Over the years, people spend hundreds and thousands of dollars to make their home more insulated and to ensure that there aren’t any cold or hot air leaks. But the truth is that almost every home spends oodles of money trying to fix air leaks. In fact, a family spends about $350 every year for heating and cooling. Therefore, gaps and air leaks can actually be heavy on the pocket.
But not anymore! Here is a list of DIY steps that can help you fix air leaks easily and without spending too much money.
- Check for the leaks- Firstly, check for the area of air leak. For instance, some of the common air leak areas include recessed lights, stud cavities, attic access doors, chimneys, doors and windows. Only once after you have noticed the area from where air is leaking, you can follow different steps to fix it.
- For stud cavities- Generally, areas are dropped ceilings and soffits are uncovered by inner skin of drywall. This is one of the areas of air leak. For this, you would need to check the insulation and ensure if the stud cavity is open or unopened. In case it is opened, seal it with fibreglass insulation. This should be stuff in plastic garbage bag as the bag can block airflow. Average cost of this procedure is 1.30 dollars a square foot. For larger holes choose reflective foil insulation.
- Dealing with chimney air leaks- For chimney air leak, the ideal option is to cover any gaps with aluminium flashing, which costs about $12. This flashing is to be fixed and sealed in place using silicone caulk, which would cost another $20. To make sure that the insulation is away from hot flue pipe, you can use a wrap of cylinder that flashes around flue and maintain an inch space in between.
- Windows- Old windows generally result in air leaks. But don’t worry! Dealing with them is easy. For the same, you can opt for caulking around the window to seal all joints and connection. The caulk should be used near frame. You can also replace weather stripping or inject foam sealant to deal with it.
- Doors- Door frame air leaks are most common as change in moisture content changes soil and causes slight home shifts. Use foam sealant on the frame of the door and house with affecting the casing. Or use a flat pry bar to remove trim. Weather stripping also does wonders for this problem.
