(This article was writen in Late January 2010, but would be applicable whnever the temperature outside is "uncomfortable")

Find Drafts in your home Yourself

With it nice and cold it is the time, and the season, to find those drafts in your home that give you the chills.

I am going to describe some ways that YOU can find the drafts yourself with a bit of sleuthing…

You will need:

Several Sticks of Incense or Cigarettes or something that generates SAFE Smoke

Procedure

• Close up the house to your Normal level, and ask people not to use doors for a bit.
• Turn all the FURNACES/Heat-Pumps to OFF at the thermostat
• Turn on ALL of the Bath fans
• Turn the Dryer to AIR-Dry (no heat) and 60 Minutes
• Make sure and Fireplace dampers are CLOSED
• Turn on any Downdrafts or Range Hoods that vents OUTSIDE (don’t if it blows back into the kitchen)

Light the Incense and get it to generate a good column of smoke…

• Go along every OUTSIDE wall and put the Incense near every door, window, outlet, switch, fixture or other penetration of the wall noting where the incense shows a draft.
• On the TOP FLOOR direct the incense to CEILING penetrations such as registers, fixtures, recessed lights, etc… again noting where the incense shows a draft.
• Do the same in the BASEMENT, especially at the “rim board” where the foundation wall meets the Floor

Take good notes so you can find the holes in your house later.

Turn the fans off and the furnaces back on….

Now think about the NUMBER of drafts you found… if each was the size of a pencil and you found 25 of them, it’s like leaving a window open an 1/4 of an inch.  Now add the drafts around the windows and doors, and open the window some more. Daylight around the front door, open the window some more….  Cold air coming from the Vents going through the attic, open the window some more…  In some houses, the cumulative draft opening is the equivalent of leaving a window open several INCHES… That’s one reason why your energy bills are so high…

Now you can start filling in the voids in the house “envelope” with appropriate products.  Wall outlets, switches and plugs can use Foam Gaskets and/or “foam in a can” around the fixtures boxes.  DON’T put the Foam inside any electrical box.  Larger holes may need “plumber’s Putty” or a backing material in conjunction with Foam in a can. There are lots of other products for various openings that can be found at Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart or Kmart.

DRAFTS are the #1 energy waster in homes…not single pane windows…the drafts around them yes, but not the glass.

Inspections by Bob is glad to help if you need professional help finding or seeing the draft sources.  We also can take Thermal pictures to show you what those drafts are doing to your home. Just call us.

Want to see what Thermal Pictures REALLY looks like (not the TV versions) check out:

http://www.inspectionsbybob.com/faq/thermal-inspections

Got questions:  Call or Email me.

Bob Sisson
Inspections by Bob
ASHI Member # 212016
MD Home inspectors License #29666
Bob@Inspectionsbybob.com
www.inspectionsbybob.com
(301) 208-8289