Sealing Air Leaks Around Attic Chimney

Foam or caulk small gaps in your attic.

Sealing air leaks around attic chimney.

Many building codes require a. Chances are your ceiling has the equivalent of a 2 ft. Fireplace flues are made from metal and over time repeated heating and cooling can cause the metal to warp or break creating a channel for air loss. Seal all gaps and cracks around rim joists though you may not be able to see cracks in the rim joist cavities it is best to seal up the top and bottom of the inside of the cavity.

Air sealing the wall plate around the perimeter of your attic blocks air from escaping around the outer edges of your home. The thick layer of fiberglass insulation that covers our attic floor was tightly packed around the chimney. A home energy company has proposed a solution that involves sealing air leaks in the bedroom ceilings attic floor sealing around the chimney weatherizing the attic hatch insulating a few roof areas that the builders missed and adding cellulose to the rest of the attic to bring it up to r 60. Sealing air leaks at ceiling penetrations can improve the efficiency of a home s heating and cooling systems.

What i found were unsealed gaps that varied from 2 in. A tremendous amount of heat can escape around the chimney if it isn t properly sealed. Wide and warm air pouring through the insulation. Environmental protection agency epa and the u.

Seal air leaks around fireplace chimneys furnaces and gas fired water heater vents with fire resistant materials such as sheet metal or sheetrock and furnace cement caulk. 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. While most of the air leaks in your attic are probably covered up by insulation you can detect these air leaks by looking for patches of dirty or dark insulation. Air sealing the attic perimeter.

Wide to 4 in. If you do seal air leaks around flues make sure that you use heat resistant caulk. Backer rod or crack filler is a flexible foam material usually round in cross section 1 4 to 1 in diameter and sold in long coils. Watch for hidden air leaks around pipes and seal them up.

Square hole that s acting like a chimney drafting expensive heated. Here s how to locate the leak spots and plug them without spending a lot of money. After sealing attic air leaks complete the job by sealing basement leaks to stop the chimney effect. Sealing an air leak around a chimney in the attic.

I peeled it back to see if the gaps had been sealed with a fire rated air stop such as sheet metal or cementboard. Locating air leaks 1 2 getting started 1 4 sealing attic air leaks 1 6 additional sources of air leaks 2 1 sealing basement air leaks 3 1 adding attic insulation 4 1 when you see products or services with the energy star.