Your attic has holes. Lots of them - around every wire, pipe, and light fixture. All that air you pay to cool? It's escaping through those gaps. We find them and seal them.
Here's what most people don't realize: the typical Glendale home has the equivalent of a 2 square foot hole in it. Not one big hole - hundreds of little gaps that add up. Around recessed lights. Where pipes come through. At the tops of interior walls. Every one of these is a pathway for your expensive conditioned air to escape.
You can have R-60 insulation in your attic, but if air's flowing through gaps beneath it, you're still losing energy. Air sealing is the step most contractors skip - and it's often the step that makes the biggest difference.
Insulation works by trapping still air. Moving air goes right through it. Seal the gaps and your insulation finally does its job.
That's on top of whatever savings you get from insulation. Air sealing is one of the cheapest improvements with the fastest payback.
When outside air leaks in, it brings dust, pollen, and whatever else is floating around. Tighter house = cleaner air.
That room that's always too hot? It might be drafty, not poorly insulated. Air sealing often fixes comfort problems insulation alone can't.
What we typically find in Glendale homes
These are the spots we seal on almost every job. Your house probably has most of them.
These are notorious. Old-style can lights punch straight through your ceiling into the attic. Every one is a chimney for conditioned air. We either seal around them (if they're IC-rated for insulation contact) or install airtight covers over them. Most older Glendale homes have 6-12 of these, and they add up fast.
Every wire that goes through your ceiling has a hole around it. Same with plumbing vents, bathroom exhaust ducts, and HVAC registers. These holes are small individually, but a typical house has 30-50 of them. We use fire-rated caulk and expanding foam to seal each one without affecting the function.
This one surprises people. The top of every interior wall connects to your attic. There's usually a gap between the drywall and the framing. Air from inside your house rises through these wall cavities and escapes into the attic. It's called the stack effect, and in older homes it's a major energy drain.
The attic hatch or pull-down stairs is often the single biggest leak in the house. Most hatches are just plywood sitting in a frame - no weatherstripping, no insulation. We add foam gaskets, latches to hold the hatch tight, and insulation to the back. It's simple and makes a big difference.
If your ducts run through the attic (most do in Glendale), they leak at every joint and connection. That cool air you're paying for? Some of it's cooling your attic instead of your bedroom. We seal duct connections with mastic and tape, and insulate exposed ductwork.
If you've got a fireplace or gas water heater, there's a chase going through your attic. Code requires clearance from combustibles, but that doesn't mean it should leak. We use fire-stop caulk and metal flashing to seal these properly while maintaining required clearances.
It's methodical. We work through every potential leak point so nothing gets missed.
We use thermal imaging and sometimes a blower door test to find exactly where air's escaping. Some of it you'd never guess - top plates, recessed light cans, plumbing penetrations.
Not all leaks are equal. We'll focus on the big ones first - the gaps that are actually costing you money - rather than chasing every tiny crack.
Caulk for small gaps, expanding foam for bigger holes, fire-rated materials where code requires. We use the right sealant for each situation, not just whatever's in the truck.
We can do a follow-up blower door test to measure exactly how much we improved things. Most customers skip this, but it's available if you want the numbers.
They work on different problems, but when you do both, the results multiply.
When you seal the gaps first, insulation can work at its rated R-value. Air isn't bypassing it. The combination gives you much better returns than either alone.
Typical duct systems lose 20-30% of conditioned air through leaks. When ducts run through a 140-degree attic, those leaks are expensive. Seal them and your rooms cool faster.
Hot and cold spots usually come from air movement, not insulation problems. Seal the leaks and rooms that were always uncomfortable suddenly feel normal.
Here's what Glendale homeowners ask us most often.
Let's find out where your air is escaping. We'll show you exactly what's going on and give you a plan to fix it. Free assessment, no pressure.
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