Repairing Air Leaks In Attic
Challenge
Are your floors cold and is your home harder to heat and keep comfortable?
Since attics are vented, we should think of them thermally as outside in the winter. In summer, because of the sun's radiant heat, they are much worse than outside, reaching 130° on summer days. We keep an absolute boundary between our living space and the attic so inside air doesn't move to the attic in the heating season (convection), heat doesn't pass up through our ceiling in the winter (conduction), and down from our ceilings in the hot summer (conduction, radiation). To reduce overall air leakage, the attic is the first priority because warm air rises to the top of the house and finds any and all holes to leak out into the cold, vented attic and is lost. Holes, gaps, and joints include between drywall and framing at the top of walls, around pipes, wires, electric boxes, fixtures, ducts, penetrations, ceiling grilles, and joints in framing. The only reason cold air leaks in from the outside at the lower levels of the house is the warm air leaked out of the top and created a suction at the bottom. Attics are dramatically under_insulated compared to today's standard. This results in cold drafty rooms downstairs, colder floors, the house is harder to heat and keep comfortable, and higher fuel electric bills.
Solution
Dr. Energy Saver can make your home warmer, more comfortable, and less drafty.
Adding insulation in an attic without sealing all air leaks first should never be done, because you are buying air leaks and making them impossible to seal later - and insulation DOES NOT STOP air leaks, That's why Dr. Energy Saver first carefully air seals the many various points where air leaks up into your attic and is lost. We use expanding foam, boards, caulks and metal flashing, and fire caulk around your masonry or metal chimney as appropriate. If necessary, baffles (air chutes) are installed in each rafter bay to bay to keep soffit vents clear and prepare for insulation. Finally, our premium TruSoft cellulose insulation is blown to the optimum R-value. TruSoft will not burn, get moldy, or attract pests. Blown insulation fills gaps and odd-shaped voids, and by filling over framing members, “thermal bridging” is avoided. This job creates a warmer, more comfortable, less drafty house that you’ll notice everywhere - even downstairs! The house is quieter. Fuel and electric bills are lower.
