A home in Sterling, VA wanted to make a few rooms in their home more comfortable throughout the year. This home had a cantilevered floor, which is a floor that sticks out past the foundation or supporting wall below. This building detail allows air to leak in, creating cold floors above and cold ceilings below. The insulation in this area was inadequate did not fill the bay, and could not stop airflow. This home also had no insulation in the exterior walls, causing drafts and air leaks. The attic insulation, and the ductwork housed in the attic, were under-insulated as well. All of this resulted in drafty rooms, an uncomfortable home, an HVAC system that had to work harder to keep up, and higher fuel and energy bills.
Solution
There were many steps involved in this project. Closed cell spray foam was installed in the cantilever to stop air infiltration, and the rear kitchen wall was dense packed with TruSoft cellulose to help prevent frozen pipes. The rim joist below the kitchen was spray foamed as well as the duct system and skylight in the attic. The attic was air sealed and TruSoft cellulose was blown in to an R value of 60. The chimney chase was sealed with metal flashing, fire caulk, and wrapped with a rock wool sleeve. Finally, the attic scuttle cover was air sealed and insulated. All of these steps combined made this home much more comfortable, quieter, and lowered utility bills.
This Sterling, VA home had uncomfortable and uneven temperatures in some rooms.
Here you can see the cantilever. This area allows air to leak in if not properly insulated.
In the attic, our evaluator, Stephen, found that the existing insulation was inadequate.
Here you can see that the attic floor was NOT air sealed.
Our production crew starts to air seal the attic floor with polyurethane foam.
We recommend removing the old insulation before air sealing, but in this case, the homeowner wanted to keep their existing insulation and add to it. This makes air sealing a little more difficult but it can be done.
This un-insulated skylight was allowing air infiltration.
The Comfenergy Crew starts to air seal the ductwork that runs through the attic.
The skylight gets closed cell spray foam installed to stop airflow.
Duct sealing can make a significant improvement in keeping your home healthier and more energy-efficient.
To insulate the exterior walls, siding is removed.
Holes are drilled and then filled with blown-in TruSoft Cellulose insulation.
The siding is replaced and looks good as new.
The Comfenergy Crew moves over to the cantilever and the soffit board is removed so it can be insulated.
The cantilever is prepped and ready for new insulation.
A SilverGlo foam block is installed first to block the bay.
Polyurethane foam is sprayed over the block and on the bottom of the floor deck to stop all air flow and insulate.
The soffit board is replaced and the cantilever is now insulated.
