My Attic Is Tightly Sealed

By air sealing in your attic you can stop many major air leaks and help to maintain the desired temperature throughout your home.

My attic is tightly sealed.

Unventilated attics are common where roof assemblies are complex and it s difficult to create a sealed ceiling plane. And the extra heat is not just a summer concern come winter hot attic air can melt snow on the roof during. Grab a tape measure and a flashlight to see what kind of insulation you already have in the attic and how deep it is. Pull up and dispose of any material that s compressed water stained or moldy it s useless.

Now that the house is properly sealed it is crucial to verify the attic s thermal insulation is adequate and properly installed. Combined with attic insulation air sealing can help to alleviate the formation of dangerous ice dams in the winter. The insulation on the floor of your attic needs to have an approved vapor barrier installed on the warm in winter side of the insulation. The attic is usually where you can find some of the largest opportunities to save energy in your home.

As attic temperature rises rh in that air mass would initially decrease which would mean dp would rise and certainly not fall and would also be higher at the attic ridge than the attic floor. One huge benefit of the spray foam insulated attic is that conditioned air leakage from the ac furnace duct system is contained and used to condition the attic. However in a traditionally insulated attic insulation on the ceiling the attic is vented. As you can see the benefits of a tightly sealed home far outweigh potential negative effects.

Sealed attics trap excessive heat and moisture which can lead to reduced shingle life. Then use the numbers in the chart at right to estimate its r value. Then finish up by sealing the access hatch with self sticking foam weatherstrip photos 10 and 11. Make your home tight and improve indoor air quality.

When you re done sealing your attic bypasses push the insulation back into place with an old broom handle or stick as you back out of the attic. Apply self adhesive foam weatherstrip tape to the top edge of the stop. Courtesy of department of energy. Luckily building science has progressed and we now understand that the house is a system and part of good home performance is proper mechanical ventilation for air tight homes.