Attic air sealing in Bel Air South MD - leaks closed before insulation goes on
Drafty rooms, a hot upstairs or a power bill that keeps climbing? We find and close the gaps into your attic so your insulation works.
Why is my upstairs drafty when there's already insulation in the attic?
Attic air sealing in Bel Air South closes the gaps between your rooms and the attic, like the holes cut for wiring and pipes and the attic hatch, so the air you pay to heat and cool stays in the house. It's done before new insulation goes in, because that's when it does the most good.
Most houses I walk into already have some insulation up there, often a few inches that have been sitting for years. The trouble is that air slips right past it through every hole in the ceiling below, so piling more attic insulation on top of open gaps is a bit like wearing a thicker coat with the zipper down.
What moves the price and the schedule is mostly what I find up there, like how many gaps there are, how buried they are and whether anything has to be fixed before sealing can start, and you'll get a written estimate once I've seen it. Maryland lets only contractors licensed by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission contract with homeowners for home improvement work, and we're licensed and fully insured.
- Beyond the obvious holes, we chase down can lights, duct boxes and dropped ceilings open to the attic.
- Most sealing happens on the attic floor, right above your ceilings, rather than up under the roof.
- The room over the garage and kneewall spaces get checked too, because they're common trouble spots.
What happens after you call us about attic air sealing?
Here's how a job goes with us, from the first call to the walk-through at the end. I'm the one you'll meet at the start and the end, and our installers handle the work in between.
Call or send us a note
Call (410) 836-5406 or use the form, and we'll get back to you to set up a visit. A line or two about what's bothering you in the house helps me come prepared.
I come out and look
I come out myself, climb into the attic, ask a lot of questions and walk you through what I'd do first and why. You then get a written estimate with the price on paper, and if part of the job isn't worth your money, I'll say so.
Our installers seal the attic
Our installers do the work in the order we talked about, and I check in while it's happening. If something electrical, plumbing or heating turns up, we bring in a licensed trade for that part.
We walk the finished job
Before we leave, I go over the finished attic with you and show you what got sealed and why it mattered. It's satisfaction guaranteed on every job, and I hope you'll know your house a little better than when we showed up.
What attic air sealing looks like up close
These photos show the kind of spots that get sealed in a typical attic, from the hatch to the holes around wires and pipes. They show the trade in general, not a particular house of ours.
An attic with loose yellow insulation filling the floor between wooden joists.
White blown-in insulation covers an attic floor beneath exposed wooden roof trusses.
A spacious attic has a deep layer of white loose-fill insulation across the floor.
A worker wearing a respirator uses a wide hose to remove loose insulation from attic floor joists.
Crawl space with a white plastic vapor barrier covering the floor and walls, with exposed joists, insulation, ducts, and pipes overhead.
Pink fiberglass batts fill the framed walls of an unfinished basement beneath exposed ceiling joists.
Get a free attic air sealing estimate for your house
We reply within one business day to set up a free visit, and there's no obligation to go ahead. Have a short list of what you've noticed and any gas or oil appliances ready, because that's where I'll start.
(410) 836-5406Questions about attic air sealing in Bel Air South
These are the questions I hear most from homeowners in Bel Air South before they let anyone into the attic. If yours isn't here, ask it on the phone, because I'd rather answer it than have you guess.
How do I know if my attic needs air sealing?
Drafty rooms, rooms that never match each other's temperature, and heating or cooling bills that seem too high are the usual signs. Ice dams in winter, very dry air indoors in winter and dust showing up in the rooms under the attic point the same way, so jot down whichever you've noticed before you call.
Is attic air sealing safe if I have a gas or oil furnace or water heater?
Yes, as long as those appliances get tested, because sealing can sometimes cause a gas or oil appliance that vents on its own draft to pull its exhaust back into the house. ENERGY STAR suggests having a Home Performance Contractor test them before and after sealing, which is the testing we plan for whenever you have one.
What has to be fixed before an attic can be air sealed?
The Department of Energy's attic sealing guide holds off when an attic has live knob and tube wiring, the old cloth-wrapped wiring strung on porcelain knobs, vermiculite insulation, a pebbly gray-brown loose fill, or bath fans that blow into the attic instead of outside. A leaking roof or an unvented kerosene heater or gas fireplace stops the job too, so those get planned and taken care of first, and then we seal.
Is there help paying for a home energy audit in Bel Air South?
Yes, BGE's Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program starts with a $100 home energy audit from a participating contractor. After the audit, your house may qualify for rebates that average $3,000, so it's worth looking into before a bigger insulation project.
How much does attic air sealing cost in Bel Air South?
The price comes down to what's in your attic, and you get it as a written estimate after I've been up there. Tight spots like kneewalls and the room over the garage, old insulation that has to come out and repairs that need doing first push it up, while an open attic with clean insulation keeps it down.
How do I choose a contractor to air seal my attic?
Ask whether the crew runs blower door tests, a big fan set in a doorway that shows how leaky the house is, before and after the sealing, because BPI requires that of its certified Envelope Professionals. A contractor who looks the whole attic over and explains the order of work before quoting is a good sign too, along with the state license I mentioned up top.
Attic air sealing in Bel Air South and nearby cities
Harford County's Permit Center says altering a structure generally needs a permit, so I check with the right office first and we handle any permit needed. We work across Harford County and into Baltimore County, in these cities and others.