Can a house be too tight?

Back to Blog

Air Sealing with Caulk Gun | Evergreen Home Performance | Maine Sometime during your crusade to seal those energy robbing cracks and holes in your home, you’re bound to start asking yourself, “Isn’t air flow important for a healthy home? Can I take this whole thing to the extreme?”

The answer is yes. But probably not.

The EPA recommends a rate of .35 ACH (natural air changes per hour — that is, just over 1/3 of the air in your home being replaced every hour; or 3 hours for a full air change) for healthy indoor air quality. The average home has a much higher rate of natural air infiltration, and an older, leakier home will probably exceed this standard even after significant air sealing efforts.

But a leaky home provides no assurance that indoor air pollutants like dust and mold will be properly eradicated: during periods of calm weather with no wind, for example, air can sit stagnant in a leaky home for days. On the other hand, during a windy day in the winter, a leaky home effectually needs to be re-heated from scratch every few hours, which is a waste of both energy and money. The best way to ensure that a home is healthy, safe, and energy efficient is to air seal the home as well as possible, and to pair air sealing efforts with increased mechanical ventilation to make sure that air cycles in and out of the house at a healthy and consistent rate. The mantra is “seal tight, and ventilate right.”

Contact us today to learn more!

207-594-2244

Nothing but good things to say. The guys that came and did the actual work were extremely nice and did a great job. The energy audit was thorough and I was presented with multiple improvement options, I was even given ideas for improvement that Evergreen didn't offer. I never felt like I was being "sold".

Ryan Adams

The crew members from Evergreen Home Performance each made sure to greet us every day, while maintaining their distance in this time of the pandemic. Their work took a total of nine days, spread over three weeks. Even though they were working in multiple rooms of our house, as well as the basement and attic, they were unobtrusive and always cleaned up after themselves every day. The on-sight manager kept us informed of their daily schedule so we'd know which parts of the house they'd be working on.

Bob & Sue

Whitefield

Evergreen was so helpful in securing us Efficiency Maine funding for a big attic insulation project early this winter. They did all of the paperwork, and totally guided us through a vermiculite removal process that included a payment from a trust for the procedure. I could instantly feel the second floor being so much warmer than before. The boiler does not kick on nearly as frequently since they completed the job. It was worth every penny! Brian Robinson was so thorough throughout the whole process including a full walk through after the job had been completed.

Todd W.

Camden

My husband and I bought a home on the water in Owls Head and decided to make the investment in Evergreen's recommendations for insulation. Brian Robinson spent 3 hours examining every nook and cranny before he made practical suggestions and explained them thoroughly to us.

Marie McNeely

Owls Head

Evergreen did a fantastic job insulating our 1930's home. The onsite team was professional, clean, and really just a joy to interact with throughout the process. A blower test at the end showed a significant decrease in air leakage. I highly recommend Evergreen.

Kristen H.

South Portland

I have always been impressed by the high level of service, quality of work, and excellent follow-through provided by Evergreen Home Performance in the three projects that they completed at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm over the past several years.

Paul D.

Wells

We are so pleased with the work the team from Evergreen Home Performance did in our home. The project included encapsulation of our basement with a reinforced vapor barrier, installation of a sump pump, spray foam insulation on the walls and insulation of the heating duct work. Everyone at Evergreen was friendly and professional. The project was completed on time and in budget. Our home is much cozier and warmer since the project was completed.

Linda Metzger

I never leave reviews, but had a great experience with Evergreen and wanted to spread the word! In short, we worked with them to insulate our roof this winter and have noticed surprising immediate results. The constant ice dams I have wrestled with are completely gone, and the home is noticeably more comfortable. It's a little too early to tell if our oil bill is going to reduce, but I imagine we will see an impact there as well.

Joel W.

Portland

Led by Brian Robinson, the Evergreen Home Performance team just completed an insulation refit at my home. It was truly a great experience from start to finish, a period of time that was a fraction of the time that I originally anticipated due to the team's unbelievable work habits and professional knowledge of their tasks. As impressive were the communication skills and friendliness of each and every member of the team.

Anne W.

Rockport

Several years ago Brian Robinson evaluated the crawl space at my summer home on Islesboro where I knew moisture was becoming a problem. I had done quite a bit of work in the space many years prior with mixed results. When Brian offered some suggestions, they were ideas that incorporated work previously done, and would be a relatively low cost effort to improve the situation. He offered this advice over several phone conversations of some length, informally, and at no charge.

Cliff R.

Islesboro

We absolutely loved our experience with Evergreen. The team was incredibly kind, professional and great to work with. We're very impressed with the quality of work of the Evergreen team and how easy they made everything! Our house had barely any insulation ahead of this project and the results are amazing. Insulating the attic, walls and basement with Evergreen allowed us to tear a 50-year-old furnace, ductwork and oil tank out of the basement and now heat the home with new heat pumps. Evergreen also added 100 sq ft of clean, new storage space to the attic!

Nick S.

South Portland

Great company. Very professional and thorough. They take the time to explain everything and offer options to fit your budget. Wonderful experience from start to finish.

Bonnie Eustace

The folks at Evergreen did a great job fixing a rather major insulation problem in my house, which they helped identify with a great audit. When the work began, they were thorough, upbeat, and -- dare I say it -- efficient. I strongly recommend them.

Michael Williams

In the final stages of selling our home, and with a closing date set, an inspection came across an unanticipated issue in our attic. We quickly called in contractors, but nobody was able to identify the source of the problem. Then we thought of Evergreen. Brian Robinson was on site the next morning and immediately identified the source (a faulty roofing job completed three years earlier which had effectively sealed up portions of the ridge vent and restricted air flow - not easily visible with a quick inspection).

Robin McIntosh

Camden

We initially contacted Evergreen through Efficiency Maine for an energy audit, which was conducted promptly and professionally by Justin McEdward, one of their Energy Advisors who is BPI-certified. After a thorough inspection of our newly purchased home, Justin explained in great detail what we needed and did not need. It was agreed that Evergreen would remove all of the existing attic insulation, which was not adequate, and replace it with blown in cellulose, to a rating of R-60.

Thomas W.

Scarborough

See All Testimonials

Efficiency Maine

EPA Lead-Safe Certified

Building Performance Association

BPI Certified