Air sealing services in Fort Walton Beach FL - cooler rooms and an attic that stays dry
Drafty rooms, a hot upstairs or a power bill that keeps climbing usually mean air is leaking somewhere. We find it and seal it.
Why does my house feel drafty and muggy?
Air sealing services in Fort Walton Beach close the gaps that let outside air, attic air and moisture into your house, so your rooms hold their cool and the AC doesn't run all afternoon. Most of the leaks that matter are in the attic, buried under the insulation where nobody looks.
Usually it starts with one bedroom that won't cool down, or the room over the garage that feels sticky by noon. Those leaks do more than waste cooling, because the damp air they pull in can warp wood and start mold. The price depends on how much old insulation sits on top of the leaks, how many holes there are around lights, pipes and the hatch, and whether something up there has to be fixed before we seal. The schedule depends on those same repairs, plus a drafting test if you have gas or oil appliances and a permit if the job needs one. Your estimate is where your own number comes from. If your trouble is all overhead, our attic air sealing page goes into more detail.
What our air sealing services involve
I start in the attic, because that's where most of the leaks are and where the bad surprises hide. If I find wet insulation, moldy or rotted rafters, or a vent dumping moist air into the attic, that gets fixed first, since sealing over it just locks the problem in. I'll point out the gaps you can caulk yourself, so you're not paying us to run a bead of caulk. Then our crew pulls back the insulation and goes after the leaks you can't see, around can lights, the hatch, behind kneewalls and at the holes drilled for wiring and plumbing. We seal the biggest holes first, because that's where most of the savings are. If the house has gas or oil appliances, we make sure a drafting test is part of the plan. When we put the insulation back, it goes down even, not deep in the middle and thin at the edges, and the eave vents stay clear so the attic can still breathe.
Some air doesn't come from the attic at all. In the few houses around here with a below-grade room, basement insulation keeps damp air from working its way up into the rest of the house. Where a ceiling or roof deck has to stop air and moisture at the same time, closed-cell foam insulation, a dense foam that blocks moisture, does both in one layer.
Seal the gaps, then top up the attic
This suits most houses with an attic of loose fill that's just thin or packed down. Blown-in insulation, which is loose fill blown through a hose, won't stop air by itself, so we seal first and then top it up, and that usually beats foam on cost.
Spray foam as the seal and the insulation
This suits a house where the ductwork lives in the attic. Foam costs more, but when it goes on as one continuous layer it stops air and insulates at once, so the ducts end up inside the sealed part of the house.
Pull it out, seal, then reinsulate
This suits an attic where the old insulation is soaked, moldy or full of droppings, since fresh material on top of that just covers the problem. The old material comes out with insulation removal, we seal the bare attic floor while it's easy to reach, and then the attic gets new insulation.
Air sealing services for Fort Walton Beach heat and humidity
In a hot, humid climate like ours, every leak pulls in wet air along with the heat, and too much outside air drives up energy use and brings in a lot of moisture. That air isn't always coming from outdoors, either. It can be pulled in from the attic or the garage, which is why the room over the garage is so often the muggy one. On jobs here we look hard at the attic floor and the walls and ceiling shared with the garage, and we find the same leaks on jobs in Destin and Navarre.
Permits inside the city go through the city's Building Division, which takes every application online through My Government Online, or MGO, and schedules inspections there too. Whether a given air sealing job needs one isn't something I'll guess at. We first check whether your address falls under the city or the county, because a mailing address doesn't settle that, and when a permit is needed we pull it and handle the inspections. If you'd rather pull it yourself as an owner-builder, the city has you sign an owner-builder affidavit in person at its offices, notarized there, as state law requires.
Air sealing work up close
Why call us for air sealing
I look at the attic first
I come out, go up in your attic and write the estimate myself, and our install crew does the work while I check in as it goes. The person who found the problem is still watching when it gets fixed.
In business since 2017
I started this company in 2017 after a good while crawling through attics for other people. Working out of Fort Walton Beach, it's mostly humid attic and garage air we're chasing, so we know where to look.
Licensed and insured, every job
We're licensed and insured. That matters when a crew is walking the ceiling joists over your living room.
Seal in the right order and it holds. Do it out of order and you pay for it twice. Tell us about your house and I'll come take a look.
(850) 357-6549Get an air sealing estimate for your house
We reply within one business day to set a time, and I come out to look at the attic and write your estimate on site. It's free, and there's no obligation to book. If you can, note which rooms feel drafty, any gas or oil appliances, and any damp or moldy spots you've seen up there.
Air sealing questions from Fort Walton Beach homeowners
How much do air sealing services cost in Fort Walton Beach?
The cost depends on your house, and I won't put a number on it until I've been up in your attic. The biggest swing is between sealing gaps and topping up loose fill, which usually costs less, and spraying foam as the whole air barrier, which costs more. Attic size and how hard the leaks are to reach move it too.
How do I seal air leaks in my house myself?
You can handle the obvious leaks with caulk or foam, around door frames and where pipes, vents and wires come through a wall. The small leaks hidden under attic insulation are another story. A certified home energy assessor finds those with a blower door test and a thermal camera, and that's the part worth paying someone for.
Is air sealing safe if I have a gas furnace or water heater?
Yes, as long as the appliances are tested. Sealing can sometimes make gas or oil appliances back-draft, which means combustion gases come back into the house instead of going up the flue. The usual advice is to test them for proper drafting before and after sealing, and we make sure that test is in the plan.
Will my house need more fresh air after air sealing?
Sometimes it will. Building scientists put it as build tight, ventilate right, because once the leaks are closed a house may need mechanical ventilation added to bring fresh air in on purpose. A home energy assessor can judge how well your house is ventilated, so ask whether an assessment includes that check.
How long does a Fort Walton Beach building permit review take?
The city says building permits are typically reviewed within about 5 business days, though some take up to 15 depending on the application. When a job inside the city needs one, we pull it and plan the start date around that wait.
Do we have to leave the house during air sealing?
Usually not for caulk and canned-foam sealing, though the crew will be in and out of the attic hatch. Two-part spray foam is different, because the work space has to be ventilated to the foam maker's specifications to keep vapors away from you during and after the install. Ask us how that will work, and we'll tell you ahead of time when you can come back in.
Call about air sealing and your attic insulation
Our hours run until 9 PM on weekdays and 10 PM on weekends, so you can call (850) 357-6549 after work.
