Sealing your dwelling against airborne/outside contagions

[Evolver]

If your apposed to using staples a double sided tape would come in handy as a third hand, second seal and a strain relief for the outer tape . Start out by making a border around the entire window with the double sided tape, attach your plastic then duct/ 2" masking tape the outer edge of the plastic.

[bacpacker]

Excellent idea Evolver. We use that DS tape at work for various stuff. The 2" wide stuff will hold a fair amount of weight. It'll do great for plastic. I never gave it a thought before.

[Sniper-T]

Another way to seal whilst using staples, is to put a light bead of caulking or accustiseal around the window first, then stick the plastic up to that, then either staple right through the bead, or on the outside of the bead so it makes the seal. Basically the same way you would seal an outside wall when insulating from the inside.

I'm not too sure about sealing the soffits and roof vents though. you still want/need your home to breathe. Unless you have a functionable attic (ie living quarters), there should be no air exchange between that and the rest of the house... only heat/cold. If you don't allow your home to vent... you will run into some serious moisture problems in short order.

As to the plumbing stacks... as long as your plumbing is usable, these do not need to be sealed, and actually cannot be sealed off, if you expect your plumbing to continue working. all plumbing stacks have an S bend in the bottom, which, with water creates an trap, that doesn't allow odors or anything else into your home. If they are plugged, your toilet will stop flushing, your sinks will stop draining, and same with showers/tubs/etc.

Something to think about though is the fan vents... these usually go out through the walls, and have plastic flapper covers over them to keep critters out. These would be off the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. (think dryer, range hood, etc) The covers that are on are usually just a press on item. meaning you can pull it off, put a piece of plastic over the hole and press it back in to jam the plastic into place.

A couple other things to think about are the fresh air intakes for your furnace and/or wood stoves. Keep in mind that neither will function properly without adequate venting. If you have gas appliences, the flame will go out, and the gas will continue to leak into your home, and if you do get them lit/running they will not exhaust properly. A chimney needs adequate airflow from inside at the bottom to allow the rising heat to suck the smoke up and out.

IMO, masks and suits would be a more feasible method of dealing with anything airborn, especially if you need to run things in your house like heat (or cooling), and/or plumbing.

[Twitchy]

Another way to seal whilst using staples, is to put a light bead of caulking or accustiseal around the window first, then stick the plastic up to that, then either staple right through the bead, or on the outside of the bead so it makes the seal. Basically the same way you would seal an outside wall when insulating from the inside.

I'm not too sure about sealing the soffits and roof vents though. you still want/need your home to breathe. Unless you have a functionable attic (ie living quarters), there should be no air exchange between that and the rest of the house... only heat/cold. If you don't allow your home to vent... you will run into some serious moisture problems in short order.

As to the plumbing stacks... as long as your plumbing is usable, these do not need to be sealed, and actually cannot be sealed off, if you expect your plumbing to continue working. all plumbing stacks have an S bend in the bottom, which, with water creates an trap, that doesn't allow odors or anything else into your home. If they are plugged, your toilet will stop flushing, your sinks will stop draining, and same with showers/tubs/etc.

Something to think about though is the fan vents... these usually go out through the walls, and have plastic flapper covers over them to keep critters out. These would be off the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry rooms. (think dryer, range hood, etc) The covers that are on are usually just a press on item. meaning you can pull it off, put a piece of plastic over the hole and press it back in to jam the plastic into place.

A couple other things to think about are the fresh air intakes for your furnace and/or wood stoves. Keep in mind that neither will function properly without adequate venting. If you have gas appliences, the flame will go out, and the gas will continue to leak into your home, and if you do get them lit/running they will not exhaust properly. A chimney needs adequate airflow from inside at the bottom to allow the rising heat to suck the smoke up and out.

IMO, masks and suits would be a more feasible method of dealing with anything airborn, especially if you need to run things in your house like heat (or cooling), and/or plumbing.

Good idea on the caulking... Also agree on masks and suit to an extent... a room sized HVAC system with CBRNE filters would also work in the event you had to hole up... They are however, not cheap...