Air Sealing

M-D Building Products 71548 Replaceable Cord Weatherstrip, 90 Feet, Gray. Commonly known as “rope caulk”, this is great for sealing holes that you want to unseal later, such as at the sashes of old windows that you want to close up for the winter, but reopen in the summer. Big boxes carry this product. It’s worth having a box around during a project. 

Master Flame – Fire Retardant – Spray on Application or Mix With Paint – 5 Gallon Pail. Intumescent paint is recommended or required on spray foam in many areas. It’s supposed to help keep the foam from burning. The reviews of this product for that application aren’t great. Look for “E-84” rated foam if DIYing and request it from spray foam contractors, that is fire rated.

MCA, Plastic String Reinforced Poly Sheeting 10 Feet X 100 Feet, 6 Mil Nominal, Transparent/White, Durable, Top Quality Visqueen. This is a good option for crawlspace encapsulation vapor barrier. Reinforced poly is harder to cut or puncture. This is 6 mil, the minimum recommended thickness. If you use more than one piece, overlap it by at least 24″.

Paladin PA70076 Tools DataShark Cable Tie Gun. Use this to tighten zip ties on flex duct joints to keep them from leaking. Hand tightening zip ties doesn’t do a good enough job. 

These are standard attic ventilation baffles. Expect to pay about $1.50 each. They tear in half so one of them will do two 16″ cavities. Buy them at a big box, they are likely to get beat up if you buy them from Amazon. Way easier to install than cardboard ones, just tack them at the top a few times. Stuff past the top plate by 4-8″.

Touch & Seal Sharpshooter X Foam Gun. Don’t mess with regular cans of foam unless you only need 1-2 or for really small spots. Get a foam gun like this with a metal barrel. Use single part gun foam. They turn off when you let off the trigger, unlike can foam. Some big boxes carry them. Expect to pay $40-50. All threads are close enough that any foam gun works with any foam in my experience. 

Touch & Seal Fireblock Foam for foam guns. Single part foam isn’t as good as two part, it frequently doesn’t seal perfectly when tested with a blower door. That said, for touch up work it’s good. Don’t get it on your clothes, it won’t come out. Fireblock is somewhat fire resistant. Some big boxes carry it. $10-12 per can is about right.

Touch & Seal Window and Door Foam. Air sealing around windows is important for comfort. Be very careful using standard gun foam, as it will warp windows and doors as it cures. This foam cures at a much lower pressure. It expands quite a bit, so fill the cavity about 1/3 full and wait a few minutes before adding more.

GoChange Foam Gun. I bought one, it seems to work fine. At $15, it’s very inexpensive for a foam gun with a metal barrel. I haven’t seen one under $35 before.