Air Seal Attic Plane

Scope air seal drywall to top plates at all attic wall interfaces to minimize air leakage.
Air seal attic plane. Seal attic floor holes. By air sealing in your attic you can stop many major air leaks and help to maintain the desired temperature throughout your home. Pray that the installer used finish nails and not say ring shank nails. The attic is usually where you can find some of the largest opportunities to save energy in your home.
Seal fireplace and furnace holes. Install drywall then seal the seam from the attic side with caulk foam or drywall adhesive but not other construction adhesives. Combined with attic insulation air sealing can help to alleviate the formation of dangerous ice dams in the winter. To seal these openings use caulk or spray foam.
Although many gba articles address aspects of attic air sealing no single article provides an overview of the topic. If your house has cathedral ceilings that is insulated sloped roof. The air barrier used to isolate the living space from the attic is usually the taped drywall while the thermal barrier is the insulation placed on top of the drywall. Carefully pull down the finish trim.
Air seal the trim the first step is air sealing the finish trim and enclosure around the attic hatch. I ll try to explain how you can seal air leaks in a conventional vented unconditioned attic. Air seal drywall to top plates at all attic wall interfaces to minimize air leakage. Equally important is the need to air seal the attic plane after the vermiculite is removed and before the new insulation is blown in.
How to insulate and air seal an attic access hatch. The step of air sealing the attic plane has been a building code requirement for new construction homes for almost 20 years. Air sealing vented attic in new construction during an energy audit of my home the auditor suggested to create a good attic plane seal by removing all of the existing insulation put down a 1 2 layer of spray foam insulation and go back with blow in insulation to the preferred r value. This article is an attempt to provide that missing overview.