Tight as ... Tupperware

Back in the late 1970s, my mother hosted at least one Tupperware party that I remember. The advantage of Tupperware is the airtight seal. Little did I know then that you want the same thing from a house.

I've been spending a few days on and off over the last few weeks airsealing around the house: mostly where the concrete meets the mud sill, and where the CEB wall meets the top plate. All you need is a caulk gun, a LOT of caulk (I used a GE product, Silicone I, but any silicone-based caulk will work well), and off you go. Believe it or not, this is one of the most energy efficient things you can do to your house (move over, replacement windows!) - so efficient in fact, that EarthCraft standards mandate airsealing in lots of places. Most of them I've covered now - for the rest of the airsealing (and firestopping), the professionals from Southland Insulators will take over before they apply sprayfoam insulation to our roof, the clerestory window area, and the bandjoist. More on that in a future post.

For now, just a picture of a nice, thick, bead of Silicone caulk between the top of the CEB wall and the top plate. Often under-appreciated, but such an important component of building green.