Ray Hogan

Author: sensei

  • Sealing the Attic Part 2

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    So, to get to the nitty gritty, I began sealing. The recommended way is to use “Great Stuff”. This is an expandable foam in a can with a spray tube. It’s a messy, glue-like substance that works well and is a bit finnickly as a product. For example, once you begin using it, it is…

  • Sealing the air leaks in the basement

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    First the warning: If you seal too well, the exhaust from the furnace or hot water heater will not naturally go up the chimney, but instead stay around. The by product of burning Natural Gas and Other fuels is Carbon Monoxide … a silent killer.   Care should Always be taken as well as continuous verification that…

  • Sealing the attic

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    Although the air conditioner was at a minimum level of insulation and leakiness, I then moved to sealing the aire leaks in the attic. Basicaly, there are various holes and gaps in the attic floor where, air can come from inside the house and flow to the atic and then outside. these holes should be…

  • Insulating the Basement – The Campaign

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    My Second Major project is improving the energy efficiency of the basement.   Specifically, I’m improving the cubbie holes above the sill plate (basically the top of the basement walls between the floor joists), and adding storm windows to the basement windows.   My plan is to use PolyIso to fill in the cubbies after…

  • Stabilizing my Air Handler – Part 3

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    Once the main leaks were all handled, I then took to insulating the air handler on the outside and the supply ducts. I chose to use 1 inch Polyiso board insulation. I chose 1 inch because I needed some flexibility. I used 5-6 sheets of this and placed it all over both the handler and…

  • Stabilizing my Air Handler Part 2

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    Once the big leaks were sealed, I moved on to the branch ducts. Basically, these ducts take some of the air from the main metal ducts work and deliver it to individual registers in different parts of the house. They are flexible ducts and attached with clamps.   Many of these too were leaking. I…

  • Initial impressions

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    Our home inspector pointed out a “past life expectancy” air conditioner air handler in the attic. We hired an HVAC guy to come and look at the Air Conditioning system before finishing negotiations. He reported a “past life expecentency” air handler and a newer Compressor outside.   The Attic: Once we closed, I got my first…

  • Stabilizing my Air Handler

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    The first major project I took on was to stabilize and improve the energy efficiency of my Air Handler. In case you do not know what that it, it’s basically a radiator and a fan that cools the house air by circulating the house air through the radiator. All of this equipment is inside a large sheet metal box and…

  • Home Energy Improvement Master Plan

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    1) Stabilize Here I plan on sealing, Fixing and otherwise improving that which is already there. The attic and basement are my two main targets. The attic needs much more insulation and the air handler is in sad shape. I need a new access cover. 2) Improve. This is mostly adding insulation to the attic, but in order to…