Is it normal to feel a draft coming from recessed lights and the attic hatch?

Those recessed light cans are basicly chimneys for your heat. If they aren't IC-rated and specifically labeled as airtight, they're constantly sucking warm air out of your living space and dumping it into the attic. The best fix isn't just caulk; look into fire-rated enclosures that sit over the light housing in the attic. You place the cover over the fixture and seal the perimeter with expanding foam. It makes a massive difference in how the room holds temperture once the furnace cycles off.

Your attic hatch is another huge leak point. A piece of plywood sitting on trim does almost nothing to stop air movement. I ussually get some thick adhesive **weatherstripping** and run it all along the wood ledge where the hatch sits. Then, glue a few layers of rigid foam board to the top of the hatch itself so it acutally has some R-value. If the plywood is light, you might even need some small latches to pull it down tight against the seal so air pressure doesn't lift it.

For the plumbing gaps and those sill plates, reach for the **expanding spray foam**. Caulk is fine for gaps smaller than a quarter-inch, like around window trim, but it’ll just shrink and fall out of a large gap around a vent stack. Use the stuff specifically for gaps and cracks for the plumbing bypasses in the utility closet. And if you see daylight at the sill plates, you've found a major source of your drafts. Just be sure to clean the dust off the concrete and wood first or the foam won't stick.

One thing to watch out for is your gas water heater or furnace. If they draw combustion air from inside the house and vent trough a standard metal flue, you have to be careful not to seal things so tight that you cause backdrafting. Also, never use regular spray foam right against a hot exhaust pipe. You need **fire-rated caulk** and some sheet metal flashing to bridge those specific gaps safely. It's a bit of a process, but air sealing usually gives you a much better return than just throwing more fiberglass batts up there.

I never even thougth about the backdrafting thing with the furnace, that sounds kind of scary. I was just going to go crazy with the foam everywhere. Does anyone know if those little foam gaskets for the light switches and outlets acutally work? I feel a breeze coming through the plugs on my outside walls too, but I wasn't sure if that's a "real" air leak or just cold surface temps.

Also, is there a way to test if I'm getting it all? I heard somthing about using a stick of incense to see where the smoke goes, but I don't want to accidentally set off my smoke detectors.

Those foam gaskets for the outlets are better than nothing, but they're mostly a band-aid. The real draft is usally coming from the wire holes in the top plate inside the wall. If you’re alredy in the attic with the spray foam, look for where the electrical wires go down into the wall cavities. That’s the source. Seal those wire penetrations and you'll stop the breeze at the outlet entirely.

Also, check the baseboards on your exterior walls. Sometimes air leaks under the drywall and out the bottom of the trim. A tiny bead of clear caulk along the floor-to-trim joint can shut that down fast without being an eyesore.

Don't overlook the rim joists in the basement while you're down there. I did my sill plates last year but realized the real draft was coming from the joist bays themselves. I used an incense stick to track the smoke—it's a cheap way to find 'invisible' leaks without a thermal camera. Also, if you do the windows, make sure you get the 'low expansion' blue can. If you use the regular stuff, it can warp the frames so badly you won't be able to open them anymore. Ask me how I know...