So I had my new house (finished Nov. 2008) blower door tested today. He also had an infrared camera to spot the infiltrations.
Very, VERY interesting. My air intake should be around .35 air exchanges per hour; tentatively I was around a .48. So I have lots of room for improvement.
My method of construction was 2"x6" walls; 1/2" expansion foam; and 6" fiberglass batt insulation in walls. Ceiling was blown in cellulose.
My major problems were:
1. Notch outs for plumbing & electric from basement to attic where allowing WAY too much cold air in. Amazingly the size of these openings was no bigger than 10-20 square inches. It caused a huge, huge problem. All the cold air in the attic just rushed down these unintentional chases. Quick fix with some expansion foam and foam board in the bigger places would fix all of that.
2. A part of my house is Cape Cod style, with the traditional angled ceiling. So the 2nd floor wall starts 4' or so in from the exterior wall and then does an angle, and then flattens out. Because this part of my house is over the garage, we only put batts in the ceiling there, no blown in cellulose. However the eave has the traditional perforated soffit. The drywall sits on top of the plywood floor. Now, I have baseboard installed but not the carpet yet (it's the bonus room). The air was FLYING in between the bottom of the drywall and the plywood. Their was fiberglass batt insulation on the floor and running up the 4' wall. Batt insulation DOES NOT stop air infiltration. The tester said he has tested 3000 houses and my house was the worst he ever tested. We are going to pull off the soffit and put up some board insulation with foam.
3. Recessed light fixtures - they all leaked terrible, even though they are the enclosed style units with blown in cellulose on top & around all of it. They need an adapter kit with a rubber gasket.
4. Leaking ductwork. Flexible ductwork was not taped coming off of the main trunk, and where they would go into the wall was not foamed or taped. Easy fix.
5. OSB at the transition at grade from foundation to wood framing. OSB went over top of foundation NOT sitting on top. It should have been caulked. Easy fix of caulking the OSB/Concrete transition. Do NOT caulk the wood/siding transition as this is where water comes out that gets behind your siding.
Interestingly my local inspector (to whom I paid $800 as required by law) should have caught #1 and #4, but he did not. I will have pictures when he emails me. But you could also feel everything with the blower door test.
I have geothermal and my total electric costs me around $2400/year. He thought I would reduce my bill $500-$800/year if I fixed everything he suggested.
Very, VERY interesting. My air intake should be around .35 air exchanges per hour; tentatively I was around a .48. So I have lots of room for improvement.
My method of construction was 2"x6" walls; 1/2" expansion foam; and 6" fiberglass batt insulation in walls. Ceiling was blown in cellulose.
My major problems were:
1. Notch outs for plumbing & electric from basement to attic where allowing WAY too much cold air in. Amazingly the size of these openings was no bigger than 10-20 square inches. It caused a huge, huge problem. All the cold air in the attic just rushed down these unintentional chases. Quick fix with some expansion foam and foam board in the bigger places would fix all of that.
2. A part of my house is Cape Cod style, with the traditional angled ceiling. So the 2nd floor wall starts 4' or so in from the exterior wall and then does an angle, and then flattens out. Because this part of my house is over the garage, we only put batts in the ceiling there, no blown in cellulose. However the eave has the traditional perforated soffit. The drywall sits on top of the plywood floor. Now, I have baseboard installed but not the carpet yet (it's the bonus room). The air was FLYING in between the bottom of the drywall and the plywood. Their was fiberglass batt insulation on the floor and running up the 4' wall. Batt insulation DOES NOT stop air infiltration. The tester said he has tested 3000 houses and my house was the worst he ever tested. We are going to pull off the soffit and put up some board insulation with foam.
3. Recessed light fixtures - they all leaked terrible, even though they are the enclosed style units with blown in cellulose on top & around all of it. They need an adapter kit with a rubber gasket.
4. Leaking ductwork. Flexible ductwork was not taped coming off of the main trunk, and where they would go into the wall was not foamed or taped. Easy fix.
5. OSB at the transition at grade from foundation to wood framing. OSB went over top of foundation NOT sitting on top. It should have been caulked. Easy fix of caulking the OSB/Concrete transition. Do NOT caulk the wood/siding transition as this is where water comes out that gets behind your siding.
Interestingly my local inspector (to whom I paid $800 as required by law) should have caught #1 and #4, but he did not. I will have pictures when he emails me. But you could also feel everything with the blower door test.
I have geothermal and my total electric costs me around $2400/year. He thought I would reduce my bill $500-$800/year if I fixed everything he suggested.
