Air Sealing Attics: Case Studies in Making Retrofit Attic Air Sealing Faster, Easier, and Safer

Poor attic air sealing can be found at the root of numerous building performance issues, ranging from high energy bills to damaging ice dams, and is generally more accessible than other elements of the air control layer, making this area of the building envelope a particularly attractive target for home performance and weatherization upgrades. Of course, that doesn’t make it easy… tight quarters, limited ventilation, and a variety of different air leak geometries can turn this into a tedious, painful task.

New air sealing products coming online are making this job easier, faster, and safer for weatherization contractors. Spray polyurethane foams, delivered as a single component from standard 20-30 oz aerosol cans, have only recently started becoming available from a number of manufacturers and generally have many advantages over methods for attic air sealing. This session will start with the basics of attic air sealing, including the building science behind why it’s important and common leak points that impact on performance. A brief review of single component spray foams will be followed by a series of case studies comparing the cost, time to complete, and whole building blower door testing when using different products and methods of attic air sealing.