Can You Air-Seal Your Attic Yourself?

You want an air-seal in your attic. You've heard about the benefits of an airtight seal upstairs and want those benefits for your home. At the same time, you don't want to hire a professional to do the air-seal. It may not be within your budget, or you may prefer to do things yourself anyway. Is air-sealing an attic a reasonable DIY project?

South Central Services has insulated hundreds of new and existing homes around Mercersburg, PA. We are passionate about insulation work being done right and want to empower homeowners to complete jobs with a larger margin for error.

By the end of this article, you will know:

• Why air-sealing your attic is a potential DIY project
• The roadblocks you can run into when air-sealing DIY
• What to keep in mind when doing your attic yourself
• When to consider hiring a professional

Air-Sealing Your Attic Could Be A DIY Project.

Unlike some home improvement projects, air-sealing your attic is a reasonable DIY project. The majority of air leaks and penetrations in an attic can be sealed with can foam.

Can foam is a stable, single-component foam. Unlike spray foam kits, can foam is a good option for DIY projects. There are no risks of unstable foam or off-gassing. While you'll need to purchase a significant number of cans, the total cost of the can foam is less than hiring a professional.

DIY air-sealing gets more expensive when can light covers enter the equation. If you have any can lights protruding into your attic, those need to be tented. You can purchase generic can light covers from Lowe's or Home Depot, just like the can foam. However, a single can light cover usually costs between $20 and $30. Costs can be driven up easily by the presence of many can lights upstairs.

Not All Attics Are Easy To Do DIY Work In.

While you could feasibly purchase and install all the materials necessary to air-seal your attic, your attic might not be ideal for DIY work. Let's examine the two biggest reasons why your attic might be challenging to air-seal on your own.

1. Attic Penetrations Can Cause Confusion For Proper Air-Sealing.

There are more areas of air leakage in your attic than can lights, gaps, and cracks. Any penetration from your living space into your attic has air leak potential. Anywhere air can travel through the house's ceiling should be appropriately air-sealed.

These penetrations can include plumbing vents, HVAC vents, flue pipes, electrical wires, chimneys, and light fixtures. Each of those penetrations needs to be sealed differently, even if each leak can be sealed by can foam.

It doesn't matter how affordable and accessible can foam is if you aren't sure how to use it properly in certain cases. Unfortunately, we cannot offer a one-size-fits-all approach to each situation you might encounter. There are a variety of variables that can influence how to approach air-sealing each of these elements.

When air-sealing is done incorrectly, you risk either ineffectiveness or problems with the system that was air-sealed around.

2. Some Attics Are Difficult To Access & Work In.

You may live in a home where the attic is easy to stand up and walk around in. However, your attic might be so narrow that you'll have to crawl. The slant of the roof, what portions of the floor support your weight, and the time of year all contribute to the work environment upstairs.

Attics can be exhausting to work in, especially in the summer months. The heat upstairs means sweating. Discomfort isn't a strong enough word to describe working in an attic in 130-degree heat.

If You Air-Seal Your Attic, You'll Need To Insulate It, Too.

If you opt to do a DIY air-seal, you'll probably want to do the insulation DIY, as well. Before you've installed your air-seal upstairs, you'll have removed the attic insulation. That insulation will need to be replaced with new blown-in.

DIY attic insulation is also an option! You can rent a blowing machine from Lowe's or Home Depot if there's availability in a store near you. These machines often come with deals for free bags of blown-in with rental.

Installing blown-in in an attic with one of these rental machines is not easy. It is incredibly time-consuming work. However, it is possible. Be certain to install the blown-in insulation to the appropriate R-value for your climate zone.

Also, do not reuse any blown-in you removed from your attic before air-sealing. Used blown-in insulation is not clean and should never be put into a blowing machine.

You May Want To Hire A Professional Insulation Contractor.

If none of the descriptions of DIY air-sealing frustration deterred you, you are likely in an ideal situation for air-sealing your attic yourself. However, if the idea of working long hours in a dark, hot attic doesn't appeal to you, consider hiring a professional contractor.

You may want to work with a qualified installer for many reasons. These could include:

• Insured insulation work
• Limited accessibility upstairs
• Sheer size of the attic
• Peace of mind

If you do hire a professional, be sure to work with a competent contractor who will deliver quality work.

The Bottom Line About Air-Sealing Your Attic As A DIY

Air-sealing an attic is a possible DIY project. The necessary tools, such as can foam and can light covers, can be purchased at home improvement stores. With realism, research, and determination, a homeowner could do DIY air-sealing and insulation upstairs.

However, many attics have poor access or excessive numbers of can lights protruding upstairs. In many cases, it is more cost-effective and worthwhile to hire a professional. Hiring a contractor means insured results and less frustration for yourself.

Now that you know that you could air-seal your attic floor yourself, your next step is to:

• Compare the costs of professional and DIY air-sealing upstairs
• Learn more about your attic insulation options
• Discover why homeowners choose our team for their attic insulation

Disclaimer: While we strive to publish information accurate to building science, local building codes and standards supersede our recommendations.