It’s a well known fact that attic doors are one of the biggest energy leaking areas in an insulated house. A proper insulation on attic doors should be taken into consideration if you’re keen on saving energy as I’m sure most of our readers are. An attic can have up to 3 access points, such as: an attic hatch, a pull-down stairs or a knee-wall door; usually no one takes into account the importance of these access points when insulating thus leaving a large hole in the thermal barrier between the attic and the living space.
The attic hatch serves as an attic access point for many houses, yet it’s one of the most inefficiently insulated attic access points in the house. This gap in our attic heat barrier increases heat loss during the winters and heat gain during the summer. Imagine this - a gap of only 1 inch wide can potentially leak almost the same amount of air that a typical bedroom heating duct can provide.
The pull-down stairs are yet another type of attic access that aren’t quite insulation friendly as they should be. The pull-down stairs roughly fit in a gap that leaves some extraneous space for the air to flow by and that’s a big no no for anyone that’s looking to save money on those heating bills.
If the gap is smallish (less than an inch), caulk could be used as a sealant. If a larger opening exists though non-expanding foam or a backer rod is what you should try in conjunction with caulk. Expanding foam could also be used but be extremely careful when using it as it might stop the stairs from opening properly.