Sealing Air Leaks in Exterior Walls - Energy Saving Project

Sealing Air Leaks in Exterior Walls

This is one of the simplest energy saving projects you can tackle this weekend. By sealing up penetrations in your home's exterior walls,  you'll help prevent air infiltration into and out of your house.

If you look around the outside of your home, you'll likely find electrical conduit and pipes coming out of the walls somewhere. The small gaps and spaces around those protrusions are a prime source of energy loss. They can also allow insects and critters inside!

The Solution:

The easiest way to help alleviate this problem is to use expanding foam to fill the voids. It's sold commercially under several brand names, including Dow's Great Stuff. The trick is to buy the right product for your situation. For this project, we're using the type that's meant for small cracks and gaps.

Step 1:

Fill the gap slowly, and be sure to get the foam around all sides of the pipe or conduit. It will begin to expand pretty quickly, so stay alert and stop spraying the foam as it begins to overflow slightly. It will continue to expand.

Step 2:

Once the foam has hardened (which varies but is usually less than an hour), use a utility knife to remove the excess.

Step 3:

Once the excess is removed and you've scraped off the residue, you can paint it to match the surrounding area. I've used small wood covers like the one below to further seal up the area and conceal the rough edges.

You're Done!

It may not seem like a big deal, but if you take the time to fix these small problems, you could start to see the energy savings add up.

Tips:

Once you start using the can of foam, it's a good idea to use the entire contents. While it's possible to clean out the spray tube and nozzle, it can be a difficult and messy job. The most economical way to tackle this project is to identify all the gaps around your home and complete them at the same time.

As I mentioned above, the expanding foam is extremely sticky on just about any surface. It's a good idea to have a package of these hand wipes for clean-up afterward. You can read more about them, and see them in action in my review HERE.

There are plenty more tips and projects like these in my book, Spend a Little, Save a Lot Home Improvement. Hey, look - you can buy a copy right here! It's just $20 and I'll even sign it for you - what a deal! Just click the secure link below and the magic happens. Limited supply, though, so don't delay :)