AeroBarrier
I’m surprised nobody here has asked about AeroBarrier yet. It’s being touted as the greatest thing for building envelope air-tightness since, well . . . maybe tape. It’s a pressurized caulk vapor process. Can’t find my notes, but think cost is about $1.25 – 1.85 per conditioned square foot for average tightness. Price increases to over $2.00 as the ACH goes down.
In a non-vented attic, it’s applied before drywall & insulation. For vented attics, applied after drywall. The company told me their test shows less than 1% material degradation after a simulated 50 years. Anybody try this yet or have any thoughts? Thanks.
https://www.jlconline.com/how-to/insulation/a-game-changer-for-airtight-construction_o
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Replies
Really?
Scott Gibson's article on March 22nd seemed to hit the high points, and got more than a dozen forum responses:
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/aeroseal-rolls-out-air-sealing-technology-for-houses
Thanks Dana. That didn't show up with the web site's search function for "AeroBarrier."
The search function on this site isn't great. It's often easier to find stuff using other search engines using something like:
[search term] + gba
...or...
[search term] + greenbuildingadvisor
I found that article (which I'd remembered, but couldn't remember when it went up ) by searching:
aerobarrier + gba
I found it by searching for "Aerobarrier" on the GBA site. First result was the correct article.
In the past, Dana's technique was the best way to search. But try the new site's search feature -- it's better than the search feature on the old site.
I'm a builder in central Texas and have been using aerobarrier for a few years now. Ot is by far the best thing for making your envelope tight I jave ever worked woth in 20 years. My homes habe electric bills half of what we were expecting. We use blown insulation in walls and attic woth the aerobarrier and usually get the house down to 1.5 zone changes an hour.
I’m curious. What was the initial blower door score prior aero barrier?
The initial ACH, or zone changes an hour score was around 7.25-7.75 zone changes per hour, and after was 1.45 zone changes
Gotcha. that’s helpful. We are considering using AB for our house as well.
Prior to the aero barrier, were you taping and caulking the OSB, going to great lengths to air seal the home?
Lots of folks here are firm believers in taping and caulking is the majority of what you need. But the field is a different animal from what the architects and designers spec out. Particularly in this economy getting a subcontractor to be diligent is difficult