How To Seal A Attic Hatch

Seal trim to ceiling.

How to seal a attic hatch.

Wrap insulation in plastic. Fortunately you can easily air seal and insulate your attic hatch saving you energy and money. Cut a piece of fiberglass or rigid foam board insulation the same size as the attic hatch and nail or glue it to the back of the hatch. Apply a bead of caulk on the inside and outside edges of the trim and then reattach it.

Weatherstrip the edges and put a piece of rigid foam board insulation on the back of the door. Near finished attic hatch. Once you have the materials you can begin to seal and insulate the knee wall access door through these steps. Create air tight seal between hatch and trim.

From inside the attic check for any openings holes or fenestrations into the knee wall surrounding area. Apply weather stripping to the door to create a seal. Air sealing involves two steps. There are two issues that need to be addressed with the attic hatch.

Plug the big holes first. This can also be beefed up to a sealing gasket like the one on your refrigerator door. Treat the attic door like a door to the outside. Long piece from a batt of unfaced fiberglass insulation and fold it at the bottom of a 13 gallon.

To guarantee a good seal i paired sash locks with a gasket of foam weather stripping around the frame of the attic hatch. If you have pull down attic stairs or an attic door these should be sealed in a similar manner. Pre made insulated attic stair covers are also available from local home improvement centers or on the web. The standard air sealing recommendation is to install a compression bulb weatherstrip.

My apologies for the lack of photos but you can surely imagine how it works.