Air Sealing
Air Sealing is typically the most comfort-oriented and cost effective improvement you can make to your home. To properly seal out air leaks, we will use a Blower Door Test with a pressure gauge to depressurize your house. With the blower door in operation and the house depressurized, we can easily find the air leaks and take corrective measures. A good air-sealing job will dramatically increase the comfort of your home and help you save significant energy.
Most buildings built prior to adoption of the 2012 International Energy Code, are leaky. Air-leakage typically accounts for 40% of home heating costs, but it doesn't have to. In addition, if the pressure boundary of a building is not effective or directly adjacent to the insulation, those insulation systems may offer only half or one-third of the listed value. When performing air-sealing work on your house, we strongly recommend working with a contractor who will use a blower door to direct their air-sealing efforts. Without using a blower door, the contractor will not know whether they achieve your air leakage reduction goals. Be sure to discuss these goals before work begins. In general, the most effective method for sealing air leaks is to focus on leaks low and high in the home, largest leaks before the smaller, but more obvious leaks. Seal crawlspaces and basements, attic bypasses, recessed lights, and vaulted ceiling ridge beams before sealing windows, doors and electrical outlets. Small leaks at windows and doors are often induced by the larger leaks in the home.
Why does this matter? Air sealing is typically the most comfort-oriented and cost effective improvement you can make to your home. To properly seal out air leaks, a contractor will use a blower door with a pressure gauge to depressurize your house. With the blower door in operation and the house depressurized, the contractor can easily find the air leaks and take corrective measures. A good air sealing job will dramatically increase the comfort of your home and help you save significant energy.
