Insulation Problem Area Gallery

Cantilevered 2nd floor extensions over 1st floor walls are notorious for allowing cold and warm air intrusion into the home envelope. Often these locations are not even insulated resulting in cold and warm floors above and air intrusion that can leak down into the 1st floor through can lights and other ceiling accesses.

Internal picture of a Cantilevered 2nd floor extension showing missing joist plugs. With no plug or insulation, these gaps would allow considerable air to penetrate the home envelope.

The space behind knee walls that are located in bonus rooms above a garage or in an attic are almost always left by builders as unconditioned space. Even when fiberglass batt insulation is placed between the studs, cold or warm air is still able to enter through soffit systems in the attic and flow freely behind the walls allowing the room to become cold in the winter and warm in the summer.

Internal picture of a garage ceiling and an internal wall that shows a gap between the joist and the wall. This area would typically be covered with drywall and may not receive any insulation because it is in the garage. Drywall makes a terrible insulator.

If your house feels drafty, one of the reasons could be gaps like this. These locations are almost always left unfilled by traditional insulators. At Virginia Foam Insulators these types of spaces are drilled out so that foam insulation can be shot into the area.

Small gaps between studs, like above, result in significant air penetration and are treated with silicone caulk as part of our preparation.

The gaps around windows, especially non-standard windows such as above, can be terrible leakers of air. At Virginia Foam Insulators we use low expanding foam to seal these areas so as not to damage the frame.

Notice the gap around the beam. Even with fiberglass stuffed into the crevices air leakage from the outside would still occur. Fiber glass does not stop air infiltration.