If you’re like many homeowners in California and Nevada, your attic hatch is not properly sealed against air leaks. According to the Energy Savers website, just a quarter-inch space around the edge of your attic access door may let the same amount of air pass through as goes through your bedroom heating vent.
Others estimate you could save 30 percent on your energy costs with a well-insulated attic.
Both examples illustrate the same point — there’s a lot of energy going to waste! After all, you’ve just paid to heat or cool that air and it’s going right up into the attic and outside. To stop the expensive heat loss (and avoid heat gain in summer) caused by air leaks in your uninsulated and perhaps ill-fitting attic hatch:
- Affix weather stripping to the hatch panel itself or to the inside of the frame on the attic floor, where the panel sits.
- Add a latch bolt for the tightest seal.
- Cut rigid foam board insulation to a quarter-inch smaller than the hatch.
- Attach 3 to 4 inches of insulation to the attic side of the hatch panel using construction adhesive or screws.
- Use kraft paper from insulation batts to top off the foam board until you reach the recommended R-value.
- Add an insulated housing for pull-down stairs if you have them. You can purchase ready-made models with a zipper closure around the hatch panel for access.
- For a DIY version, use more foam board insulation and make a box with an open side, big enough to place over the access hatch on the inside of the attic and deep enough for your stairs to fold into, with a little extra room.
- Seal the housing edges to the attic floor with foam weather stripping to make them airtight.
Questions about sealing air leaks in the attic? Talk to the AC Pros. Serving Southern California and Nevada, we’re here to help by giving you access to guidance from our network of local certified contractors. You can also request and compare work quotes for any home comfort project. Visit our website to learn more or just give us a call.
Our goal is to help inform our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Attic insulation image via Shutterstock
