Seal An Attic

It s usually the hardest place to air seal because the cramped space underneath the eaves where the roof rafters rest on the outer wall makes it hard to move your hands and head.

Seal an attic.

How to insulate and air seal an attic access hatch air seal the trim the first step is air sealing the finish trim and enclosure around the attic hatch. Without air sealing your attic you are allowing warm air to escape from your home carrying with it your hard earned winter heating money. Air sealing the attic perimeter air sealing the wall plate around the perimeter of your attic blocks air from escaping around the outer edges of your home. Soffits drop ceilings and open joist spaces.

Cut 1 3 boards to fit the perimeter of the opening and nail them on with 6d finish nails. Most people just add insulation to their attic this will not stop the escaping warm air. Air seal an attic all sounds good but what if your attic is mostly a crawl space with duct work up there and no room for you to move around unless you have a child sized body. Apply self adhesive foam weatherstrip tape to the top edge of the stop.

Begin by filling the garbage bags with 16 inch strips of insulation and use these to stuff any open joist spaces and soffits. Pray that the installer used finish nails and not say ring shank nails. What sealing can be done from the living space vs in the attic. If you are doing a major home renovation project now may be a great time to tackle this project too.

If your hatch rests directly on the moldings add 2 1 2 inch wide stops around the opening. Sealing the attic hatch or door finish up by sealing the access hatch with self sticking weather stripping. Air sealing in the attic is generally a challenging diy project but the benefits can be substantial. Add or remove insulation from the bag as necessary to ensure it fits.

You can seal large stud cavities in your attic around dropped soffits under kneewalls and around recessed lights by stuffing insulation into a garbage bag and then plugging the cavity with it. Carefully pull down the finish trim. Seal the attic access weatherstrip the attic access hatch or door.