Air sealing services in Norman OK - a house that stops leaking air into the attic
Drafty rooms or a hot upstairs usually mean air is slipping through gaps. We find them and close them so your rooms hold steady.
- Service
- Air sealing services
- Call
- (405) 561-8031
How can you tell your house is leaking air?
Drafts at outlets and trim
If you feel cool air at outlets, baseboards or the attic hatch in winter, air is moving through gaps in the walls and ceiling, usually up into the attic. Left alone, the furnace keeps heating air that walks right out, and the power bill shows it.
Upstairs never feels right
When the upstairs or the room over the garage runs hot in summer and cold in winter, the ceiling is usually leaking around lights, pipes and the hatch. More insulation alone won't fix that, because moving air carries the heat right past it.
Dark streaks in the insulation
Gray or black smudges on attic insulation usually mark spots where house air has been filtering through for years, leaving its dust behind the way a furnace filter does. Those streaks point straight at the leaks, and the longer they run, the more of your heated and cooled air ends up in the attic.
What does air sealing do for a Norman house?
Air sealing services in Norman close the gaps where air slips between your living space and the attic, around pipes, wires, light fixtures, the hatch and the tops of the walls. With those gaps shut, the rooms below stay closer to the temperature you set and the furnace and air conditioner stop paying to condition air that leaks away.
Most people call because a room never feels right or the bill keeps creeping up, and they aren't sure whether the answer is more insulation or something else. Often it's both, and the price and the schedule turn on what's up there: how many gaps there are and how easy they are to reach, whether old insulation buries them, how much is stored in the attic, and whether something like a roof leak has to be fixed first. When I walk it, I write up what I find so you can compare it with anyone else's, and if you also need attic insulation, it goes on the same sheet.
Details to note before an estimate
- Rooms that run drafty or hot
- Inches of insulation already up there
- Gas furnace, water heater or fireplace
- Belongings stored in the attic
How we handle air sealing, and why in that order
I start by crawling through the attic and asking about your gas furnace, water heater, stove and fireplace before any caulk comes out, because a tighter house changes how much fresh air comes in and how those appliances vent, and that gets worked out first. Up there I'm also looking for live knob and tube wiring, bath fans blowing straight into the attic and roof leaks, since sealing over any of those just hides a problem. Then our crew closes the leaks, with caulk on the small gaps, spray foam on the wider ones and high-temperature caulk near anything hot like a flue. We leave the soffit, ridge and gable vents and any combustion air duct alone, because those openings are meant to stay open, and sealing them would choke the attic or starve an appliance of air.
Air sealing usually goes with topping up the loose fill, and for most attics that's the better buy. If your ductwork runs through the attic, closed-cell foam insulation under the roof can be worth the higher cost, because it seals and insulates at once and puts the ducts on the comfortable side of the house. Leaks don't stop at the ceiling, either, and the rim along the top of a foundation wall is a common one we seal as part of basement insulation.
Work that often goes with air sealing
Basement insulation
If the floor over your basement stays cold after the attic is sealed, the walls and rim below are usually the other half of the job.
Closed-cell foam insulation
A good fit when ducts or a furnace live in the attic and you'd rather seal and insulate the roof deck in one pass.
What happens after you call us about air sealing in Norman?
Call or send the form
Call (405) 561-8031 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come look. Tell us what you've noticed, like a drafty room or a hot upstairs, because that's where I'll start.
I walk the attic with you
I come out myself, go through the attic or crawl space, take photos and show you what I found before I suggest anything. You get a written estimate listing what has to come first, what we'll seal and the price, so you can hold it up against other bids.
We seal, then I check
A crew I've trained fixes whatever has to come first, seals the gaps and puts in any insulation you've agreed to. Before we call it done, I go back up and check the work against what we wrote down.
What people ask us about air sealing
How much does air sealing cost in Norman?
There's no flat price for air sealing, because the cost follows what's in your attic more than the size of your house. A clear attic with a handful of big leaks can cost less than a small one packed with boxes and old insulation hiding every gap. Call (405) 561-8031 and I'll come see which kind you have.
Why does air sealing come before insulation?
Sealing comes first because that's how you get the most savings out of the insulation, and once insulation goes down, the leaks under it are buried. Insulation slows heat, but air moving through a gap carries heat right past it, like wind through a sweater.
How do I find air leaks in my attic myself?
You can spot the obvious ones, like a loose hatch or daylight around a pipe, but the small leaks in an attic that's already insulated usually sit under the insulation where you won't see them. A certified home energy auditor finds those with a blower door test, a fan that pulls air out of the house so the leaks show, and a thermal camera. If your attic already has insulation, a professional look is worth it before you buy a case of foam.
What happens if my attic has vermiculite insulation?
Vermiculite, the loose, pebbly gray-brown fill in some older attics, may contain asbestos, so it has to be tested before the attic is sealed or insulated. Get professional advice before anything else happens up there, and you can also contact the State Department of Health. If I spot it on the walk-through, I'll tell you and we'll hold off until it's sorted out.
How do I get my attic ready for air sealing?
Start with what's stored up there, because a lot of boxes may need to be moved and kept somewhere else for a while so the crew can reach the leaks. Any flooring or plywood on the attic floor has to come up too, and if it's helping hold the framing together, that support gets replaced first, with something like collar ties, boards that tie the rafters together.
Do I need a permit for air sealing in Norman?
We check with the city before work starts, because Norman's permit list names things like garage sale and sign permits but not air sealing. Permit applications, contractor licensing information and trade permit fees all sit on the City of Norman's Development Services page, and if your job calls for a permit, we pull it or walk you through getting one. Oklahoma doesn't currently require general contractors to hold a state license, though trades that are licensed still need their own, and we're licensed and insured.
Get a written air sealing estimate for your attic
We reply to every call and message within one business day to set up a free in-person look, and there's no pressure to book. After that, I come out myself, go through the attic with you and leave you a written estimate.
Explore our services and areas
Services
- Spray foam insulation
- Attic insulation
- Blown-in insulation
- Home insulation
- Insulation removal
- Crawl space insulation
- Wall insulation
- Basement insulation
- Closed-cell foam insulation
- Open-cell foam insulation
- Commercial insulation
- Crawl space vapor barrier
- Vapor barrier installation
- Attic air sealing
- Retrofit insulation
Book a look at your attic
We answer seven days a week from 7 AM to 10 PM, so you can call (405) 561-8031 from the top of the attic ladder and tell us what you see, or write to hello@normaninsulation.com.