Air Seal Attic Hatch

Insulate and air seal your attic hatch to save money and improve your house s comfort.

Air seal attic hatch.

In our ongoing series on air sealing we are going to focus on the dreaded attic hatch or as allison baile s of energy vanguard so eloquently calls it a mind blowing hole in your building envelope instead of crunching the numbers as he did one just needs to walk by one in a hallway during the middle of summer to know it isn t insulated. Once you have finished sealing all of the leaks in your attic the next step is to weatherstrip your attic hatch or door. Sealing the attic hatch or door. When you re done sealing your attic bypasses push the insulation back into place with an old broom handle or stick as you back out of the attic.

If your hatch rests directly on the moldings add 2 1 2 inch wide stops around the opening. We are going to show you step by step in less than 2 and 1. The finished box is then fitted over the hatch opening on the attic side. Finally seal the hatch door with adhesive foam weatherstripping.

It s easily removed and set aside whenever you need to access your attic. To properly seal your attic hatch also known as an attic door or scuttle hole at a minimum you should apply weather stripping and ensure the attic side of the attic door is insulated. Insulating and air sealing a leaky attic hatch will help stop drafts and it will make your home more comfortable and efficient. Better yet there are high quality products such as the attic gator designed to both seal and insulate attic access doors and scuttle holes.

The stops provide a wider surface for attaching the weatherstrip and a space to mount hook and eye fasteners. Attic hatch covers are easy to install and help keep the air in the attic separate from the air throughout the rest of the home. If you don t already have wooden boards surrounding the perimeter of the opening you can cut some 1 3 boards and nail them into place with 6d nails. Erik north the owner of free energy maine is an energy auditor and home performance specialist in westbrook maine.

Then finish up by sealing the access hatch with self sticking foam weatherstrip photos 10 and 11. Ever wonder how much your attic entrance costs you each month in your cooling and heating bills. The insulating material helps reduce heat transfer between the floor below and the attic. If your hatch rests directly on the moldings like ours did add 2 1 2 in wide stops around the.