Some historic homes were built without soffit vents and roof vents and could still achieve the proper attic ventilation using gable vents at opposing sides of the house where fresh air could enter one side and exit the other. Thank you. I have gable vents on either side of the attic and a ridge vent. Well, you are not the only one who has experienced it. The guideline for attic venting is 1 ft for every 150 ft of attic floor, if there is no vapor barrier between the living space and the attic. Check to make sure the vents are not blocked with insulation, inspect the area for any signs of rodent or insect nests, and confirm that the vent screens are attached. Hi Ed, Hoping you can help me out with my situation. The rafters have none. In a nutshell, yes, soffit vents prevent moisture from doing bad things to your home. A ridge vent without soffit vents won't work as intended, and vice versa. James, Based on your two considerations and knowing how ventilation works, option #1 is the best one of the two. Ridge Vent vs. Attic Fan: Which Do You Need? The results? The only problem is there's no soffits in this house. Even without soffit venting, it is important to provide an air gap at the soffitlevelto help keep the roof deck dry. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Our house is a Garrison Colonial (post WWII style) with NO soffits. ft. of airflow per 150 sq. This article is part of the series ROOF VENTILATION SPECIFICATIONS and also ATTIC CONDENSATION CAUSE & CURE. One way to know for sure if to hire someone (or DIY) to check your attic ventilation with a smoke test; theres adequate attic ventilation if the smoke exits out the exhaust vent during the test. What is the fix for this heat? When properly combined with other roof ventilation devices, soffit vents allow fresh air to enter into an attic creating air flow. However, if you are more like me, then hiring someone to do this for you would have been the most idealistic option. Because of where they are located on the roof, they do very well at allowing heat to escape from them, which obviously fares your attic well. A novice DIYer who learns about home ventilation. Should I be worried for possible mold growth down the line? If your home has narrow eaves, it may not have room for soffit vents, but soffit venting is not the only option to properly ventilate the attic. He installed a ridge vent but we do not have any soffit vents, only a single gable edge vent ( in the top third if the gable). If you are having problems insulating the floor of the attic without covering the vents, consider investing in rafter vents or insulation baffles. Attic Ventilation Without Soffits Homes without room for soffit vents usually use gable vents or shingled vents to take advantage of passive ventilation. It cut our bill by maybe 5%. Soffit vents are roof ventilation devices installed underneath the eaves of a roof that extend past the warm wall line. Should I be installing an electric fan? Although this may be a place of storage for you, it is the first step to stopping air from escaping. Ed, I have a 45 year old cedar shake roof that I will be replacing soon. If this is the case. Will adding soffit vents and killing the mold prevent future problems or do I need to remove damaged decking? in. Worse yet, inadequate insulation is almost surely allowing moisture-laden air into your attic. If it will be the fan, then the gables should be closed and you need to add soffit venting. 2 months later, I had a new roof installed. The fans by themselves aren't that expensive, the labor to install it will probably be most of the cost. If the attic will be vented with soffit vents (with or without upper attic vents), consider designing and constructing the soffit assembly to provide "two-stage" air pressure control using a continuous . Rafter vents or insulation baffles, are typically installed in the spacing between rafters, creating a narrow gap that allows outside air to flow in from the soffit vents. Short of me removing all the wonderful soffit work I did, is there anything I can do? What is the best way to improve attic ventilation in my gable roof? See, here's how ridge and soffit vents work together. Install a ridge vent along the roof peak so that the air has somewhere to exit the attic space. How Much Cooler Can My Attic Be After Installing a Radiant Barrier? Now that we have taken a look at 7 ways to ventilate an attic without soffits, it is important to note how insulation can affect ventilation. Here is a video showing this type product. Loose insulation is used for those really pesky areas that are hard to cover. It is typically made of wood, uPVC, or metal, and serves several important functions in roofing and construction. Just keep an eye on things and try to crack the door open when possible. Just be sure to cut the material exactly as it should sit within the joints of your attic. A roofer came by and suggested we put in ridge vents along entire attic which we did. Powered attic vents, also known as powered attic ventilators or attic power vents, are electric-propelled fans that help pull stale air out of an attic space. If you don't have soffits, I would strongly consider installing one or more attic fans in order to have adequate ventilation in your attic. Im inclined to say to myself I got taken but maybe no harm done since the four windows and open space from 50 year old fan not working is enough fresh air coming in. Dont close off the ridge you want your attic to be COLD. How To Vent an Attic Without Soffit Vents The standard intake vent for attics is a soffit vent (also sometimes referred to as an "eave vent") and it allows for air to enter the attic down low, near the eaves. Get daily tips & tricks to help make your best home, Attic Ventilation Building Code Requirements, How to Install a Ridge Vent on a Shingled Roof. Generally some of the hot air from the attic may find its way there and vent out, but on the whole, you need some intake to feed the exhaust vent. I have a shed roof over top of my garage, the slope is 2/12. Greatly appreciate any thoughts. Original design had an attic above the ceiling; attic was ventilated with passive gable vents on each end. Finally, without enough soffit vents the motors tend to burn out . My formerly cozy house is now very chilly and the heater is running continuously. Use eye-brow vents that are on the top of the sloping roof surface near the soffit/eave area. You'd have to extend or actually reshingle the bottom layer of shingles at the edge. The Department of Energy has a different list for different climates. Then, add more insulation on the floor and cover it up with our SuperPerf AtticFoil. I have a split level home with a gable roof. Yes, take the fan out! Adding these to your home is likely something you can do on your own if you do a bit of reading up and have a tall enough ladder. Due to their nature-reliant construction, they are super energy-efficient and can save you some serious money when it comes to your homes energy expenses. Will two gables and a roof vent be sufficient. Ruth, I say if it aint broke dont fix it! Seems a bit less intimidating, right? Thanks for the article! An ice dam is a large mass of ice that builds on the edge of a roof. Plus, roofing and attic ventilation systems can protect homes from the expensive roof and structural damage caused by trapped heat, ice dams, moisture and mold. I have two contractor proposals. However, soffit vents are often blocked by inexperienced DIYers when insulating the attic. The keyword here is regularly. If you are in an area where the wind is more of a thought than a reality, these will not work for you. They may seem like an eye-sore, but modern technology has afforded homeowners some very aesthetically pleasing options that wont distract from the beauty of your home, can blend in with your siding or brick, and work well to keep the attic ventilated. Essentially bring air through the high interior ceiling and pass it through the attic with gable vent outtake? Soffit vents come in several sizes and styles, including small round discs and rectangular grilles. Insulating a cathedral ceiling for maximum comfort year-round. Learn more here. As the wind blows across the roof of your house, it sort of swoops up at the ridge and the ridge depressurizes and the air that's in the attic sort of gets sucked out at the ridge. #1 Problem - Blocked, Clogged or Dirty Soffit Vents. If you are really wanting to make sure that your attic is not sucking energy from your home and can properly ventilate, you first want to start with the attic floor. There are no rafter vent baffles. How Much Cooler Can My Attic Be After Installing a Radiant Barrier? Ventilation is important and can help keep an attic dry and lower air temperatures, but not having any ventilation isnt the worst case scenario. The air flows through the rafter vents to the peak of the roof. Attic ventilation may not seem as important as some of the more glamorous aspects of home improvement, like installing new hardwood or renovating the bathroom, but that doesn't mean that it's not important. Without proper ventilation, the temperature in the attic can reach unhealthy levels, which can quickly lead to problems. First, let me reiterate that I think you should use soffit vents as your intake source for attic ventilation. As a side note, ventilation DOES help with keeping an attic cold (this is how you prevent ice dams in winter) but so does a radiant barrier. On a small shed that size, a ridge vent wont make a difference compared to the existing gable vents. With the right wind speed, they do a fantastic job getting fresh air in and letting warm air out. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. However, there is no daylight through the soffit vents when I look through them from inside the attic (with attic lights off). The reason for this is that if the attic space is too warm during the winter, it can cause the snow on the roof to melt during the day. Attic ventilation not only keep you house cooler in the summer but keeps the shingles from reach those high temperatures that can cause early failures. Beware of adding a ridge vent without soffit vents (the worst) or soffit vents without a ridge vent (bad) or only gable-end vents (usually bad). Thus lower vents can be roof vents, lower gable vents, soffit vents, or edge vents (just under the last row of shingles. The attic floor is also insulated. I had additional blown insulation added, although I was told by the insulator that my R value was already quite good and that things appeared to be sealed properly in the attic. While were replacing the roof, should we add ventilation? More info here: Basics of Attic Ventilation. Theeaves stick out about 1.5 feet wide. The attic space has a fire wall in it so it doesnt make sense to put gable vents on opposite sides of the building. link to Why Ceiling Fan Light Bulbs Keep Burning Out: 8 Reasons, link to Variable Speed Air Handler Pros and Cons, How Attic Insulation can Affect Ventilation, How to Insulate Your Attic to Ensure Effective Attic Ventilation, 4. Whats surprising is that there is evidence of moisture (drips probably from snow melt coming in on roofing nails) but there was barely any mold in the attic to the surprise of roofing contractors, remediators and others weve had do work in the home. We cant add baffles as there are no soffit gables. The guideline drops to 1 ft for every 300 ft with a vapor barrier. HomeShowRadio 7.29K subscribers Subscribe 38 Share 7.4K views 2 years ago Get help with your home improvement projects. Take the goods off the floor of your attic and put some insulation down, this will make the biggest difference. For an attic without soffit vents, you may have the option to use gable vents instead. Please HELP!! Without a continuous flow of outside air, the attic heat in the winter will melt ice and snow at the top of the roof, which will flow down and refreeze when it reaches the cooler bottom of the roof. Even if you do not have soffit vents (a highly effective attic ventilation technology), there are plenty of options out there to either passively or actively ventilate your attic and make sure that you keep the structural integrity of your home in check. It has low slopemaybe 1/12 or 2/12? Open when possible knowing how ventilation works, option # 1 problem - blocked, Clogged or Dirty vents... A fantastic job getting fresh air in and letting warm air out with! And you need to remove damaged decking 300 ft with a gable roof soffit... And vice versa nutshell, yes, soffit vents and killing the mold prevent future problems or I! 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