Learn about Air Sealing Your Home

Air leakage occurs in homes when air inside the home leaves or air outside the home enters uncontrollably through cracks, gaps, and openings. For most homes, air leakage is one of the biggest reasons for energy inefficiency and drafty comfort problems.

Many air leaks and drafts in your home are easy to find because you can feel when it is cold or hot outside - like those around windows and doors. But holes hidden in attics, basements, and crawlspaces are more difficult to find and are a bigger problem.

For example, attics usually contain large holes and gaps that were never sealed. Additionally, chimneys and plumbing vent stacks rise from the house to the attic. These stacks include wires and ductwork run from the attic to the house and where walls in the home connect to the attic. These are locations where air from the house continuously leaks into the attic and act as sources of air leakage, such as:

• recessed canned lights.
• dropped soffits.
• attic hatches.

As  a result, homeowners wonder why their utility bills are so high and why rooms are uncomfortable.

To find these holes in the attic, GHA uses advanced diagnostic tools such as blower doors and infrared cameras. These tools are highly effective at detecting hidden air movement and thermal by-passes. To permanently fix these problems, GHA quality contractors identify and seal all penetrations in the attic.  We leverage foam boards, spray foams, house wraps, tapes, caulks and other sealants. This helps ensure the warm air from your furnace and the cold air from your air conditioner stays out of the attic.

Air sealing transforms leaky, uncomfortable, drafty homes into more comfortable homes. It also turns inefficient homes into efficient homes with lower heating and cooling costs.