How to Seal Leaky Ductwork | Ask This Old House
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- čas přidán 7. 08. 2016
- Richard Trethewey shows an innovative new way to seal ducts from the inside. (See below for steps.)
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Richard uses a new technology to seal ducts from the inside.
Steps for How to Seal Leaky Ductwork:
1. Remove the grilles from all of the supply and return registers.
2. Plug each duct register with foam rubber and wide strips of tape.
3. Pressurize the duct system with a blower fan.
4. Use a computer to analyze the data to determine the amount of air leaking from the ducts.
5. Use the blower fan to mist the inside of all the dust with liquid-rubber sealant.
6. The sealant will find and plug all air-leaking holes, cracks, and seams.
7. After applying the sealant, run another pressurized blower test to verify the improved results.
Richard demonstrated sealing ducts using the Aeroseal System [aeroseal.com/].
Expert assistance with this project was provided by Boucher Energy Systems [boucherenergy.com/].
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How to Seal Leaky Ductwork | Ask This Old House
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I hope to see this become code with all new forced air systems. Once the whole system is installed, do this procedure as part of the process.
In new construction you can use this to seal the entire house since there is no furniture or flooring to get ruined.
You know it's getting serious when Richard clips his glasses together! That's some pretty cool tech!
It’s just latex and ammonia to seal the holes. It’s a great system with a great explanation.
3:40 Those glasses are slick.
Good Tech. More people need this info.
Very informative , just good information, great video.
Awesome information. I was wondering if my duct work was in good shape. I got this place this year and the duct work was put in around 1974. I have already done some work to seal the Duct work. After seeing this I know to take a closer look and return and supply duct work. Thank you so much for this video.
I can't guarantee something not right. Every single duct just about I ever seen is not installed right. No 1 uses the proper amounts of tape. Or spray glues. Or right kind of tape or tape in the right places...
outstanding great work y'all
Got the quotes for my 1700sqft house 3-4k LMAO LMAO LMAO
@@Stackali Yeah, you must break even shortly after paying off your 30-year mortgage.
That is pricey. Costs of heating / cooling our home related to the furnace/aircon run is about $150 6 months winter, $180 4 months summer, with about 2 months a year we don’t use either (maybe less than 2 months). If we even only saved 15% we’d save about $250 a year, so need to be here for the quote we got 10 yrs. BUT, that’s just the savings cost. There are the other benefits of more balanced temp for bedrooms and basement, and longer furnace life and lower maintenance costs. So potential pay off for us after considering indirect costs is 7.5 yrs.
@@zalllon Don't forget cleaner air since more of the home's air will actually go through the filter.
@@Stackali for that amount of money i'll comb over ever inch of my ducts with a magnifying glass and come out ahead
😳🤬 WOW!! That’s a crap load of money for a 1700sqft. Crazy.
I'm glad I live in a ranch style home, all my mechanicals are accessible from the basement.
Do you guys do projects in San Antonio? I have a 1945 home with a new HVAC system that doesn't blow that hot of air. Looking closer it seems like they did a shoddy job and also hung some of the ducts to be off the ground. Is that normal?
i find this video hilarious
so ingenious
Don't worry about breathing it in. If there are leaks in your breathing tubes/lungs, it will seal it too. :D
Now i know how to deal with a punctured lung
Kyle McNicoll Nah use flex seal
@@thetupolevtu-1602 Now THATS a lotta damage!
Remember no building materials have every been shown to cause cancer, so we're good to go, right?
Pesky bronchials and alveoli
man that Rich T, what a down-to-earth and genuine guy. The whole TOH cast for that matter.
Gotta be a Freemason
Had this done at my townhouse. It really works great. I'll be doing the samething at my new home.
Paul V how much did it cost?
@@Frank00 it cost me nothing. We have a program where you can get free energy upgrades to your house. $7K worth of free upgrades.
What is the system called so I know what to Google to find the right contractor? Thanks for your help.
@@kellyjameson1920 Aeroseal
@@pierogi210 thanks Paul. Really appreciate the response. Cheers.
Never knew this technology existed. How cool
If you are in Florida I am installer of aeroseal
Cool technology. Better check the fan static pressure before you do this. If the fan is already having to pump against high resistance on leaky duct what do you think the resistance will be once all the leaks are sealed? The key is properly sized and sealed ducts. Old ducts are notorious for being undersized
Gotta love the voc's from that
Neat system.
I would like to see a follow up to this video about savings experienced over time.
Interesting product, but yes, it would be great to see at least, airflow measurements from each duct/room and supply and return temperature in the plenum.
Barely talked about negative pressure in the return duct or how to split the return duct which seems to be all in the same pipe without any baffles that can be operated by the homeowner (eg suck more air from upstairs vs first floor in summer vs vice-versa in winter).
I'm sure there are better videos and youtubers that describe more the situation than putting a couple of thousand bucks worth of band-aids in your ductwork!
GuruBrew m fyxrnx been. xgcnf v hv h. hg v gngvh v g
No follow ups allowed
No soup for you
2 yrs later. Still waiting for the update!
Ran hundreds of High Bill Complaints for the gas utility in St Louis, Missouri & I can tell you first-hand this service boils down to ductwork in unconditioned areas and ductwork in conditioned areas. For ductwork in unconditioned areas this service can be advantageous.For ductwork in conditioned areas such as basements or inside soffits there is very little advantage and in some cases big disadvantages. I had a customer that actually had a reduction in basement heat ,much like this installation & the water pipes froze one cold winter night ( I believe the Insurance Company for the duct sealing service picked up that bill).
Could have just put a register in the basement feed?
@@phillymathguy8142 , exactly, you want to keep the conditioned areas conditioned (don’t worry about a little duct leakage if it’s going into the condition area & yes, add those registers were needed) . Take the money you saved from not insulating the basement ductwork and insulate those basement walls.
I’m in the process of finishing my basement on my new construction house and the hvac people didn’t seal any of elbows or connections for the supply pipes that go upstairs. They used uninsulated connector class for all the returns and the sticker on it says “for insulation in length not over 14’” all they used was a zip tie and a screw to connect to the upstairs registers. The stuff feels like cheap tin foil haha. All I wanted was to add a few supplies and returns to basement after removing the sheet rocked ceiling and found more work and stuff to be sealed!!
I've always wondered about something like this. My house was built in the late 60s. Anywhere a branch came off the main duct or return was massive leaks. I cut holes in the supply trunk and return wherever I knew ducts were coming in and out. I then sealed those branches with proper metal duct tape, duct mastic, or a combination of both. I then cut a larger piece of sheet metal to put over the hole, screwed it in and sealed it with more duct mastic. That helped quite a bit. There are still some areas I need to get to that I can't at the moment. Those spaces suffering the most that I can't get to, are above the garage.
Wouldn't hurt to spray some spray foam!!! Sounds like you got it going right.. I would've added spray glue though.. makes all the difference
Now that’s dedication
Wow that was pretty amazing!
wow that's awesome
how can we get more information on this service in our areas. What is the product being used?
If you have extra cash to help out contractors then it's nice gesture to call them and pay. If you are tight on budget, don't let contractor takes your $, your ductwork is fine and you don't need insulation. Hot air rises so if there are leaks it keeps your basement warm and will find its way to upper floors anyway. Or you buy a roll of aluminum tape for $5 and tape around the joints. But I leave it alone to warm up the cold water pipes down there so they may not get frozen by accident. Call the city and ask if the product is permitted with building codes and ask any contractor to apply for a repair permit with the city to protect yourself. Where I live, it's by law and the contractor I hired applied and paid for the permit like around $100 for furnace installation. The city sent the inspector over after it was done, he made the guy to come back next day to fix soddy work or license is suspended. That's how to protect yourself from cowboys especially with hot water tank or heating furnace.
Finally someone who is thinking what I am. All the air that ‘leaks’ is leaking into your building envelope right? So it’s not really lost, just displaced I guess.
I'm really jealous of this basement.
I so want this done at my house. When I had the basement remodeled I specified foil tape because I didn’t know about mastic yet. They didn’t even follow that. This technique is the only way I know how to fix that annoying problem
What's this process called. That would be helpful. I dont know what to ask for when searching for a company to do it.
Can it work for flexible insulated ducts?
This is great! Can you tell me what this process is called and approximate costs for a 1200 sq ft home? Where or who do I call to have this done? Thanks.
me too!!
Amazing 😁
4:49 your turn to talk there buddy.
lmao
Lol funny
they both looked at him lol
Im curious would this work in a cement slap cold air return of clay tubing
New to me for sure.
nice and love it!! So, how much??
Can this system work in flexible ducts?
I think the best way of preventing this in the first place is sit on the HVAC contractors that installed this in the beginning and make them use that duct putty and seal all the joints as they are installing them.
That only works if you have the opportunity to do it. If you bought a house then chances are it came with ductwork already installed. If you have a house built then I suggest you either visit the construction site often or pay someone else to keep an eye on things it if you aren't sure what to look for. If you can afford a few 100k to get a house built then a few extra thousand to pay someone to keep an eye on things and make sure stuff is done right shouldn't be a big deal.
I install new duct commercial and residential and even seal with the correct steps . A new systems has leaks . Aeroseal is a great product for energy conservation.
Also large building such as hospitals or condos with multi levels units due to ducts not being accessible benefit the most from these systems
@@Ancyker a house costs 1M to build here in Vancouver
@@tombomombodombo that just makes my statement even more true...
Lifehacks move
How can I seal this hose that was cut properly and contain whatever fiberglass strands are floating inside the woodwork of the cabinets once I sealed the cut aluminum hose that I cut properly with an airtight seal what should I do with the remainder of the cabinets should I put some type of cork sealantall over the inside edges of the cabinets to help air seal pretty much the entire cabinets structure. I also find it that when the stove is turned on
so .. about that 4sqmm hole, can i get that back?
That one the store was turned on the effect that it has on my allergies when I’m in the kitchen when the flame is on and there’s heat on the burner, he’s even worse. Does the heat make the particles of fiberglass sitting inside the woodwork lift Lift off more aggressively
What is this process called and did it ever catch on
what's the name of the system used to atomize the sealant into the homes ventilation?
I’m looking for more consistency in my outside temps. Any tips?
Move to San Diego?
Are there any precautions related to the sealant collecting on the coils or blower motor within the air handler? The system does seem very interesting and worth looking into.
Agree
Looks as though this is all done from the furnace connections. So the furnace itself is disconnected from the system while the sealing is being performed.
+Paul Kallevig Good observation. I missed that. Thanks.
The blower was and coils were bypassed for this injection. It's inert once it's set up. (I read the MSDS and some process sheets. )
What is this system called so I know what to goggle to find a company in my area
It's like fix-a-flat for your duct work. And about as healthy to breathe.
What is this product or procedure called???? I would like to look into this for my home in Mariposa Ca
Aeroseal
You are looking at $2-3 a cfm per system
What does this sealant do to the evaporator and heat exchanger? Or did they remove them from the airflow somehow?
I bet they were removed from the system prior to
it's very easy to divide the HX and humidifier off from the main duct during the operation, just ask the true foreman duct cleaning guys.
Whats the cost of such a service?
I could care less about the rest of the video TBH. I just wanna know where to get those glasses you use when seeing the results of the pretest
www.clicmagneticglasses.com/
What do I search for to have this done on my house
Great vid! Are there any self seal duct connectors? We have people in our home that have asthma/allergic reactions with such products
Yes, if you have the room for them, they protrude 1 to 2 inches out around the ductwork. They are called TDF or TDC flanges that get a neoprene or butyl gasket on the mating surfaces of the flange then the ducts get bolted together at the 4 corners.
Best way to seal ductwork is on the outside.
@@mitchdenner9743 sure, everyone is gonna tear out walls and ceilings in their old house to do it that way!
@@warrenmichael918 maybe you would be dumb enough. Alot of homes have exposed ductwork.
What kind of VOCs are in the sealant?
That's what I want to know.
How much does something like this cost?
I just got a new furnace and AC installed last week. None of my ducts are sealed or insulated. These are on the list of getting done as soon as I can!!
Check the dealer locator for AeroSeal aeroseal.com/residential/find-a-dealer/
$2-3 a cfm per system
How did they patch the hole?
How much does a procedure like this cost? Also doesn't seem very safe to breathe that in at all!
When replacing an old round duct with a new round duct, it seems too tight to fit all the way. Can't get the last seem together.
How safe is it to breath this? thanks.
I'm guessing not safe :P but it might seal up any holes in your lungs!
@@Facematronic 😹
Does this company sell that equipment? After watching this video, I'm thinking it could be a good business startup...
The company is most likely Aeroseal. Yes, you can become an Aeroseal contractor.
@@MsGreenInspector Yup, that's what it said on the fan box: AERO SEAL.
Start up to lawsuit
MoneyManHolmes aeroseal is the name - very reasonable I did it. Was a good service
@@pipersmitty87 What did it cost you? Also, how much are you saving on your bills now vs then?
How much should this type of service cost ?
Is there a commercial LEED requirement to eliminate leakage in HVAC systems? That should become residential building code requirements ? Shortage of residential LEED heat pumps.
I'm a lewd certified hvac mechanic and those standards will never see the reserdential arena on in lt commercial and commercial and industrial areas this is nothing but a scam to home owners if the installer did his job properly there would be minimal leaks to a system all systems leak I don't care how hard to try to seal them during installation but the standards don't apply to reserdential homes lol give me two gallons of pookie with a brush I could cure their leak issues with out all the expensive equipment he is using that the customer is paying for most people just seal joints not seams and that's where most your leaks are hove a great day brother
What is this called and how much would it cost?
The hole he drilled is still there lmao
Along with all the metal shavings. Gee thanks. lol
That’s the 4 inch square hole they say at the end lol
Simple fix. Screw in a metal plate over the hole.
Metal shavings will probably be heavy enough to sit in the duct forever. If not, the filter at the end of the return duct will catch it.
@@n9wox imagine breathing in metal shavings
What’s average cost to have this done?
I'm going to spitball here but in addition to all of this. I was a installer and every house we went to the "sales team" always had us install 4.5/5 ton condensers when the original ones were 2 tons. aprox 1500 sq/f houses.I dont work there anymore but school said never to do that and the company said it was "necessary"
That’s absolutely not correct at all
Just wondering what something exactly like this would cost? I believe i really need this done as well!!
With an older house, I’d love to hear about the cost on getting my house done.
$2-3 a cfm per system. I can get you a quote depending on your location
It would cost you many doctor visits, and a new HVAC system because that chemical would destroy your system, and your health.
Incorrect
How does this system not get stuck in the evaporator or other components?
0:34 no outside the house 😂😂😂
One thing I didn't hear in this video was whether the duct work needs to be cleaned prior to sealing????
Do HVAC installers do this, or is it a specialized thing? I recently had a new furnace and new air conditioning put into my 1939 house with original forced air ducts, and I'm thinking I should probably get this done. My HVAC installers did not mention anything like this, but they did refer me to a duct cleaning service.
Specialized service. I believe it’s still under patent/licensing agreements with a company called aeroseal. They use trained contractors across the country to perform the work.
So I’m assuming this doesn’t effect the evaporator coils or heat exchanger?
I would assume they isolate it to just the ducts. This would be horrible for the coils.
Leaky Ductwork is Richard’s drag cabaret stage name.
So what’s stoping the sealant from getting all over the a-coil and the blower????
I know this question was a year ago but my guess is they both failed by now BUT, there are no leaks and that was all he promised after all. Oh, and they all have lung damage too. The scrubbers took up 80% of the leaking glue mist, their lungs took the other 20.
It’s sealed off from this system when they are doing it?
They are isolated
How much does something like that cost?
Should be titled: "How to pay someone else to seal leaky ductwork".
How would you seal leaky ductwork?
@@Joseph03743 2:00
@@DavidLopez-cj1hy How would you get the mastic on the ducts on the walls on the second floor? Tear out all the drywall?
@@aaronvance7372 You probably wouldn't. There's no doubt this duct sealing service beats mastic and taping.
But there's an implication that when you click a How-To video on popular Do-It-Yourself youtube channel, you're going to learn how to Do It Yourself - Even if better work could be done professionally.
@@DavidLopez-cj1hy That's bs, it isn't better then a quality mastic job. A mastic job cost substantially less, can easly last 30 years plus, this spray crap doesn't seal large gaps as mastic can and they don't back it past ten years. The cost of their jobs is easly triple a by hand mastic job and where you can't seal with mastic a homeowner will see far better savings investing the price difference in more insulation or doors/windows
5:37 nice that piece of sheet metal fell into the duct.
The first problem you had was having a bunch of ducks working on your house. Never hire a duck.
Why a Duck?
Wow that return drop lol
That's actually pretty cool! And what about all that airborn sealant myst that the guys were in. Isn't it dangerous?
It's only dangerous as long as they are alive.
You obvoisly missed the part where he explains how that was mitigated... Watch it again, but this time actually listen.
They like that rubbery milky substance
I wondered the same, and thought it odd they didn't address this. It did look pretty dodgy when he mentioned about a scrubber fan pulling any airborne sealant in the living spaces onto its filters WHILE SURROUNDED BY A CLOUD OF MIST. I'd have been masked up, no matter what the concept of the scrubber fan was.
@@NorthernChev He said any "leakage" into the living area is captured into the scrubber fan.....he did NOT say anything about all the stuff they are breathing in during the process. That's not mitigating....watch it again and listen.
All of this makes sense but how do you know that material isn't toxic over time when heat is applied or over time it breaks down? Not comfortable not knowing what this material is made of.
This is an infomercial for Aeroseal service. Innovative but pricey. Good reviews available online discussing effectiveness and payback time. Certainly makes no sense if you can reach most of your ductwork to seal with mastic from the outside.
Nice video and helpful...for those with basements. We live in a townhouse. How do you find and repair leaks when you can't even see them because they are inside the walls?
That was the whole point of this video. The rubberized chemical is going to every piece of ductwork sealing the holes in the ducts that are inside the walls.
Will this help lower humidity levels in the house?
I suppose it could if the humidity is coming from your intake vents. For example, if your intake ducts are leaky and sucking up moist air from your attic or basement or crawl space, that could cause a humidity issue.
But I'd say that if you have a humidity issue, a whole house dehumidifier may actually cost less and do more for lowering your humidity than this sealing duct service.
If the basement is humid and not running a dehumidifier than yes
Why can’t things just be installed right the first time? What a novel ideal.
Two questions. First, did you physically clean the ductwork before you sprayed the sealant. Ductwork has years of built up dirt, dust, mold, and dander. Second, did you isolate the furnace and coil to prevent the sealant from clogging the evaporator coil and other components that will heat.
I was thinking the same. Now all the dust is glued into a sheet, but not actually sealing the leak itself.
You could see the two pieces of plastic were installed before and after the furnace. It won't touch the furnace while being blown in... However I bet your filter may get a bit clogged with residual rubber after you start it all back up..
Where I live all returns have an air filter before the return ductwork and therefore the ducts never get dirty unless someone is dumb enough to take out their air filter or unless there are leaks in the return ductwork.
Did any body got and answer on the price.?
Dont forget to drill a hole in the duct, so your basement looks like a Cheech and Chong movie while you're sealing...
How Much for a small house?
What are the average costs?
How does someone find a contractor that performs this type of sealing? It is not named in the video or description. Lots of people asking about cost but that would vary by contractor. Typically any reputable contractor would give an estimate at no cost though.
Did a little bit of looking at it seems the company that developed the technology that is most popular is called AeroSeal and they have a dealer locator. In case people are looking for a dealer to give them a quote.
aeroseal.com/residential/find-a-dealer/
Paul Kallevig thanks man. I really appreciate that
There is a contractor in Indianapolis that is using this method. Give them my name when you call them for an estimate.... 614-855-7730
aeroseal.com/get-aeroseal-now/
Did Bob Vila approve this???
Hi guys, I made a mistake of cutting a flexible HVAC house. It is the hose that runs on top of the kitchen range that is on top of the stove. It is the hose that runs from the range on top of the stove. It is this hose that runs up through the ceiling of the kitchen and part of it is inside the cabinetry that’s right on top of the kitchen range. So basically it’s there as the kitchen exhaust. The reason that I cut it is because below me there’s people that smoke a lot of pot and a lot of those films going to the kitchen. Those fumes going into the kitchen. One day I got fed up and I just cut the flexible aluminum hose if I can call it that in the middle. I went to seal the end with plastic and regular tape. After a while, I realize that the plastic blocking was not doing his job properly. I went to Home Depot and I asked the people that were there. What can I use the inside of the house to block the order that was coming out of there or the fumes. I was told to use something that looks like a beige colored foam material. I was told to stuff the inside of the pipe with that material. After installing it, I realize that the material might have been composed of fiberglass, such as the one that’s yours for attic insulation. I see all the ants again with a piece of plastic. I realized right away that my allergies in my eyes started burning. My nose started itching. My chest started to get tight. I suffer from allergies. The culprit in this is the fiberglass that was put inside the aluminum hose to block odors. I then went on to remove the fiberglass that was installed in there. But I am still having problems with burning eyes in the same symptoms that I describe earlier when I’m in the kitchen area specially. I tried cleaning the area with a shop vac and wore a 3 AM particle mask. I can’t seem to get rid of the problem. Every time I walk in the kitchen I get like that. I can’t think any other thing, but to think that some of the fiberglass strands flew inside the inner portion of the cabinets . So basically, there’s probably strands of fiberglass flying inside the woodwork of the cabinets. I find it to be particularly a huge issue on windy days and this I can only assume that the wind is blowing inside into that in their area like you know the roof of the house and lifting all those fiberglass particles that are sitting inside.
How would this affect damper operation?
What about the AC coil and other equipment like the existing blower motor? Would they not also collect the product on them?
They were disconnected.
@@AnanyaGupta How do you disconnect dampers for each of the registers?
@@Shandleyman the dampers we're not disconnected but I'm not sure why you would disconnect them? The furnace and AC were clearly disconnected from the flow meter system.
@@AnanyaGupta Because that aerosol will gum up the dampers. God help you if you have electric dampers.
@@Shandleyman so I think that's a fair point but it again depends upon the inherent tensile strength of the material once formed. I suspect it's quite low for mechanical manual dampers but it might damage electronic mortized dampers which in contrast usually have access panels next to them for service. Electronic dampers are also much more rare in home setups but I hope smart digital ones will become a common place soon 🙏
It's basically Elmer's white glue (poly vinyl acetate). The pump for the injector is a cole-parmer peristaltic pump. So with a blower and your kid's glue (or someone else's kid), and a little ingenuity, you can diy this whole thing.
wow
Is that "sealant" EPA approved? I am very skeptical about all these wide used chemicals now a days...
And u trust the EPA? Lmao
You're right ...
Use liquid nails always works great on duct work
I just used LN Construction adhesive and it sucked. Took well over 24 hours to dry :/ Not good if you live in the house you are repairing :(
More Air. MORE LOBSTAHHH
I just had complete HCAC system, ask for the interior sealing, all the companies I called they never heard of this system. Hmmmm this call for an investment proposition ?
Wonderful investment