Deep dive into Katie’s home energy audit with us.

We had a fantastic event on September 10th at my friend Katie's house. Kevin Hettler from Home Performance Solutions came out to show us how he analyzes a home for air leaks and insulation problems (pro tip: this home had ZERO insulation and that is not nearly enough)!

Kevin did a masterful job talking about the common points of air leakage in Katie's home -- attic, balloon frame chases, and a leaky rim joist -- and the appropriate fixes. Katie reported that she has big icicles, so we knew the blower door test would show some big air leaks. Check out the video to see some of her knickknacks blowing in the wind as the air poured up from the basement during the blower door test.

For the attic, he recommends air sealing before insulating up to R60. Going from R0 to R60 will have an awesome effect on their winter gas bills. This attic work would include installing gable vents, which are not quite as good as soffit and ridge vents, but they would be a big improvement over nothing, and they're very cost-effective. This part of the job would cost around $2000.

For the basement, Kevin recommends using a two-part spray foam product to air seal and insulate the rim joist. He would take care to spray about 1"-2" down the basement wall to also air seal the bottom plate, right where it sits on the concrete. This part of the job would cost around $1800.

Other outstanding issues included: a small "knee wall" attic on the second floor with no access; a first-floor kitchen (probably an addition) with an attic above it, with no access; a basement cellar ("bilco" style) door with poor air sealing; and leaky basement windows. But the main issues are typically the attic and rim joist, so that's what we would tackle first if Katie wants to pursue the job.

A job like this would likely reduce overall leakage by 20-40%.

Reach out to me at william@greenprojectsgroup.com with questions or to get pricing on similar work to improve the comfort and energy efficiency of your home.

***any friend of Green Projects Group can call Kevin for an estimate at (989) 640-2907 and use code GPGFRIEND for 3% off. This (smaller) home would likely cost about $4k to tackle the biggest problems, just for a general idea of his pricing***