Air Seal Top Plates In Attic

These are often found in the top plate drop soffits and chases and the volume of conditioned air that escapes through them is equivalent to leaving a window wide open the year round.

Air seal top plates in attic.

In most houses that gap doesn t get any kind of air sealing so attic air can leak into the house or conditioned air can be pulled into the attic depending on the pressure differences. Air seal your attic for energy savings. Air sealing the drywall to top plates is required by many of the efficiency certificate programs that sem offers such as ecoselect and energy star. The air sealing barrier should be just inside what is commonly referred to as the thermal barrier your insulation.

When they push the drywall toward the plates they leave a gap to prevent damage from thermal expansion and contraction. Air seal the top plate to drywall seams to reduce air leakage in an existing home using one of the following or another method. Top plates are a focal point in almost every energy audit and air sealing job we perform. Will air sealing lower my heating and cooling bills.

Without air sealing your attic you are allowing warm air to escape from your home carrying with it your hard earned winter heating money. Check out this short energy saving tip with stuart keith from today s home remodeler and brian auman from. What does air sealing top plates in an attic mean. Air sealing the attic perimeter.

Top plates are where a variety of building materials come together. Install spray foam insulation on the attic side of the ceiling at the eaves. Beyond meeting certificate requirements air sealing should also be considered a low hanging fruit on any residential construction project. Install spray foam insulation on the attic side over the entire ceiling deck.

The room most likely has drywall walls and ceiling that meet flush together. Top plates are very leaky. Most people just add insulation to their attic this will not stop the escaping warm air. In racine and kenosha or anywhere in our cold midwest climate it is commonly known that air sealing can save the first 20 on annual energy bills.

A big culprit for air leakage in a home is through holes in the floor of the attic.