Air Seal Top Plates In Attic

Air sealing the attic perimeter.

Air seal top plates in attic.

Top plates are a focal point in almost every energy audit and air sealing job we perform. You are not trying to shove foam down the wall but rather make an air tight cap on top. Install continuous top plates or blocking at the tops of walls adjacent to unconditioned space to minimize air leakage. Before installing drywall install caulk or other sealant or a foam gasket to the face of the top plate then install the drywall.

Stick the spray foam nozzle in the hole with it and give it a quick squirt. Find electrical wires that are penetrating the ceiling. Top plates are very leaky. Install drywall then seal the seam from the attic side with caulk foam or drywall adhesive but not other construction adhesives.

These are often found in the top plate drop soffits and chases and the volume of conditioned air that escapes through them is equivalent to leaving a window wide open the year round. Air sealing the wall plate around the perimeter of your attic blocks air from escaping around the outer edges of your home. Top plates are where a variety of building materials come together. For instance a leak along the top plate of a wall or through holes in the plate may originate at many spots far away at gaps in electric outlets gaps between the drywall and bottom plate of the wall and through the gap at the baseboard wire and pipe holes through bottom plates into the floor cavity between first and second floor and so on.

Air sealing these holes and gaps will greatly reduce the expensive flow of conditioned air from inside your home to outside. Design walls with top plates. Think about the rooms right below the attic. What does air sealing top plates in an attic mean.

The photo at left shows a typical one flush drywall on one side and a big gap on the other. Scope install continuous top plates or blocking at the tops of walls adjacent to conditioned space to minimize air leakage. If your home has this kind of air leakage it s easy to find. Find the lighting electrical box for each room and cover it with a dose of spray foam.

Just go up in the attic pull back the insulation and find the top plates. But sealing indirect air leaks is always a lot more difficult because there are multiple routes the air can take to reach each leak point in the attic. Air seal drywall to top plates at all attic wall interfaces to minimize air leakage. Check out this short energy saving tip with stuart keith from today s home remodeler and brian auman from.