Where is that Draft Coming From?

This year, I set a goal to finally tackle a few long-overdue home efficiency upgrades, and at the top of the list was my attic. If you’re looking for one of the most impactful places to improve your home’s efficiency, start here. It’s not glamorous, but it makes a big difference.

If your home has uneven temperatures between rooms, high heating and cooling bills, drafty spaces, or even ice dams in the winter, there’s a good chance your attic is part of the problem. It’s one of the biggest opportunities for improving comfort and energy performance.

Here’s what I did.

First, I removed the old insulation to fully expose the ceiling plane. You can’t fix what you can’t see. Once everything was cleared out, I focused on the big holes first. In my case, I found an old chase behind a closet that had never been properly draft-stopped – it was simply covered with insulation. I capped it with rigid polyiso insulation board and sealed it with polyurethane spray foam.

Next up were several dropped bathroom ceilings that were unsealed and missing insulation. I air sealed the perimeter of those areas and brought the insulation back in line with the ceiling plane.

From there, it was all about details: sealing around light fixtures, plumbing stacks, wiring penetrations, and top plates. Small gaps got caulk. Larger openings got spray foam. Other common problem areas in many homes include attic hatches, knee walls, recessed lights, soffits, and plumbing or HVAC penetrations.

The key is simple: seal the big holes first, then work your way down to the smaller penetrations.

Once I was confident the attic floor was fully air sealed – separating conditioned space from unconditioned space – I reinstalled insulation. I made sure that it was properly lofted, continuous, in full contact with the ceiling plane, and compliant with current energy code. Just as important, I verified that ventilation was appropriate for the attic size and configuration.

The results were immediate: lower utility bills and noticeably more comfortable rooms.

So what are you waiting for?