Air Sealing

Air seal your Pacific Northwest home today and enjoy the benefits for years to come.

Combined with insulation, air sealing improves the overall efficiency of your home. It closes any holes or cracks in your home to prevent conditioned air from seeping out while keeping the cold or hot air outdoors.

At HomeRx, we see firsthand how air sealing can make an incredible difference to the comfort of a home. Our energy audits allow us to pinpoint areas of your home where energy escapes. We’ll offer sustainable and practical solutions to help improve your comfort and save you money.

Air Sealing Services in Portland and Bend

Air sealing and insulating go hand in hand. They serve as protective layers to keep your home comfortable in any weather.

While insulation acts as a sweater for your home, a sweater itself is not enough to keep the cold at bay if there is any air movement. Air sealing is like a windbreaker jacket over the sweater. Here in the Northwest, we know all about layering!

The air sealing process involves locating the holes throughout your home (even the potential ones) and sealing them up. When combined with the right type of insulation, air sealing makes all the difference in the world in terms of your home’s comfort, heating and cooling bills, indoor air quality (IAQ), and energy efficiency.

What are some keys to air sealing?

You’ve probably heard how newer homes can be sealed too tightly, which can create indoor air pollution and cause moisture to build up in the walls and attic. That can lead to a muggy home—your ideal indoor humidity level ranges between 30 and 50 percent.

Years of training and experience have taught our HomeRx team how to do it right so that we do not trap moisture—and allow for drying if moisture finds its way inside your home.

Our air sealing experts know how to ventilate, monitor for gases, and the best ways to pinpoint and eliminate pollution sources. If energy were free and there was no such thing as global warming, we would just put in huge furnaces and leave the windows open all time!

Why would I need to seal my older home? It was built to breathe and is in very healthy condition.

Your home may be very healthy. The wood may be in excellent condition in large part because your home has been breathing for the last 100 years.

But there are a couple of problems here—nobody wants to waste energy these days, and the breathing your house does is very erratic.

Temperature differences between the outdoor and inside air cause your home to breathe. It is likely over-ventilating in the winter when temperature differences are more pronounced. Summer is not usually an issue in our climate because it is usually not so hot out, so we can open our windows.

So your home is hyperventilating on the coldest days, then not enough at other times. The solution is to seal it up very carefully to avoid trapping moisture. You then control the ventilation rate mechanically to get the right amount of ventilation all the time.

Duct Sealing

Chances are, the air ducts in your home are fabricated from either galvanized steel, aluminum, polyurethane and phenolic panels, fiberglass duct board, or flexible ducting—or a combination of these materials.

When your ducts were new, they may or may not have been correctly installed and insulated. If they were not, you could have been experiencing leaks and issues all along.

Our installers will seal the seams between duct pieces and at connections. Where necessary, they insulate them. An inexperienced installer may use the wrong materials to seal the seams or execute the job poorly. Either way, you suffer the consequences.

Even if your air ducts were installed well, over time seam seals and duct insulation break down, allowing leakage. Materials can shift and rust as well, also causing leaks.

What are some duct sealing benefits?

• Can help your heating and cooling system to work at optimal efficiency
• Your indoor air quality (IAQ) will improve
• You lose less airflow to leaks and holes

Studies show you can save up to 40 percent on your energy costs after sealing those ducts! Call HomeRx and schedule a free consultation to learn more about duct sealing.

How to Air Seal Your Attic

Air sealing your attic can be a do-it-yourself (DIY) project if you’re handy with weatherstripping and a caulking gun. Otherwise, you can trust our team at HomeRx to tackle this project with ease.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends air sealing your attic first and then adding insulation. Doing so provides your home with a healthy layer of comfort and efficiency.

Here are a few common signs that your attic is a good candidate for air sealing:

• Drafty rooms
• Uneven temperature between rooms
• High energy bills
• Dry indoor air in winter
• Musty odors

Your more significant cost savings will come from plugging the large holes. Look for dirty insulation. It can be a clue that air is moving through it. Pull back the insulation and plug any noticeable leaks.

Plug any open stud cavities and seal behind knee walls. Also, seal around furnace flues and fill any small gaps. Caulk around electrical boxes and fill any holes in boxes with caulk. If you feel a draft, locate the source and seal it.

How to Air Seal Doors and Windows from Cold Air

• Check the caulk around the outside of your windows and doors for any signs of deterioration. Are gaps forming in the caulking? Is it cracked, and does it start to disintegrate when you touch it?
• Remove the old, deteriorated caulk and clean off any residue. Use your caulking gun to fill the gap where the window meets the side of your house. Do the same for your doors.
• Look at the weatherstripping around your doors and windows. Replace the material if it is dry or broken. Remove the old weatherstripping, clean the area and add the new material.

Not sure you want to tackle this project? No problem! Call us today and let our licensed professionals seal all air leaks, including those hard-to-find cracks or holes.

Call HomeRx and Performance Insulation Energy Services for Your Home’s Air Sealing

Get ready to see what air sealing can do for your home in Oregon and Washington. Contact HomeRx today to learn more and to schedule an appointment. Call us at 800-723-5588 or request service online.