Comments on: Attic Ventilation

By: marion pringle

marion pringle — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:53:20 +0000

I had paperlike insulation blown into my attic recently. There is no roof vent and I was told that 2 soffits were left open but there are no baffles and I’m not sure they protected the two soffits they say they left open. There is a very small vent in the top corner at each end. A contractor looked at the other soffits from outside and said they were of no use because they don’t go directly into the atic. The pulldown for attic access has no cover and I was told by the contractor there is not enough ventilation and that I will get mold and roof and beam damage. Please respond with your advise as soon as possible so that I can get back with the contractor that installed it and take care of the problem. It gets pretty cold here in New York and although I feel insulation is necessary, I would rather not have it done incorrectly and create a problem later on. I’m an elderly widow and need your expert opinion and advise. Thank you for your quick response. Mrs. Pringle

By: ed child

ed child — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:39:04 +0000

I have a 3 year old house in fla,suppoidly has a ridge vent.it seems they definitly cut the ridge and put paper thin mesh and then the shingles on top water tight so the ridge vent is sticking up1/8 of inch,how could this possibly vent or is this just a contractors cut and you are responsible to install the actual vent.its impossible to get any air out when the shingles are nailed down tight as normal.the cobra vent is an inch thick looks to be ok

By: PAUL

PAUL — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 05:45:26 +0000

I AM INSTALLING INSULATION AGAINST THE ROOF DECKING IN MY ATTIC. I PUT STYROFOAM BAFFLES IN FIRST TO ALLOW AIR FLOW TO THE RIDGE VENT. SHOULD I BE ABLE TO FEEL THE FLOW COMING UP FROM THE EAVES? IF NOT PERHAPS I NEED BETTER SOFFIT VENTS. ALSO, HOW FAR UP FROM THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE ROOF SHOULD I PLACE THE STYROFOM BAFFLES?

By: Karl

Karl — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:31:12 +0000

Check for leaks around your chimney if it is at that area. I think the issue may be your bathroom exhaust fan (assuming you have one). Sometimes these are vented directly into the attic. It should really have an insulated duct connected to it that goes to the outside wall through a weather-proof cover like on your clothes dryer vent. Keep in mind sloping the duct to the outside wall too because you are bound to get a little condensation in it. You want to drain outside, not settle in low spots or drain back into the bathroom. Keeping gable vent closed makes sense to me. Make sure your soffit vents aren’t plugged up with dust/dirt or bugs and you should be good to go. Good luck, Karl

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:10:57 +0000

Within the past two years we had new roofing paper and shingles installed on our 9/12 pitch roof. This was not an overlay. At the same time we had the turtle vents removed and continous roof vents installed. We left the soffit vents and the gable end vent on the north east side intact (only one gable end because of chimney). Shortly after the shingles were installed we climbed through the access hole to check the inside of the roof. We found a great deal of mold, primarily over the bathroom located on the south west side of the house. However, we feel certain the mold was there before new shingles were installed.

We treated the mold with a solution of bleach and water which killed the mold. We checked a few months later and the mold had not reappeared.
Later, I was told that the gable end vent should be closed off as it did not work well with ridge vent. I did close the gable end with foil and duct tape. The soffits are vinyl and have very small vent holes that are not visible under beadwork that runs perpindicular to the house.
We have a r-19 factor attic insulation (at least) on 2nd floor celinig.
The bathroom fan vents empty into the soffit.

Now several months (7 or after we last checked we find the mold is back.

We have questions.

1. Should I uncover the gable end vent even though we have ridge vent in place?
2. Do you feel the bleach and water solution sprayed on the mold with a garden sprayer will defeat the mold? Or are we going to end up replacing the sheeting and shingles?
3. Will an attic vent fan help?
4. Is attic mold a common problem in newer homes?

Thank you,
Bill

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 16:48:23 +0000

Hi I have gable end vents and no soffit vents i intend to do a new roof soon with a ridge vent do i need soffit vents or what other procees should i use. Bob

By: barbara

barbara — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:17:33 +0000

we have round vents under our soffit they need to be replaced where can we buy them in fort myers florida or on line .thanks barbara

By: Hank caplin

Hank caplin — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:00:11 +0000

To get hot air from your attic is to install a ridge vent an check if there are thru vents an soffit vents .

By: Hank caplin

Hank caplin — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 06:49:30 +0000

I think the best way is by install ridge vents,the full lenght of the house , LIVING QUARTERS. This way the heat in between trusses or rafters can escape throught the ridge vents.

By: John Cannamela

John Cannamela — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 16:24:10 +0000

Mechanical ventilation (fans).These are seldom checked most of them have a thermostat-which tends to fail over the years.These should be on the check list when your AC check up is due.some fans have dampers which open with the fan.If the fan tstat is broken then 0 air is moving and can buckle the roof around the fan opening,because of the metal,which expands and contracts at a faster rate than the wood.When you get the xmas tree down check the fan-its worth the 5 min.

John Cannamela
Go green with Infrared
http://www.infraredsurvey.com