Understanding Air Leaks

How did my house get so many leaks?

Joints = Leaks: "How did my house get so leaky?" For starters, a house is made from thousands of parts and pieces, from nails and 2x4s to window casing, electrical wire and drywall panels. Small gaps and cracks occur wherever one part of your house joins another. To make matters worse, many joints that are tight initially don't stay that way. Even before a house is completely built, wood starts to shrink, materials expand and contract at different rates, and connections work lose. Many of these cracks and gaps become leakage points that need to be sealed in order to save energy. 

Contractors Cause Leaks (But they can't help it)

Air leaks are built into the construction process. As soon as the framing crew is finished nailing together all the joists, studs, rafters, beams and sheathing that make up the house shell, other workers come in to start cutting it apart. Plumbers, electricians and HVAC contractors apply their drills and saws to make room so that heating ducts, electrical wires, water lines and waste pipes can be run throughout the house. The resulting holes are normal and don't compromise the strength of a house, but they do create hundreds of leakage points that can allow inside air to leak out and outside air to leak in.

Our Energy Saving Service Dept says...

By having your home professionally sealed, you can reduce your heating & cooling costs by 25% or more. Let s help. Schedule your Home Energy Audit.

Virginia Residents Recieve a $250 Rebate for having this test done by a BPI Certified Technician. Call 804-745-0294 for more information.

Leaks Cost You Money

It's like leaving a window open. Add up the area of all the gaps, cracks and openings where energy can escape in a typical house and you'll easily equal the area of an open window. Gaps can be small, like those around an electrical outlet in an exterior wall. They can be large, like the holes that plumbers often drill in floors and framing to install pipes. And they can be long, like the gap on the outside of the house where the eave soffit is supposed to meet the exterior wall. 

Sealing Saves You Contractors Cause Leaks (But they can't help it)Money

Sealing leaks in a home's building envelope, a process called air sealing, increases comfort and energy efficiency while decreasing your fuel bills. Air-sealing can be simply described: Find leaks, then seal them. But this is easier said than done. Finding air leakage demands specialized equipment (such as an infiltration or blower door), skilled detective work and the ability to access parts of the house most homeowners can't easily reach or don't want to.

Once leaks are properly identified, it's important to select the right specialty products and use professional techniques to seal them. Dr. Energy Saver has the right expertise to find leaks and seal them. 

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Air sealing is a "once-and-done" lifetime repair. Once you've made this energy-saving upgrade, there's nothing to maintain or replace. You simply keep enjoying the benefits of greater comfort and energy savings for as long as you own your home.