Cold and Drafty Rooms- Why?

Picture this- You’re sitting in your living room, [or someone else's] it's one of those cold fall nights. The windows and doors are all closed, there are no fans on in sight, and you STILL feel drafts. Where are they coming from? You check to make sure the heat is on, and that you didn’t leave a window open down the hall. This occurs more than often in homes today. This shouldn't happen, and we’re here to explain why.

Since attics are vented in the winter, we should think of them thermally, as outside. This means, there needs to be a boundary between your living space and the attic. This is so the air inside your home that you are paying to heat is not able to pass up through our ceilings and escape into the attic and out in the cold fall and winter months. Stack effect, featured below is a great way to explain how this occurs. When there is not efficient air sealing and insulation in your attic, this occurs causing those drafty and cold rooms. Not only this, but these inefficiencies can make it more expensive to keep your house warm, cause cold floors, and more! 

Here is a photo of stack effect: When we heat air in our home it rises up to the top, and leaks out. As it leaks out of the top, cold harsh air air is being sucked into the home from the basement, creating a constant (expensive) cycle!

Where can air escape from your home?

• Holes, gaps, and joints between drywall and framing at the top of walls

• Around pipes

• Around Wires

• Electric boxes

• Ducts

• Ceiling grills

• Top plates

• Penetrations

• Joints and framing

• And more!

At Fogarty's Home Services, we have solutions fit just right for you and your home to eliminate and overall reduce these concerns. Every home is different, so the treatment we propose for your home may differ from others. Here are some options we would use to resolve all of these problems!

This solution will result in a warmer, more comfortable, less drafty house that you'll notice everywhere- even downstairs! This will also decrease your spending on fuel and electric bills over time! Click here for information about our Smart Money Guarantee Program- guaranteeing your money savings with our treatments!

First, we make sure to carefully air seal any and all top plates, end plates, and other penetrations as needed with foam. We seal up the many various points where air from your home leaks up into your attic and is lost. We use expanding foam, foam boards, metal flashing, and fire caulk around your chimney as appropriate. If necessary, baffles are installed in each rafter bay to keep soffit vents clear to prepare for insulation. We even sometimes build an insulated storage deck, or catwalk to access your mechanicals in the attic per the customer's request! Finally, with long hoses, we blow in our TruSoft Cellulose Insulation to the optimum R Value! TruSoft will not burn, get moldy, or attract pests. Blown in Insulation fills all gaps and odd shaped voids! 

Click here to check out another treatment, Our Super Attic Treatment (Blog)! 

Let’s face it, it’s important to be comfortable in your home. It’s your space after a long day, to relax and spend time alone, with family and with friends! Get started today by contacting Fogarty's Home Services with your questions regarding home insulation in Windsor, CT, Hampton, CT, Baltic, CT, East Otis, MA, Lenox Dale, MA, and everywhere in between!