Finally, without enough soffit vents the motors tend to burn out . 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. We used to have a shrub in front of the gable so it could be from that. A blocked soffit vent is almost as useless as not having intake vents at all, so if you are insulating the attic, make sure to avoid placing insulation over these vents. Worse yet, inadequate insulation is almost surely allowing moisture-laden air into your attic. I had these and had to by plywood cut to close opening and seal it. https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IRC2018P7/chapter-8-roof-ceiling-construction. If things are working well as they are, I would leave it be. Its possible! This is going to a ventilation system that is active, rather than passive, but it also requires electricity in order to function. Maybe youve considered adding a ridge vent because youve heard theyre a good choice but youre not sure since you dont have soffits. They are extremely powerful and are able to move tons of hot air out of your attic in a very short amount of time. Gable vents are not as horrifying as they sound. . They work great in the summers, but should not be used alone in the wintertime because they are not great with removing moisture- something that will dramatically change the overall effect of ventilation. Loyal reader KEN has an attic space with only air exhaust points - a vented ridge, and no air intake. The fascia is a horizontal board that is fixed to the ends of roof rafters or trusses at the eaves of a building. What would you recommend for venting with new asphalt shingles? What is the best way to improve attic ventilation in my gable roof? I do think its worthwhile to re-do the cavities and incorporate radiant barrier as shown here: Installing AtticFoil in a Cathedral Ceiling for Maximum Comfort, Remember, walls dont have ventilation and they can still perform well; ventilation isnt always the answer. Ventilating attic spaces can help regulate temperatures in your living spaces. Even on a calm day the flow of cool air in through one gable out through the other side can occur at a regular rate. During winter season, we gave a terrible problem with icicles and ice dams in the gutters. I had a new asphalt shingle replaced on my roof a few months ago. Roof vents need to conform to International Residential Code (IRC)R802.7, which specifies the size and type of the openings. Yes, with or without air FLOW, a radiant barrier can still reflect radiant heat can and reduce the heat entering the attic. We are about to redo the roof, and I wanted to know if having gable vents alone would be sufficient for ventilation or should we add ridge vents and/or edge vents? Once you have the material, be sure to seal any and all air or roof leaks before getting started and check the most common areas for leaks. The 8 Best Attic Fans of 2023 to Increase Ventilation. This is something you may have thought standard with most homes, but how can you ventilate without soffits? They are able to work as an intake fan as well as an exhaust fan. Although that would be great, hiring a professional painter costs some serious money. There's a type of vent called a drip-edge vent. I had recently got my garage insulated. So with ridge vents you need 1/300th the area, or 800 / 300 = 2.67 square feet of vents. The gable vents are at the lowest portion of the attic. Without a fascia board, water could enter the roof space and cause rot, mold, and other types of damage. Does this sound correct? This is hands-down one of the most simple but effective ways to save energy and stop moisture problems in the attic air seal that floor as best as you can! When it reaches its dew point it will change from vapor to condensation. Loose fill is just as it says loose. Or. I do have blown in insulation in the attic. Soffit vents come in several sizes and styles, including small round discs and rectangular grilles. Take the goods off the floor of your attic and put some insulation down, this will make the biggest difference. I have a cross-gable roof. (there are other brands/models) If you have a gable roof, Id use a ridge vent. Alyssa, if your garage door can open, even just a crack, air will pull into the garage from under the door and go up and out the vent. 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. The openings in the material should be no less than 1/16 inch and no more than 1/4 inch. 3 years ago I replaced all the soffit covers, facia, facia boards, and gutters. With the right wind speed, they do a fantastic job getting fresh air in and letting warm air out. What is the best way to apply the radiant barrier and fanfold board to the rafters (which goes first against the rafters, radiant barrier or fanfold board), so that there is still circulation and no issues with moisture? Use a passive system and you wont have issues with sucking air out of your home (or chimney). The ductwork has been sealed and insulated. Cons Most effective when used with a ridge vent Homeowner tend to cover them with insulation, which blocks the airflow Read our. Noticed I do NOT have vented soffits and now I have drastic mold growth in the attic. Gable vents are great, but as far as construction goes, they can be a big undertaking. Most people have plenty of exhaust vents but not nearly enough *intake* vents. . A ridge vents works by drawing air upward and out of the attic space. I want to improve the ventilation in our attic, but am afraid of messing up a good thing. Hope that helps good luck! 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. Ridge vents work their best in combination with soffit vents. Required fields are marked *. Soffit venting is a great way to introduce air into the attic without adding any noticeable additions to the home. I bought a 1930s house with a detached 3 car garage. I would discourage you from adding a fan to the section with the gable (never a good plan to mix passive and active vents in the same space) maybe just add another small vent in the same area. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. The vents are intended to allow cold air into the attic, reducing the temperature of the roof. I have been in my attic and never noticed any condensation or moisture. However the mold is a concern, so Id recommend either checking yourself or hiring a professional to come take a look at the attic floor and find the weak spots where air could be leaking through so they can seal them up. Original (?) Use eye-brow vents that are on the top of the sloping roof surface near the soffit/eave area. What kind? Five Common Causes of Poor Attic Venting. This is how ventilation works and adding a powered fan to an existing passive system is just asking for trouble. Cross ventilation openings should be no less than 1/16 inch and no more than 1/4 inch. Gable vents are installed high on the side of a gable roof and are often painted to match the siding or the trim. So you have no soffit. . The international building code requires attics to be vented according to the minimums specified in International Residential Code (IRC)R806.1: All attics need to be ventilated to avoid problems with mold, moisture, high energy bills, and damage to the roof or gutter system. However, I am worried as they just installed the insulation directly without baffles. Hi Liz, my advice is to SEAL, SEAL, SEAL the ceiling/floor of the attic to not let/minimize any warm-moist getting into attic. I have a new 10 x 20 She-Shed ready for insulation. That condensation needs to be vented in order to remove the condensation. 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. In order to understand why attic ventilation is important to the safety and continued function of your home, it's necessary to grasp the basics of attic ventilation. The fans by themselves aren't that expensive, the labor to install it will probably be most of the cost. It should be ok, even though this is untraditional (insulating a non-conditioned space with r-value). Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. It is able to conform more easily than batt insulation and thus, can get into areas that other types of insulation normally could not. 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. See what I mean here? The Department of Energy has a different list for different climates. Get help with your home improvement projects. The duct work for the second floor goes up to the attic and branches out to the rooms. If there is plenty of soffit venting and if you have a relatively tight ceiling, then the makeup air will come from outside, which is desirable, summer and winter. Remember, what really matters is doing everything you can to make sure that the ceiling under the insulation has no air leaks into the attic, and this is a good practice whether or not you have attic ventilation! To ventilate your attic without soffits you can use gable vents, eyebrow vents, a venting drip edge, a shingle-over intake vent, wind turbines, or power vents. Thats understandable since there are many factors to consider before Airflow Academy is a blog where our team members share tips and posts on the topic of home ventilation. Here is one http://airvent.com/stageit/images/installation_the_edge_vent.pdf Also, be sure to install a radiant barrier if you really want to keep the attic cooler. 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. Radiant barrier does require and air gap to work to reflect heat, just an air space/gap. Ed, I have a 45 year old cedar shake roof that I will be replacing soon. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); How To Vent an Attic Without Soffit Vents. You want to see which of these is going to work best for your attics particular personality and then move forward with purchasing. Ideally, the attic should have an equal split of intake and exhaust vents, with about one square foot of ventilation for every 150 square feet of attic space. Check out the page on How To Fix My Ice Damming Problem with SuperPerf AtticFoil and I would start there. No place to install soffit vents. If you do not know what this is, either do a little digging or hire someone to get the job done quickly. Does this make sense and do you have any suggestions that would help? Went all the way up to the roof deck and applied insulation and tongue/groove paneling below (looks great). (n.d.). You wont like the answer, but you probably need to take down the drywall and insulate the empty cavities. Ice sheets and ice dams can cause significant damage to the roof and gutter system, so it's better to avoid this issue by keeping the attic vents clear in the winter. Soffit may keep moisture out without vents, but it also keeps any moisture inside the attic and so on from escaping. Basically, it terminates? I ran into an excessive amount of ice damming this year with my property. For some homes, you could try adding vents to a porch ceiling that could act like a soffit and feed the attic. Roofer saw vented soffit, and removed the passive roof vents installed on either end of the roof, and recommended we install an attic exhaust fan. Tom can help. Problem 2: Aluminum or vinyl soffits (eaves) installed over plywood soffits that don't have venting holes. With this power though, comes a lot of electricity use, so keep this in mind when your electric bill increases. Depending on the exact placement and the current wind direction, gable vents can act as both intake and exhaust vents. If you are having problems insulating the floor of the attic without covering the vents, consider investing in rafter vents or insulation baffles. Photos 1 - 6 show how it's done. You can see an install here: How to Install AtticFoil in a Shed. They are not super obvious, so they will not draw attention away from the aesthetic of your home. Id still recommend leaving a gap at the bottom of the install and at the peak of the roof, but even without ventilation, you will see a measurable drop in surface temps. Remember, its a bad idea to mix exhaust vent types (passive vents with active fans). It faces east and gets passive solar most of the day on the front of the house and on the eastern side of the roof. If you go this route, you will need additional vents to allow the air to get OUT (I recommend you use static vents for this purpose). Heating all those spaces can cost a small fortune and you do not want to constantly wonder if the heat is staying in your house or escaping through the roof (because of course, heat rises). The low slope prevents me from using an edge vent. Let me spare you the headache, if you dont have soffits, dont install a ridge vent. ft. to sq. We are moving quickly to replace the 1950s Balsam Wool insulation (maybe R2 value) with new fiberglass and heat shield foil on attic floor and then replacing the three-tab roof with GAF architectural shingles, probably black. The attic runs hot. Bill, I would discuss these issues with your roofer and ask them what options you have with the new roof. Your email address will not be published. Also, leave the ridge vent exposed and leave about a foot uncovered (no barrier or board) the whole length of the roof where the roof meets the soffit so air can circulate between the rafters. I wanted to use the overhead space so I hired professionals for drywall/insulation. All are good alternatives if you cannot install soffit vents; however, a very important factor for good ventilation is good insulation. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Using a venting drip edge is a very common alternative for those who do not have existing soffit vents or simply do not have the right roof layout to add them. Weve had several roofers out for suggestions and so far none have worked. Should I force external air in one and try to suck it out the other end? The next winter, it was humid in the attic, so fan was on, furnace turned on, and hot water heater was heating. Attic ventilation is one of the key factors to helping keep your utility bills in check during hot weather, and to preventing issues such as mold growth and ice dam formation in the winter. Hi Ed, My home is English Tudor styled and has no overhang/soffit. This characteristic also makes it extra great for attics that are difficult to get around in or in attics that have lots of gaps to be filled on top of existing insulation. By adding adequate ventilation, a homeowner can control the humidity under their roof, and the perforations in a soffit vent are perfect for this purpose. I mean, people have lived in this house for 170 years, no moisture problems. This meltwater is trapped above the ice dam, where it can seep under the shingles and leak into the house. I am a mechanical engineer and have a basic knowledge of HVAC systems but I learn continuously to make myself the best blogger in that space. There are no soffit vents, so Im not sure what the intake design was; air seemed to just pass through from end to end. I have gable vents on either side of the attic and a ridge vent. Hello! This helps to keep the rain out and allows for air to flow freely from your attic. For an attic without soffit vents, you may have the option to use gable vents instead. Yes, take the fan out! Intake air is critical to maintaining a proper flow of air throughout the attic space. So we did. Also, I wanted to confirm that removing the attic ventilator fan is the right move. Intake vents are typically positioned on the lowest parts of the roof, under the eaves, though your home may also have shingled intake vents installed on a lower part of the roof, or even gable vents installed high on the sides of the home. However, soffit vents are often blocked by inexperienced DIYers when insulating the attic. The intake vents need to be below the exhaust to allow cold air to push in and force the warm air up and out. Essentially bring air through the high interior ceiling and pass it through the attic with gable vent outtake? yikes. 1. In a nutshell, yes, soffit vents prevent moisture from doing bad things to your home. closing off the ridge). Thanks! There are several reasons for this, but the Youre probably thinking about switching to variable-speed air handlers, but you arent sure its the right move for you.