culprits for excess airflow. Leaky windows and doors also become problematic as a house ages, developing gaps and cracks in plain sight. These air leaks often require a form of air sealing referred to as “weather stripping.”
How to Identify Air Leakage in Your Home
If you’ve lived in your home long enough, you’ll be able to identify the areas with a lot of air leaks simply by having felt them. Of course, if you have noticed leaks around your house, others are likely in less obvious places.
The first thing you’ll want to do is check the most common areas where leaks occur. This would include the following:
- Knee walls (the side walls supporting your attic’s rafters)
- The attic hatch or opening
- Wiring holes (this would include electrical outlets, phone lines, cable TV, etc.)
- Plumbing vents
- Recessed lights and their soffits
- Any furnace flues or ducts
- Basement rim joists (this is the meeting point of your home’s foundation and wood framing)
Keep in mind that air leaks can start out tiny and nearly invisible. Your next step would be to hire a professional to come to your home and perform an energy audit. This process typically involves a blower door test, which not only locates your home’s air leaks but also assesses your home’s overall air tightness.
For the blower door test, a powerful fan is mounted to the frame of one or more exterior doors. This pulls air out of the house, which lowers the inside pressure, allowing the higher outside air pressure to flow through the gaps and cracks. In addition to the fans, they’ll also use a smoke pencil. A smoke pencil is a handheld air leak detector to help spot and target the leaks.
Depending on where you live, you may be able to find an energy company that offers free energy assessments. You can contact your local energy supplier or state or county public services office for more information.
Tips to Air Seal Your Home Properly
When you have noticeable air leaks in your home, you’ll want to take action immediately to seal them up and prevent further energy loss. As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of nooks and crannies that are hard to reach, requiring the help of a professional, such as First American Roofing & Siding, Inc.
However, there may be some leaks you can take care of yourself. Here are a few tips from professionals for proper air sealing:
- Start by hiring an energy assessor to test your home’s air tightness.
- Caulk and weatherstrip any doors and windows leaking air.
- Caulk and seal the air leaks where ducting, plumbing, or electrical wiring comes through. (You’ll need to check your walls, floors, ceilings, and soffits over your cabinets).
- Install foam gaskets behind any outlets and switch plates on your walls.
- Inspect the area around any visual insulation for dirty spots, air leaks, and mold. Use low-expansion spray foam for these areas. You may also need to install house flashing.
- Check for dirty spots on your carpet and ceiling paint, as these are indicators of air leaks on the interior wall or ceiling joints, as well as wall and floor joists. Apply caulk to these leaks.
- If possible, replace any single-pane windows with double-pane windows. (They’re typically more efficient and offer low emissivity).
- Use foam sealant for more significant gaps around baseboards, windows, and other apparent places where air may leak out.
- Check your dryer vent to make sure it isn’t blocked. This just saves energy — and can prevent a fire.
- Replace any exterior door bottoms and thresholds with new ones that have pliable sealing gaskets to prevent air from leaking.
- If you have a fireplace, keep the flue damper tightly closed when not in use.
- Seal any noticeable air leaks around furnaces, chimneys, and gas-fired water heater vents using fire-resistant materials like sheetrock, sheet metal, and furnace cement caulk.
Pro Tip: When in doubt, use caulk for small or skinny cracks and spray foam for medium-sized gaps.
Leave Leaks in the Past With Professional Air Sealing Services
Air sealing your home will reduce energy consumption, saving you money on your energy bills while also keeping your indoor environment as comfortable and healthy as possible. As you can see from above, however, home air sealing is a lot of work to take on yourself.
It’s not that you can’t do it; it’s just better left to the professionals. Need an energy assessment? An air sealing estimate for your home? Or have general questions about air sealing or home improvements? Get in touch with us today!
