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Winter Energy Saving Tips #1: Finding/Sealing Attic Air Leaks

By
Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker, Mulleady, Inc. Realtors 42118

Attic Air Leaks: Finding and Sealing Them!

Your attic may appear to have adequate insulation on the floor; however, if you seal air leaks around pipes and other openings you can save a substantial amount of money.

 

How to Find Air Leaks

From inside your home, check your ceilings and take note of the locations of all fixtures, ceiling fans, and electrical outlets. Go into the attic and find the places you noted.  You'll need to pull back the insulation to find them.  


If you have electrical connections for these fixtures - they will require a hole cutout in your celing drywall.  You can stop air leaks by ceiling those holes with acrylic or silicone and/or with polyuerethane foam.  

While up there, also check for anything that penetrates the celing such as:

  • pipes
  • vent stacks
  • flues and chimneys
  • electrical wiring
  • heating and air conditioning ducts
  • access hatch


Polyurethan Foam

Polyurethane foam in a can is excellent for plugging openings 1/4-inch to 3 inches wide, such as those around plumbing pipes and vents.  A 12-ounce can is only around $5.00 and can probably complete most of entire conventional home.  

Please note:  The straw applicator will seal shut within a few hours of use.  A tip to prevent this is to squirt some WD-40 onto a pipe cleaner and stuff it down the applicator tube between uses.  

 

Caulk

Caulk seems like the best gap-filler for openings under 1/4 inch wide.  Use it around electrical boxes. Silicone costs more but works best around metals (electrical boxes, flashing, pipes).  Acrylic  caulk is cheap (around $2.00) and is easy to work with and less messy.  


Stopping Heat Loss from Flues and Chimneys

Many states building code requires the frame of the house to be kept at least one inch from all flues and two inches from chimneys.  This creates quite a large gap for cold air to flow in.  Aluminium flashing is cheap and can be cut to fit and sealed into place with high-temperature silcone caulk.  (Make sure to get the high-temperature version).  

Make sure to keep insulation away from the hot flue pipes.  Form a barrier by wrapping a cylinder of flashing around the flue leaving at least a one-inch space in between.  To make sure that space is maintained, bend a series of inch-deep tabs in the cylinders top and bottom edges.  


Weatherstrip Your Attic Ladder Hatch.  

A small gap around the pull down stairs leaks the same amount of air as an open fireplace flue.  Purchase some foam weatherstripping and place it around the perimeter of the hatch.  This will run you about $13.00 or you can buy a pre-insulated cover kit for $150.00.  (Trust me, buy the cheaper - it works the same).  



Attics Can Be Dangerous - Be Careful and Follow These Tips

  • Don't do this during the heat of the summer day.  Find a cool day or evening.
  • Wear gloves, disposable clothes, and some sort of breathing protection (mask or respirator).  
  • Bring a flashlight
  • Bring some sort of material big enough to span two or three joists to kneel on (small piece of plywood works great)

Warning:  If you find vermiculite insulation or suspect there may be asbestos - DO NOT do anything until you have it tested.  Contact your local health department for a lab that can insure it's safe to work up there!