Common Attic Air Leaks

Where walls hit the.

Common attic air leaks.

Start by looking around for common locations of attic air leaks. Get your bearings from below. During the construction of your home they drill and cut holes through the walls to run these pipes and wires. Or you can buy a pre insulated hatch cover kit for about 150.

Air sealing the most common attic air leaks electrical plumbing and hvac contractors use your attic to conceal the wires pipes and ducts that comprise the mechanical systems in your home. Seal air leaks around fireplace chimneys furnaces and gas fired water heater vents with fire resistant materials such as sheet metal or sheetrock and furnace cement caulk. In a home oftentimes the biggest holes or areas where air leaks are prevalent are attic related instead of the more common weather stripping for doors and windows. A quarter inch gap around pull down attic stairs or an attic hatch leaks the same amount of air as a bedroom heating duct.

These are normally found. The biggest improvements will come from sealing the biggest holes. Any small crack or gap in the attic can be a source of. By air sealing in your attic you can stop many major air leaks and help to maintain the desired temperature throughout your home.

Common attic air leaks. Warm air flows out through tiny gaps in the ceiling and walls resulting in cold drafts of air around windows doors and other leaky areas. The first thing you want to do is look for the big holes and air leaks around the common attic air leak areas mentioned above. Start with the biggest air leaks.

Seal it by caulking between the hatch frame and the rough opening or by installing foam weatherstripping around the perimeter of the hatch opening. Like attic access doors and scuttle holes ductwork bathroom or other. Make note of dropped soffits over kitchen cabinets or bath vanities. Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents.

Most people call these air leaks drafts you may feel these drafts around windows and doors and think these leaks are your major source of wasted energy. Combined with attic insulation air sealing can help to alleviate the formation of dangerous ice dams in the winter. These are the leaks that significantly raise your energy bill and make your house uncomfortable. Fireplace flues are made from metal and over time repeated heating and cooling can cause the metal to warp or break creating a channel for air loss.

Before you crawl into the attic make a quick sketch of the floor plan. Air leaks also commonly occur at the edge of top plates which normally have a small gap of less than an inch between the plates and drywall. In most homes however the most significant air leaks are hidden in the attic and basement.