Reasons To Seal An Attic

Attic hatch or door.

Reasons to seal an attic.

Air naturally moves upward through your house. Bath fan ducted into attic this is one of the main reasons that energy efficiency experts tell you to air seal the attic where the insulation will be installed and ensure bath fans are properly vented before insulating. Air sealing the building envelope is one of the most critical features of an energy efficient home. The result will be a much more efficient and comfortable home because your hvac system won t need to run as long to get the house to the temperature you want.

This makes the attic colder and a colder attic with moisture leaking from the house can result in condensation mold and wood rot. The first step of air sealing is testing the attic to identify where the air leaks are. If it is sealed the blower door will not fluctuate. There is no in between.

But a common reason to put spray foam on the roofline is to avoid having to air seal the attic floor. Hence my thoughts on sealing off the attic from the rest of the home and not venting it. Thus the air in the attic is connected with the air in the house. Proper attic insulation combined with air sealing prevents air that has already been heated or cooled from escaping your home.

Testing pretty well and sealed is like pregnancy. I can t really find a compelling reason to spend the money to have a conditioned or semi conditioned non vented attic since i won t have mechanical equipment and ductwork in the attic and i will not be using it for storage. For this reason i break the seal on just about every home i inspect but i never do this without permission from the buyer. For whatever reason some homeowners make accessing the attic more difficult than it ought to be.

If you leave the insulation in the attic floor after insulating the roofline the attic will be cooler in winter than if you remove the insulation. The most common method which probably isn t deliberate is covering it with the same ceiling texture that many other homeowners can t wait to get rid of. Once we know we use an expanding foam to seal the areas and prevent air transfer. To prevent air leakage it is best to seal the building envelope during construction prior to installation of the drywall.

Pull down stair or ladder. Here are three reasons to upgrade your attic with spray foam insulation to add r value and seal air leaks. Once covered many air leakage paths will be more difficult and costly to access and properly seal. My inspection of the attic is a major part of a home inspection and it s important for buyers to know about any defects in the attic.

Use a zippered insulated tent to keep the enclosure draft free attic tent at 7 attic cover insulator 120. But whether or not the attic is sealed you still need to access it. Add weatherstripping around the perimeter and a sweep to the door of a walk up attic. It either is or it isn t.