FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter X Instagram Tiktok YouTube Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Subscribe
Log In
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Restoration
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
Log In

Fine Homebuilding Project Guides

Insulation

Guide Home
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Air-Sealing
  • Choosing Insulation
  • Installing Insulation
  • Water Management
Tools & Materials

Second-Floor Air Barrier

The interior air barrier is installed before framing the interior walls.

By Tim Biebel
  • X
  • facebook
  • linkedin
  • pinterest
  • email
  • add to favorites Log in or Sign up to save your favorite articles

A continuous air barrier is critical to a high-performance home. At the FHB House, and most of our recent builds, we rely on Intello Plus membrane to carry the bulk of the workload when it comes to air sealing. Installing some of the Intello happens surprisingly early in the build – before we frame interior walls on the second floor.

This technique makes a few of the subcontractors mumble hurtful words about me under their breath because it does add a bit of difficulty to their work, but in the end it is worth the extra effort to have a better performing house.

Once the roof framing is complete, the crew staples the Intello Membrane onto the roof slopes and the flat ceiling. All joints are sealed with 2 3/8 in. Tescon Vana tape. After that, the slopes and ceilings are strapped with 1×3 strapping 16 in. on center to provide nailing for sheetrock and to hold back the dense-pack cellulose protruding too far from the face of the rafters to prevent easy installation of the sheetrock.

The Intello membrane is stapled to the 2×4 furring strips before any of the interior walls are framed on the second floor.

This is a much quicker method of installing the membrane than waiting until after all the walls are framed. Plus, there are fewer breaks in the membrane since full-width pieces (120 in.) can be utilized. If we waited until after the interior walls were framed, there would be joints at either side of each wall, requiring more tape and labor. The strapping would also take longer to install.

All of the seams in the Intello barrier are taped with Tescon Vana.

The design of the second floors requires no electrical in the roof slopes and only a few lights and smoke detectors in the flat ceiling. The Intello is intentionally left off the ceiling in the storage room to allow the electricians to access their work from above. It’s a minimal amount of work, but I have noticed the hurtful comments toward me increase the hotter the ambient temperature climbs in the attic space. When the schedules allows, we try to provide them with time to complete as much wiring as possible before the Intello goes up. The same goes for the plumbers with their vent pipe.

An indirect outcome of this method is that fewer holes end up in the air barrier. Since the subs didn’t start until after the Intello was in place, it forced them to keep as much of the wiring in interior walls as possible. It’s a win-win.

Fine Homebuilding Recommended Products

Fine Homebuilding receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Tajima Chalk Rite Chalk Line

Snapping a line should be quick, clean, and accurate, and the Tajima certainly doesn’t disappoint. It’s pro-grade and works as advertised.
Buy at Amazon

Short Blade Chisel

We always have a wide chisel on my belt for fit and fitting because it’s often faster to grab the chisel rather than going back to the saw.
Buy at Amazon

Anchor Bolt Marker

Quickly transfer anchor bolt locations to mud sill stock without measuring mistakes.
Buy at Amazon
Previous: Simple Air-Sealed Ceiling for a High-Performance Home Next: How to Air-Seal an Attic

Guide

Insulation

Chapter

Air-Sealing

Sign up for eletters today and get the latest how-to from Fine Homebuilding, plus special offers.

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

View Comments

  1. user-62108 | Sep 18, 2017 04:25pm | #1

    So by spending a ton of time and materials, you save pennies a year on heat, in theory...until you have to add outside air intake because the envelope is too tight, causing it to be unhealthy. So how exactly does spending all that time and Material save anything in the long run? Just makes house a LOT more expensive and time consuming to build, and doesn't benefit anyone. Maybe puts a smug Ile on your face on how "green" you are. Green building is only green because of all the money it wastes.

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Sign up Log in

Become a member and get full access to FineHomebuilding.com

Insulation

Insulation

Trusted, comprehensive guidance from the pros for a home that is healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient

View Project Guide

View All Project Guides »

Become a member and get unlimited site access, including the Insulation Project Guide.

Start Free Trial

Energy Efficiency
  • Understanding Energy and Houses
  • Building Energy-Efficient Homes
Air-Sealing
  • Air-Sealing Basics
  • Air-Sealing Tools and Materials
  • Foundations and Floors
  • Walls, Windows, and Doors
  • Attics and Roofs
Choosing Insulation
  • Insulation Basics
  • Material Choices
Installing Insulation
  • Insulating Attics and Roofs
  • Insulating Walls
  • Insulating Floors, Footings, and Slabs
  • Insulating Foundation Walls
Water Management
  • Water-Management Principles
  • Materials
  • Installation Methods

Fine Home Building

Newsletter Sign-up

  • Fine Homebuilding

    Home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox.

  • Green Building Advisor

    Building science and energy efficiency advice, plus special offers, in your inbox.

  • Old House Journal

    Repair, renovation, and restoration tips, plus special offers, in your inbox.

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters

Follow

  • Fine Homebuilding

    Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.

    Start Free Trial Now
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X
    • LinkedIn
  • GBA Prime

    Get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.

    Start Free Trial Now
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • Old House Journal

    Learn how to restore, repair, update, and decorate your home.

    Subscribe Now
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X
  • Fine Homebuilding

    Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.

    Start Free Trial Now
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X
    • LinkedIn
  • GBA Prime

    Get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.

    Start Free Trial Now
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
  • Old House Journal

    Learn how to restore, repair, update, and decorate your home.

    Subscribe Now
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Privacy Preferences
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Terms of Use
  • Site Map
  • Do not sell or share my information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • California Privacy Rights

© 2025 Active Interest Media. All rights reserved.

Fine Homebuilding receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

  • Home Group
  • Antique Trader
  • Arts & Crafts Homes
  • Bank Note Reporter
  • Cabin Life
  • Cuisine at Home
  • Fine Gardening
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Green Building Advisor
  • Garden Gate
  • Horticulture
  • Keep Craft Alive
  • Log Home Living
  • Military Trader/Vehicles
  • Numismatic News
  • Numismaster
  • Old Cars Weekly
  • Old House Journal
  • Period Homes
  • Popular Woodworking
  • Script
  • ShopNotes
  • Sports Collectors Digest
  • Threads
  • Timber Home Living
  • Traditional Building
  • Woodsmith
  • World Coin News
  • Writer's Digest
Active Interest Media logo
X
X
This is a dialog window which overlays the main content of the page. The modal window is a 'site map' of the most critical areas of the site. Pressing the Escape (ESC) button will close the modal and bring you back to where you were on the page.

Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Project Guides
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

Online Learning

  • Courses
  • Project Guides
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast

More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • FHB House
  • Customer Support

Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Follow

  • X
  • YouTube
  • instagram
  • facebook
  • pinterest
  • Tiktok

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 81%

Subscribe

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in

Privacy Policy Update

We use cookies, pixels, script and other tracking technologies to analyze and improve our service, to improve and personalize content, and for advertising to you. We also share information about your use of our site with third-party social media, advertising and analytics partners. You can view our Privacy Policy here and our Terms of Use here.

Cookies

Analytics

These cookies help us track site metrics to improve our sites and provide a better user experience.

Advertising/Social Media

These cookies are used to serve advertisements aligned with your interests.

Essential

These cookies are required to provide basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website.

Delete My Data

Delete all cookies and associated data