Drafty rooms or a hot upstairs usually trace back to gaps in the attic. We find them and seal them before anything else goes in.
Air sealing closes the gaps that let air leak in and out of your house, around door frames, pipes, vents, wires, ducts and fans, and most of all in the attic. Our air sealing services in Merced close those gaps before any new insulation goes in, so the insulation isn't fighting a draft.
Most people call about a room that never feels right, like the one over the garage, a hot upstairs or a hallway with cold floors. The cause is usually air slipping up into the attic through gaps you can't see from below, while outside air gets pulled in somewhere else to replace it.
The price depends on how many gaps there are, how hard they are to reach under the insulation already up there, and whether old material that's soaked or full of droppings has to come out first. The schedule turns on those same things, plus whether new insulation follows the sealing, and I write all of it down in the estimate after I've been up in your attic.
You call or send a request, and we set up a visit. You deal with me from that first look to the final check, and our own crew does the work in between.
I come out to every job, go up with a flashlight and take photos so you can see the gaps and the old insulation for yourself. Then I write down what I found and give you a written estimate built from it, which is how we've worked since we started in 2017.
We're licensed and insured. The people working in your attic are our own crew, and they do the steps in the order the estimate lays out.
When the crew is done, I go back up and look it over before we call the job finished, and we leave the house clean when we pack up. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
If your house has gas appliances, we plan for a draft test before we seal and another after, because a tighter house changes how a furnace or water heater vents. A draft test is a check that exhaust goes up the flue the way it should, and in some cases sealing can push that exhaust back into the house. That check comes first. Then we make sure the attic can still breathe, then we seal, and only after that does any insulation go in. Soffit, ridge and gable vents and the ducts that bring air to gas appliances are meant to stay open, so we seal around the leaks and leave those working.
A lot of homeowners ask whether they should just foam the whole attic. Closed-cell foam insulation, a dense foam that also blocks moisture, seals air while it insulates, but it costs more. Sealing the gaps and topping up the blown-in insulation already up there usually wins, unless your ductwork lives in the attic. If your house has a basement, the same gaps around pipes and wires show up down there, and we close them as part of basement insulation.
Each step sets up the next one, so we don't skip ahead.
We lay down covers from the door to the hatch so attic dust stays off your floors. If your way up is through a closet, it helps to have that spot cleared before we arrive.
We look for old knob and tube wiring, the cloth-covered kind strung on porcelain knobs, along with vermiculite insulation, bath fans that dump into the attic, roof leaks, gas fireplaces and attic flooring. If something like that turns up, I show you a photo and we talk it through before anything gets sealed.
The crew moves the old insulation aside and seals each gap, working all the way out to the edges where leaks hide and coverage usually runs thin. If old material is soaked or full of droppings, it comes out instead of getting buried.
Once the sealing is done, we test the gas appliances again to confirm they still vent the way they should. Any new insulation goes in after that, so it doesn't cover a gap or a vent.
Send the form or call (209) 308-1021, and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I come out, look over the attic and give you a free written estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
(209) 308-1021Yes, you can seal the obvious ones yourself, like gaps around door frames and the holes where pipes, vents and wires come through the walls. The small, hard-to-find leaks are different, especially in an attic buried under layers of insulation, and that's the part worth hiring out. If you've done the easy ones and the room over the garage still feels off, the rest is usually up top.
Across the US, air sealing with caulk, spray foam and weatherstripping around windows, doors, pipes and wiring usually runs about $500 to $1,500 per job. That's the national going rate, not our price, and where your house lands depends on how many gaps there are, how hard they are to reach and whether old insulation has to come out first. I'll put your number in writing after I've been up there.
Certified home energy assessors find them with a blower door test, a big fan set in an outside door that pulls air through the house's leaks, and an infrared camera that shows where the air is getting through. Those tools catch leaks you can't spot by eye, so it's fair to ask any contractor whether their quote includes that kind of testing. When I look over your attic, I'll show you what I find with a flashlight and photos.
If money's tight, the Merced County Community Action Agency provides no-cost home repairs to eligible renters and homeowners, including sealing small cracks and holes and replacing door weatherstripping. Any county resident who meets the income guidelines and pays the home's energy costs is eligible. It's a public program, separate from anything we offer.
Whoever you hire, the state's Contractors State License Board limits the down payment on home improvement work to $1,000, and less on smaller contracts, with later payments listed in the contract and tied to work done or materials delivered. If insulation is part of the job, the board's C-2 class is the one that covers installing it. We're based in Merced and work in many cities around it, north toward Modesto and south toward Madera, and we see everything from older homes with thin, settled attic insulation to newer ones with a room over the garage that never feels right.
Have a list of your gas appliances and the way into your attic ready when you call (209) 308-1021, and I can plan the visit around them.
If there's a room in your house that never feels right, tell us about it and I'll come take a look.
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