Attic-Sealing Strategies

The attic is the most forgotten part of an average coastal Texas household.  Often stuffed with boxes and old furniture, it’s easy to overlook the fact that this area of your house is actually quite important, whether you use it or not.  The reason is because the attic may be contributing to a serious lack of energy efficiency in your home, as well as other problems such as structural integrity. 

These troubles often result when your attic has poor ventilation and moisture intrusion occurs.  This moisture can warp the roof, ruin insulation, and even cause problems in other parts of the house.

Attic sealing maintains energy efficiency and keeps your house in good shape.  Here are a few attic sealing strategies to ensure that you keep damaging moisture out of your home:

Maintain a Good Roof
Before buying a house, be certain to closely inspect the roof to make sure it’s been well-constructed.  Of course, responsible roof maintenance is an ongoing necessity, so don’t forget to weatherproof it.

Insulate the Attic
Proper attic insulation will keep heat from escaping in the winter and keep heat out in the summer.  Making certain that both the attic and the eaves are well-insulated ensures a more durable attic and lower utility bills.

Seal Leaks in the Attic
Warm and humid air that comes from a hot kitchen or a steamy shower can get up into the attic and create moisture problems if there isn’t enough air sealing between the top floor of the house and the attic space.  Look for gaps and leaks near the attic entryway, in ductwork, plumbing, wires and lighting fixtures, and make sure these are sealed as soon as possible.

Keep Your Attic Ventilated
Without proper ventilation, moisture will build up in the attic, causing mold, damaging wood, and destroying the insulation that helps keep your home energy efficient.  A good way to increase ventilation in the attic is to replace the panels under the roof eaves with ridged vents, which allow air to enter beneath the overhang.  Make sure that you have enough roof vents on top of your roof, but DO NOT install power attic ventilators.  Power ventilators have been proven to draw air from in your home to the attic which ends up costing you much more on your cooling bill.

Contact CCAC if you need further advice on attic sealing or insulation. We’re always happy to answer any questions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Mathews CCAC Air Conditioning and Heating services Corpus Christi, TX. To get started, check out our website.