You Can Air Seal Your Attic

If you add up all of the leaks, holes and gaps in a typical home, it would be like having a window open every day of the year, according to ENERGY STAR®. That's a lot of room for conditioned air to leave and outdoor air to get in. Air leaks are inefficient, but even worse, they tend to make your home's temperatures uneven. For instance, an upstairs that's hotter than the rest of the house in the summer and cooler during the winter.
Some of the prime areas for air leaks are in your attic. You can seal these leaks with caulk or expandable foam if you know what to look for:
•Boxes for recessed lighting fixtures, ceiling fans and other electrical devices that hang from the ceiling
•Holes where wires enter the tops of walls and go down to switches or outlets
•Vents that go through the attic and into the living space below
Notes of caution
Step carefully. Walk carefully on top of attic joists and not in between, where you may fall through.
Older recessed lighting fixtures. Incandescent light fixtures can get very hot, creating a fire hazard if you seal or insulate too closely. In these cases, you can buy a special cap that goes over top of the fixture, allowing you to safely seal around it.
Outside vents. Don't fill any vents to the outside because the attic is supposed to be vented outdoors. Remember, your unfinished attic should be the same temperature as the outdoors. Just fill the holes over the living space.
Take a few minutes to air seal your attic. You'll go a long ways toward making your home more comfortable and efficient.

[@mikeszentes310]

"take a few minutes to go up in your attic and air seal" understatement there lol.

[@acman0926]

No doubt

[@ibealion1]

It takes a few minutes just to locate the ladder... then another 15 moving the junk out from in front of the ladder... I'm with you on the "few minutes" being not totally accurate.

[@lucash1980]

A few minutes? How about the 3,000 minutes to locate all the light fixtures and wire holes? Digging through fiberglass, cellulose, or vermiculite to find that stuff. Wear a properly fitted respirator, not just a cheap mask.

[@Inkling777]

I find the aluminum tape used to seal ductwork is easier to apply and works better than spray foam. For for vents and outlets you can apply it from your living space rather than the miseries of an attic.

[@TJ-22]

That’s a nice, big attic to work in

[@brunob.vallelunga1115]

It's easier and cheaper to replace the recessed lighting fixture in the attic with the latest energy saving fixture as opposed to buying an expensive cover that costs about $50 U.S.

[@Orgakoyd]

Yes and the less super hot light fixtures in a building the better for fire risk, regardless of the energy savings!

[@buddhistsympathizer1136]

You have a great voice, Sir - You should do more voiceover work

[@rickjames6948]

Why is nobody talking about how foam DOES NOT stick to dirt? All those dirty and dusty attics and people trying to air seal over dirt. Look at every joint you are trying to seal. Dust all over the place. At least use an old paint brush and silicone caulk. Use a 5-n-1 tool to spread the caulk INTO the joints. Easy right?

[@freshdirty27]

It's a little over the top don't you think ceiling the screws on the light fixtures come on

[@rhythmfield]

I was a little bit surprised that no mention was made of air loss around and up the chimney. I’m a newbie homeowner, But I’ve heard it mentioned - you need a solid flue/ Or airtight covering in front of your FIREPLACE when it’s not in use, otherwise, heat/A/C is just hemorrhaging through the chimney if not addressed - more than what’s lost through little ceiling lights or ‘can lights,’ although those do collectively lose a LOT of heat/cooling. A good chimney service will be able to seal off some of that air loss around the chimney, if I’m not mistaken?

[@uptwisting]

As I understand it, foam should not be put directly onto electrical wires, therefore the wires will need some sort of protection before being foamed in.

[@bryanbatts]

Great recommendation😎

[@Inkling777]

*There's a better way to get about in an attic than kicking aside insulation and walking on joists.* Using scrap lumber, it doesn't have to be that expensive. The steps: 1. Take 2x10 or 2x12 boards and cut them into sections about a foot long. 2. On the bottom of those boards nail two sections of plywood sticking down about 3" 3. Slide two of those boards and the side sections onto joists adjacent to each other. 4. Nail a 24" x 10" board between the two. That's give you a solid platform about 16" above the bottom of your attic. You can get about by stepping from platform. 5. Even better, nail longer boards between the platforms and you'll be able to walk about with ease. I installed enough of them I can quickly reach within a few feet of any point in my attic without disturbing the insulation. These wooden paths also makes it easy to put attic foil on top of the insulation to reflect radiant heat.

[@billchristian9863]

If you replace the lamp with an LED, temperature concerns disappear. That should make air sealing much easier. Yes, I know, someone could come in later with a high wattage incandescent. I'm almost radical-green enough to say it would serve them right.

[@PeterPetrakis]

Nice PPE

[@notunauthorized]

He used a green screen he was actually in a living room

[@TheWilferch]

Sure...let's do this.....by removing and setting aside all the pre-existing fiberglass insulation....and when done sealing,,.....put it all back in-place. Who is going to do this?....instead of just adding another layer ( or blown-in) insulation?....and hope for the best? Now.... add-in the complication if the existing insulation is not batt-type, but blown in....and you have no walking area between the studs. This whole premise is way over the top optimistic as being truly do-able.

[@notunauthorized]

Industrial vaccuum with 6 inch hose and big bags job done have fun

[@d.j.5872]

Insulation and air sealing are to completely different forms of home insulation. adding extra insulation but not air sealing still allows air to leak out of the condition space into the attic, as fiberglass insulation is a terrible air barrier. But a worse scenario is unfiltered dirty attic air getting sucked into the home reducing indoor air quality and cool efficiency. The ease of air sealing varies from home to home (obviously)

[@crcurran]

Air sealing is more important than insulation. Even if you don't replace the old insulation doing the sealing is worth it. It depends on how much the homeowner can afford at the time.

[@tgatt5759]

Found the lazy homeowner or dirty house flipper

[@havox112]

The attic air should be the same temperature as the outdoor air. Buh dum tiss

[@TheWilferch]

In winter.... in summer it gets almost 50 degF hotter......