DIY - Home Maintenance and Upgrade Projects | Building America Solution Center

Install weatherstripping around the perimeter of door frames

Add weatherstrip to windows and doors that open to the outdoors or unconditioned spaces like attics and basements to decrease air leakage and heating and cooling losses.

Home Upgrades: Air Seal and Insulate Window Rough Openings

Air seal the rough opening around windows and doors prior to installing trim to minimize air leakage.

Air seal and insulate around old wooden windows to remove or renovate pocket weights, decrease heating and cooling losses, and make your home more comfortable.

Cleaning window weep holes helps to ensure proper window drainage, preventing water damage in the wall.

Cellular blinds provide privacy, style, shade, and heating and cooling energy savings to your home.

Installing cellular blinds on your windows can provide privacy, shade, and style while reducing cooling and heating energy costs, improving comfort, and increasing a home’s resistance to extreme heat events.

Using storm windows can increase your home’s energy efficiency, reduce drafts and glare, block out outside noise, and make your home feel more comfortable.

Modern interior storm windows include new technology and sleek design features that offer an easy-to-install, cost-effective method for upgrading the energy efficiency of existing windows.

Using storm windows can increase your home’s energy efficiency, reduce drafts and glare, block out outside noise, and make your home feel more comfortable.

Doors to individual units in a multifamily building are separated from corridors using weatherstripping and airtight door sweeps.

Door sweeps are a type of metal weatherstripping that is installed at the bottom of exterior doors to prevent air infiltration, reduce drafts, increase the durability of the door, and reduce pest intrusion.

Garage doors can get a lot of exposure to the elements.

Install garage door insulation to help maintain moderate temperatures in your garage.

Openings used for access to the attic such as access panels, doors into knee walls, or dropdown stairs should be air-sealed and insulated.

Furnace and chimney flues often have large gaps around them that allow air leakage from the home into the attic . (Source: Family Handyman)

Use heat-resistant caulk and sheet metal to air seal flues and chimneys in the attic.

Look at the attic to make sure there are baffles in place at soffit vents to keep wind from blowing insulation; if they are missing install them.

Looking at your home with an infrared (IR) camera can reveal missing insulation and air leakage.

Right – Ducts are pulled taut and correctly supported

Seal and repair your central heating system’s ducts to make sure heated or cooled air gets to all the rooms of your house as efficiently as possible.

Sealing seams and holes in the air handler or furnace cabinet of central forced-air HVAC systems prevents the loss of conditioned air and improves the performance of your HVAC equipment.

Home Maintenance: Clean Ductless Heat Pump Air Filters

Clean the air filters in your ductless heat pumps every 3 months to ensure proper operation.

Right - The advanced controls in a programmable thermostat can be used to improve the efficiency of the home’s HVAC system.

Determine if you can benefit from replacing your old thermostat with a new smart thermostat.

This HVAC awning is made of metal roofing that is attached directly to the lumber framing.

Awnings protect the outdoor compressor unit of your heat pump or air conditioner from snow, rain, and hail.

Look at the condition of the insulation on the refrigerant pipe from the house to the outdoor unit of the home’s air conditioning or heat pump system and replace or hire an HVAC contractor to replace if needed.

Look at the condensate drain line of your air conditioner, heat pump, or condensing furnace or boiler to make sure it is insulated.

Look at a gas furnace for signs of backdrafting, if the furnace is an older model that does not have a sealed combustion chamber and sealed exhaust pipe.

If filter is inaccessible, locate the air filter between the return air plenum and the air handler box.

DIY guide showing how to pick a replacement air filter and how to replace the filter in home’s HVAC system when the air filter is located in a return grille in a ceiling, floor, or wall.

Size the filter box for the appropriate filter.

DIY guide showing how to replace the filter in a home’s HVAC system when the air filter is located in an air filter slot on the furnace.

Home Upgrade: Air Seal Bath Fan from Below

Air sealing your bathroom exhaust fan can prevent attic air from leaking into the home and heated air from leaking into the attic, improving comfort and reducing energy bills.

Caulking the base of your walls is a simple way to reduce air leakage, reduce drafts, improve comfort, and increase the energy efficiency of your home.

For homes with heating registers in the ceiling or floor, air seal where the duct boots meet the ceiling drywall or the flooring to prevent heat loss around the register.

Sealing air leaks around electrical outlets and switches helps prevent conditioned air from escaping through wall cavities to reduce energy loss and improve home comfort.

Home Upgrade: Air Seal Fireplace When Not in Use

Make and install a chimney air sealing pillow to block air flow through your chimney when it will not be in use for long periods.

Install LED inserts into old recessed can lights to replace inefficient bulbs and air seal the can.

Air seal and insulate your crawlspace hatch to prevent air flow and heat transfer between the crawlspace and the living space of your home.

This waste vent pipe has been sealed to the subfloor with spray foam

Air seal penetrations in the floor to prevent air leakage and reduce energy losses.

Wrong – This vented crawlspace has standing water because steps were not taken to address site conditions that led to bulk water flow into the crawlspace.

Look at the crawlspace for moisture issues.

Exterior window frame being caulked with a caulking gun.

Replace cracked or missing caulk along windows, doors, and trim on exterior walls to prevent water intrusion into walls.

Use caulking and metal flashing to seal around kitchen or bath vents in roof or exterior walls.

Use caulking and spray foam to flash and air seal piping and wiring that comes through exterior walls.

Missing flashing around windows can allow water to get into the wall causing extensive damage to wall materials.

Missing flashing around doors and windows can lead to water infiltration and major damage and rot that is hidden inside of the wall.

This is a typical refrigerator thermometer showing ideal temperature ranges for both refrigerators and freezers

To ensure both food safety and energy efficiency, the refrigerator and freezer temperatures should be checked regularly using a refrigerator thermometer.

Cleaning your dryer duct annually will make your clothes dry faster, save energy, and could prevent a fire.

To maximize the life of your refrigerator, ensure your refrigerator cools your food down quickly, and save energy, it is important to clean the condenser coils behind or below the refrigerator every 6 to 12 months.

This high-efficiency front loading washer is ENERGY STAR certified to use 45% less energy and 50% less water than standard brands.

Install a high-efficiency ENERGY STAR-certified clothes washer.

Ventless heat pump clothes dryers use one-third the energy of regular electric dryers and don’t require a vent to the outside.

Install a ventless heat pump clothes dryer or combination washer/dryer for energy savings and space savings.

This mini-split heat pump needs to be checked to see if it needs deep cleaning.

Ductless heat pumps should be checked periodically to see if they need a deep cleaning to remove dust and mold and keep them operating efficiently.

Replacing linear fluorescent bulbs with long-lasting LED lamps can save money and provide better lighting (Source: Ed Louie Photography).

Converting your existing fluorescent fixtures to LED technology offers improved energy efficiency and longer bulb life. This guide demonstrates the step-by-step process for safely rewiring a linear fluorescent light fixture to accommodate LED tubes.

Turning your water heater temperature down to 120°F can promote safety, save energy, and improve system efficiency.

Home Maintenance: Clean Heat Pump Water Heater Air Filter

Clean the air filter in the heat pump water heater periodically to maintain water heater performance.

Tankless water heaters contain an air filter and a water filter screen, which require regular cleaning.

Water heaters should be flushed about once a year to remove sediment in the tank and improve long-term performance.

Flush your water heater tank to improve performance and longevity.

Replace an electric-resistance water heater with a heat pump water heater for energy savings.

Install a Water Heater Blanket on Electric Resistance Water Heaters

Insulating your electric resistance water heater is a simple, inexpensive method to reduce standby heat losses and improve energy efficiency.

Insulating hot water pipes gets more hot water to pipes faster, reducing wear on your water heater, saving on water heating costs, and protecting pipes from freezing.

Look for signs of a gas water heater backdrafting (allowing combustion exhaust to spill back into the house instead of going up the flue).

Cleaning your bathroom exhaust fan inside and out can help it to perform more effectively at removing moisture from the home while using less energy, making less noise, and helping the fan to last longer.

Home Maintenance: Clean or Replace Range Hood Filter

Clean or replace the filter on your range hood exhaust fan to improve its effectiveness and efficiency.

Home Maintenance Guide: Look at Exhaust Fans for Venting to Outside

Look in the attic or crawlspace to make sure your bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans are venting outside instead of into the attic or crawlspace.

Replace an existing recirculating kitchen fan with a kitchen exhaust fan that is ducted to the outside or install a new kitchen exhaust fan that is ducted to the outside.

Right – Flashing is installed around chimney, skylight, vents, dormers, in valleys and at eaves.

Missing flashing can lead to water infiltration and major damage and rot that may be hidden beneath the walls or roof.

DIY - Home Maintenance and Upgrade Projects

Windows and Doors

Windows and Doors

Attic

Attic

Heating & Cooling

Heating & Cooling

Indoor Air Sealing

Indoor Air Sealing

Foundation

Foundation

Walls

Walls

Appliances & Lighting

Appliances & Lighting

Water Heating & Plumbing

Water Heating & Plumbing

Ventilation

Ventilation

Roof

Roof