Air sealing services in Petaluma CA - fewer drafts, less dust and steadier rooms
Cold drafts, one room hotter than the next, or dust drifting down from the attic? We find where the air gets in and seal it.
Have us find your house's air leaks
Before you call (707) 238-6044 or send the form, jot down which rooms feel drafty, when the bills jump and whether you have a gas or oil furnace or water heater, so we start the visit with your answers.
What is air sealing, and will it help my drafty house?
Air sealing services in Petaluma, CA close the gaps where outside air sneaks into your house, around pipes, wiring, the attic hatch, windows and doors, so the rooms stop feeling drafty and your insulation can do its job. Think of insulation as a sweater and sealing as the windbreaker over it, because a sweater on its own lets the wind blow right through.
Most of the calls we get at Evergreen Petaluma Spray Foam Insulation come from older houses where one bedroom is always cold, the room over the garage won't cool down or a film of dust keeps settling in the rooms under the attic. What moves the price is how many leaks there are and how hard they are to reach, and whether old insulation has to come out or new insulation goes in after. The schedule usually turns on how much of that your house needs and whether your gas or oil appliances get tested first, and the estimate I write after looking in your attic gives you your own number.
Why Petaluma homeowners call Evergreen Petaluma Spray Foam Insulation for air sealing
I write every estimate myself
I grew up handing my dad tools in Petaluma attics, and now I'm the one who comes out, looks and explains what I find. That same person checks the finished work with you.
Licensed and fully insured
California's contractor license board treats installing any insulating material for heat or sound control as insulation contracting, so ask anyone you're comparing for their license. We're licensed and fully insured.
In business since 2017
I started the company on what my dad taught me, which mostly comes down to doing the work in the right order. If your house doesn't need sealing yet, I'll say so instead of selling it.
On a sealing job, the real leaks have to be found before anything gets covered up. Get in touch and I'll come take a look, anywhere from Windsor and Santa Rosa down to Mill Valley and over to Sonoma and Napa. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
How we handle air sealing in your house
We start by asking about the drafty rooms, the hot and cold spots and where the dust shows up, because that tells me where to look first. Guidance for this work says to check the attic before sealing for old knob and tube wiring that's still live, vermiculite, a pebbly older insulation, bath fans blowing into the attic and roof leaks, so I look for those and talk through anything I find. Then we track down where the air is getting in, usually around can lights, pipes, wiring holes and the attic hatch, and close those gaps with caulk, foam or weatherstripping before any new insulation goes on top. Soffit, ridge and gable vents, plus the combustion air ducts that feed a furnace or water heater, have to stay open to work, so we seal around them and not over them, and if you have gas or oil appliances, we'll talk about getting them tested.
Sealing is often the first half of a bigger job. If the house sits over a basement and the floors still run cold, basement insulation picks up where the sealing leaves off. When your ductwork lives up in the attic, closed-cell foam insulation, a dense foam that blocks moisture, seals and insulates at once, and that's the one case where I'd usually pick it, because it costs more and sealing the gaps and topping up loose fill wins everywhere else.
Sealing on its own
This suits a house whose insulation is in decent shape but still feels drafty. We close the leaks and leave the good insulation right where it is.
Sealing, then an insulation top-up
This suits an attic with thin or tired insulation, where the gaps are easiest to reach before anything new goes down. We seal first, then add blown-in, loose fill sent through a hose, over the top.
How can you tell air is leaking into your house?
Drafts you can feel
You feel cold air near outlets, the attic hatch or along the floor, which usually means outside air is pulling in through gaps. Left alone, your heater keeps running to chase it.
One room never matches
The room over the garage or an upstairs bedroom runs hotter or colder than the rest, usually because leaks there let air slip in and out. Waiting means living around that room.
Dust under the attic
Gray dust keeps showing up around ceiling lights and vents in rooms below the attic, usually from air moving through the gaps and leaving dust behind. It comes back until those gaps are closed.
Bills that keep climbing
Your heating or cooling bills run higher than a house your size should need, often because the air you paid to heat or cool is leaking out. Every month you wait, you pay for that loss.
What happens when you call us about air sealing in Petaluma?
Call and I come look
Call (707) 238-6044 or send the form and we'll set a time. I go up in the attic or down in the crawl space, talk through what I see and write your estimate.
Our crew seals the leaks
Our crew lead and installers close the leaks we found during my visit, one by one. Clear a path to the attic hatch before they arrive so nobody hauls gear through your rooms.
We check it together
Before we call it done, I walk through the finished work with you, attic and all. If something doesn't look right to you, that's the time to say so.
Air sealing questions we hear
These are the questions Petaluma homeowners ask me most about air sealing. If yours isn't here, call and ask about your own house, and I'll give you a straight answer.
How do I know if my house needs air sealing?
Drafty rooms, uneven temperatures from room to room, high heating or cooling bills and dust in the rooms below the attic all point to a house that's a good candidate for attic air sealing. If you notice any of those, it's worth having someone look in the attic. If none of that sounds like your house, I'll tell you it can wait.
How much does air sealing cost in Petaluma?
Across the US, air sealing with caulk, spray foam and weatherstripping around windows, doors, pipes and wiring usually costs about $500 to $1,500 per job. That's a national figure, not our price, and complex attics, testing, added insulation and patching things up afterward can add a good deal to it. The estimate I write after seeing your attic gives you the number for your house.
Is air sealing safe if I have a gas furnace or water heater?
It can be done safely, but gas or oil appliances that vent on their own should be tested, because sealing can sometimes make them back-draft, which pushes their exhaust into the house instead of up the flue. ENERGY STAR suggests having them tested before and after the sealing, and Sonoma County's guide describes a home energy assessment of about two to three hours with diagnostic tools, typically done before upgrades and again after to check the results. If you have these appliances, we'll talk about the testing at the estimate so it's part of the plan from the start.
Should I seal or insulate my attic first?
Seal first, because air sealing done before insulating gets the most energy savings out of both. Once new insulation goes down, the gaps under it are buried and much harder to reach, so we close them while the attic floor is still open.
Do I need a permit for air sealing in Petaluma?
The city's permit list doesn't name air sealing, but the Building Division does issue mechanical permits for new exhaust fans and ventilation systems, so a job that adds a fan can need one. We find out what the city wants for each job and handle the permit when one is needed, and if we're not sure, we ask the Building Division before we start. You can also email building@cityofpetaluma.org with questions about your project, and in California, depending on the work, properly permitted work is what triggers any HERS testing, an on-site check of certain work, that the job needs.
How long does air sealing an attic take?
ENERGY STAR rates attic air sealing a difficult project and puts it at 1 to 2 days when you hire a contractor. Your house can run shorter or longer depending on how many gaps there are and whether old insulation comes out first, and I'll tell you what to expect when I look at your attic.
Get your air sealing estimate
Tell us about the drafty rooms and any gas or oil appliances, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I'll come look at your attic and give you a free estimate with no obligation.
What air sealing looks like
Work that often goes with sealing
Basement insulation
If cold air under the house keeps chilling your floors after the attic is sealed, insulating the basement walls finishes the job from the bottom up.
Learn moreClosed-cell foam insulation
When ducts run through the attic or a space has to block moisture, dense foam seals and insulates in one coat, though it costs more than loose fill.
Learn more