Duct sealing and repair in Marietta for attic and crawlspace runs: crushed flex replaced, pulled-apart joints reconnected, and leaks closed with mastic so the system stops drawing in dust and wet air.
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Six boxes, about thirty seconds. You pick when to be called back, and that is when the phone rings.
Or call (943) 271-6154For a lot of Marietta houses the most useful thing a duct visit turns up is not dirt but a leak. A return duct with a gap in a vented attic pulls in air that is hot, dusty and full of insulation fibers. One in a crawlspace pulls in damp air that smells like soil. Supply ducts that leak dump cooled air into the attic instead of the bedrooms. Cleaning a leaky system makes it clean for a few months. Sealing it is what keeps it that way, and it usually makes the far rooms more comfortable as a side effect.
Georgia's energy code has required duct and envelope tightness verification on new homes since 30 June 2011, whenever any part of the duct system or the air handler sits outside the insulated envelope. As the rules were written in 2011, an existing system also had to pass the same test if more than half of it was modified, mastic was required on new or modified ductwork, and a straight equipment swap needed mastic on the plenum connections but no test. Under the current amendments the leakage target is 6 CFM per 100 square feet of conditioned floor area, measured by a certified verifier such as a HERS rater or a BPI analyst. A house built before mid-2011 was never held to any of that.
Upstairs or end-of-hall rooms that never reach the setting. Dark streaks on the ceiling around supply registers, where air leaks around the register boot. Dirty, discolored patches in the attic insulation along duct runs, which act like a filter for air leaking through a joint. A whistle at a return grille. A house that stays clammy in summer. Dust that comes back quickly no matter how often the ducts are cleaned. Flex duct that is lying in a pile, sagging between supports, or flattened under storage boxes.
It starts with a look at every run that can be reached in the attic, crawlspace and basement, and ideally a duct leakage test with a duct blower so the before-and-after can be measured. Pulled-apart flex is reconnected to its collar, strapped and sealed. Crushed or torn sections are replaced. Register boots are sealed to the drywall or ceiling around them, which stops the streaking. Seams on the plenums and around the air handler cabinet are sealed with mastic, the paste sealant Georgia's code calls for, rather than cloth duct tape that dries out and lets go. Returns built from framing cavities, such as a closet platform or a panned joist bay, are a common leak in houses of a certain age and get sealed or rebuilt in metal.
In a damp Marietta crawlspace, uninsulated metal supply ducts sweat in summer and drip onto the floor, and flex duct lying on the soil picks up moisture and pests. Lifting runs onto proper supports, sealing joints and checking the insulation jacket all reduce how much crawlspace air ends up in the living space. If the crawlspace itself is very wet, that is a drainage or vapor barrier problem for a different trade, and it should be named as one.
When a system needs both, sealing usually comes first or on the same visit. There is little point cleaning a return that is still pulling attic air through a gap, and the cleaning crew's camera is often the thing that found the gap in the first place.
Sealing and repair are priced by what the inspection finds: how many joints, how much replacement duct, and whether a leakage test is included. That is quoted separately, with photos of each problem, before any of it is done. The pricing page covers the cleaning side of the visit, with market ranges and their sources.
Duct Sealing and Repair in Marietta. Call (943) 271-6154 and a technician is dispatched with the parts on the truck. You get the price before the work starts.
Call (943) 271-6154On Saturday 29 March 2025 Atlanta Allergy & Asthma recorded a pollen count of 14,801 grains per cubic meter of air, shattering the previous record of 9,368 set in March 2012. Any count above 1,500 is classed as extreme. Trees were the main source, after a warm February with no hard freeze brought an early bloom and a warm, dry March intensified it. The count is taken from a rooftop sampler and read under a microscope.
Why it matters: Pollen gets into a house through doors, windows and any return duct that pulls air from the attic or crawlspace. A filter that fits its slot catches most of it; a leaky return or a loose filter lets it reach the supply runs. Cleaning in the middle of a season like that is wasted money. Fix the filter and the leaks, then clean after the counts fall.
Source: atlantanewsfirst.com
Georgia's state energy code took effect on 1 January 2011, and duct and envelope tightness (DET) verification became mandatory on new homes from 30 June 2011. A newly installed duct system must be tested if any part of it, or the air handler, sits outside the building envelope, in an unconditioned attic or crawlspace. As first written, the rules also required an existing system to pass the same test if more than half of it was modified, and required mastic on new or modified ductwork. Under Georgia's amendments to the 2015 IECC the duct leakage target is 6 CFM per 100 square feet of conditioned floor area, and testing must be done by a certified DET verifier such as a HERS rater or BPI analyst.
Why it matters: A Marietta house built before mid-2011 was never held to a duct leakage test, and its attic and crawlspace returns often pull dust, insulation fibers and humid air straight into the system. Cleaning those ducts without sealing them buys a few clean months, and the leak is usually the better use of the money.
Sources: southface.org · southface.org
University of Georgia Extension Circular 1047-1, Preventing Mold in Your Home (fully reviewed 1 March 2023), advises keeping indoor relative humidity below 60 percent and ideally between 30 and 50 percent. It lists air conditioning system flaws, naming an oversized unit, duct leaks, dirty coils and condensation, among the sources of excess moisture in a house, and recommends sealing leaks in HVAC ducts and the return plenum and running a well maintained, right-sized air conditioner with the fan on auto.
Why it matters: In a humid Georgia summer the indoor coil sits cold and wet for months, and that is where musty smells and growth usually start, not in the duct runs. A fan left on 'on' re-wets the house with water from the coil. The coil, the drain pan and the leaks deserve attention before anyone sells a duct sanitizer.
Source: fieldreport.caes.uga.edu
The City of Marietta lists five National Register historic districts: Atlanta-Frasier Street, Church-Cherokee Street, Northwest Marietta, Washington Avenue and Whitlock Avenue, and in August 2013 part of Kennesaw Avenue became the city's first locally designated historic district. The Whitlock Avenue district, listed in 1989, covers 82 acres and 101 contributing buildings dating from before the Civil War into the 1930s. The Northwest Marietta district, listed in 1975, takes in about 230 acres of houses built roughly from the 1840s to the 1890s.
Why it matters: Almost none of those houses were built with forced air or central cooling. Most of their ductwork was added later, threaded through crawlspaces, closets and attics around plaster walls and old framing, and it is often a patchwork of metal and flexible duct of different ages. A cleaning there starts with finding where the runs actually go.
Sources: mariettaga.gov · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org
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