ReplyCloset door frames. Ceiling lights in closets.
Regular Guest
What are some of the places where cold air (or hot) invades the living space that HO's don't normally think about?
I've taken care of windows (brand new) and doors (new) and done some caulking. Trying to think where I have missed, some rooms seam chillier than others
Thanx ahead
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
Closet door frames. Ceiling lights in closets.
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Electrical outlets on outside walls.
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Outlets, switches, wiring penetrations thru the wall top plate, can lights (can be real bad), regular ceiling fixtures, fireplaces, plumbing fixtures, poorly sealed diffusers (registers), floorboards, cable TV and telephone jacks and wall penetrations, etc.
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Got a couple of closets that are icebergs, I 'll get on that and and some of the other's mentioned too.Originally Posted by beenthere
Now about those outlets. Do y'all suggest the little insulating dooeys that go under the outside plate or simply caulking around where the face plate meets the wall.
This is good and useful information
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****Sigh****
Got my work cut out before the cold hits. But need to save some moolah
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
Yeah, those pads work well.
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I used the "dooeys" in my own home and they work great.
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Big, big holes where plumbing fixtures come in/out for faucets and drains, typically in cabinets.
What are "dooeys"?
Professional Member
dooey`s are thinge`s that work better than no dooey`s.
Regular Guest
When I had a Blower Door test done, which I believe is the best way to deal with outside air infiltration, we ended up "sealing" places that I would never have considered. One area was the "closet" where the air handler is located, feeding upwards to the plennum & ductwork. Another was the air return chamber, underneath the air handler, which had been drawing air down through the walls, from the attic.
God Speed, Jim. We'll miss you - 2-26-23
Another often over looked place.
Is the stairs to the second floor, if you have a basement. Since usually the stairs are over top of the basement stairs.
Have the area dark on the first floor, and a bright light shining in the basement stairs. You can often see light around the trim and steps.
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I'm in SW Florida. The ductwork is in the attic as most of the houses are in Florida. I removed the grills and calked around the boots on all of the supplies and the one central return. It lowered the humdity by 5%.
Professional Member*
A big offender is a set of pulldown stairs to a ventilated attic, when these stairs are in the house vs. garage. They're as bad a several unsealed "can" lights in the same ceiling.
If the attic above a ceiling is ventilated, the word "ceiling" should be changed to "seal-ing", meaning it should be airtight to the house. A "seal-ing" will go a long way to improving indoor comfort. If air has a tough time escaping your house, it will have a tough time getting in. Stack effect needs a point of exit as well as a point of entry.
There are other items of the "thermal boundary" that can be done wrong and cost you comfort and money. Does your house have any dropped ceilings, soffits above kitchen cabinets? Any chases from the attic down to the first floor if your house is multilevel? Knee walls in top floor rooms formed out of the attic space...or full size rooms that adjoin an attic? Bonus rooms over an unheated garage? Single pane windows with metal frames? Duct work in the attic that leaks? Basement or crawl space below the first floor?
Psychrometrics: the very foundation of HVAC. A comfort troubleshooter's best friend.
Professional Member*
Good move! 5% difference in relative humidity can be the difference between comfortable and uncomfortable. While you are not usually in a heating climate, when you do need heat you'll find your same effort will help you on the heating side as it did for your cooling needs.
Psychrometrics: the very foundation of HVAC. A comfort troubleshooter's best friend.
Regular Guest
I wanted to seal openings around switches and outlets in outer walls, but found that many had voids that were too small to caulk or use foam.
Considered using the commercial foam pads but opted to use adhesive-backed foam weatherstripping (about 3/16" wide) around the insde of the wall plates.
This effectively created a seal around the wall opening, when the plate was installed. Saved some bucks, too.
Amp
Regular Member
Did the same on furnace replacement. Contractor caulked and lined return plenum which is in the garage with sheet metal. A return on lower floor feed directly into it. Always thought that I could be losing/gaining air from the garage so I insisted that they do this.
When adding insulation to attic, I found large depressions in old insulation. They were over the kitchen. Figured they were soffits. The new insulation totally filled them and added 6" more on top.
Regular Member
You don't need a basement for this to be a problem. My stairs from lower to upper levels are in the garage. Fortunately, the previous owner encased them in a storage room with door and some insulation on garage wall. I added insulation to most common walls with interior space. Also had ceiling openings where you could see the interior floor trusses and garage supply duct runs from this room. Stuffed fiberglass insulation into openings to prevent air flow.
Also without insulation it seems that the stair structure could have direct links to the attic where warm and cold air could flow through your interior walls. Carpeting on stairs above does help to seal leaks through stair structure.
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