Drafty House

We may have a drafty house in part due to the holes cut in its outer shell. These holes are necessary to allow for things to enter and leave our house but they must be dealt with properly. Newer homes are required to be built with a continuous vapor barrier around the whole exterior of the building. Where it is necessary to cut through it, it must be sealed carefully. In older homes, where there is no vapor barrier, there can be significant drafts coming in at electrical boxes. On a cold winter day, if you put your hand near a plug receptacle or light switch, you can feel cool air. You can buy foam gaskets to put behind the face-plates to reduce these leaks. You will often find gaps along the bottom of base-boards on exterior walls. These can be filled with a latex calking that can be painted later. This will stop these leaks. When services are brought into our homes such as: hydro, telephone, cable TV and natural gas there need to be holes cut in exterior walls. It is important that the calking at these entry points be checked periodically. Vent pipes are also cut through the exterior of our homes. These include: dryer vents, plumbing vents, bathroom exhaust vents etc. It is important to check the calking around these periodically. If we see to these things will have a considerably less drafty house. drafty house return to homepage