[Goldenstate]

I too did some research on air sealing a home after I noted my home was very hard to keep warm when the wind was blowing outside. I noted that one wall was always more colder than the others in the area. Decided that the only way to find out what was going on was to cut a hole in the sheet rock near the top plate between studs and peek inside.

What I found was stunning. The interior of the wall had holes drilled in the top plate with no pipes or wires, just an open hole where one could feel the puff of air as the gusts of wind blew outside. Another reason for the spider webs and cobwebs in the wall. Also, found drain pipes from the bathroom downstairs headed into the attic. No foam insulation around the drain pipe. Plenty of gaps between the shrunken sheet rock and the top plate as the wood had shrunk as it dried out and the sheet rock did not expand to fill the gap.

Enlarged the hole in the sheet rock so I could use expanding foam to seal the empty hole and around the drain pipe. Used caulking to air seal the gaps between the sheet rock and the top plate. Bought a 27 pound package of loose fill fib er glass insulation and slowly filled the wall up to the hole next to the top plate. Replaced the cut out piece of sheet rock and Spackled up the patch before painting to match the wall. Was now the warmest piece of wall in the house.

I then added up all of the gas bills from the previous heating season and found it cost me $1,040.00 to heat the house from December to April. I was not impressed and decided that more holes were going to be cut into the walls. Before I was done, I found 11 more empty drilled holes in the top plate, plenty of holes with Romex wire not foam insulated as per building code. Also some knot holes letting cold air in as well. One place there was a 2 inch hole in the top plate where a drain pipe was not placed and left open for cold air to enter since the home was constructed 24 years earlier.

Before I was completed, I had cut in excess of 75 holes in the sheet rock and used numerous tubes of caulking and foam to seal the top plate. Added 17 bags of loose fill insulation to the walls and cut my heating gas bill for the year to slightly under $400.00. The bonus was a much more quiet home, far more even temperatures and less wear and tear on the heating cooling systems. I also noted that with some aggressive weatherstripping of the windows and doors, the house was now more free of crawling critters than ever before.

I then attacked the ceiling electrical boxes with caulking and foam as part of the air sealing task. Amazing how many gaps they leave around the boxes in the ceiling. I did more sealing over the past summer and look forward to much lower gas bills this heating season even if the local gas company raises rates once more.

My only regret is not getting mad and electing to cut the first hole in the wall much sooner. This is not a job for the weak, but the pay off is far more than I expected when I started. When the wind picks up speed this year, the temperature of the house does not vary at all and the heater might come on once an hour instead of once each 10-15 minutes.

It was a slow and steady event, but something that had to be done. I moved much furniture away from the walls in the process and managed to throw a few things away in the end game. Looking forward to an even lower gas bill total for the upcoming heating season.

Goldenstate