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Attic roof vent and ventilation Walter Cohen 08-05-2006
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Posted by Walter Cohen on August 5, 2006, 12:44 pm
I was thinking of installing some sort of roof vent directly over my
unfinished attic to vent out some of the heat and moisture in summer.
I live in NY. My house was originally a ranch and then the original owner
had a second story put on the house (40 years ago). From what I can tell by
living here for the past 15 years the upstairs level was not constructed
very well with regards to energy efficiency and/or insulation. There does
not seem to be any soffit vents, other than the few small ones I added
myself in the past few years. The attic, which I can walk into as the
previous owner put plywood down, has a small double-hung window at one end
which I always leave open for ventilation. Above this window is the small
typical louvered aluminum vent.

Two years ago I had a new roof (asphalt shingles) put on. There was a fair
amount of water damage to the underlying exterior plywood which the roofers
replaced as they went along. I have no doubt that part of the damage was
caused by poor/no ventilation.

I should also note that the previous owner, for some reason although the
attic is not finished, placed foil-faced insulation under all the roofing in
the attic. Not sure why he did this and I also think that this is not a
good idea in winter as it probably traps moisture right at the roof wood. I
have seen some frosty areas on the attic roof wood on occasion.

In summer the upstairs living areas get really hot. I do have central a/c
up there but it cannot keep pace with the afternoon heat of the sun and does
not cool the upstairs until after the sun goes down. This leads me to
believe that there is little, if any, remaining insulation under the roof
but above the living areas.

I was originally thinking of installing a powered roof vent but I hear that
sometimes the pressure from the vented air can suck air conditioned air from
surrounding rooms and out the roof. So now I'm not sure about doing this.
Perhaps installing some non-powered roof vents or a turbine would help but
without soffit vents to allow air in under the eaves it would probably not
help much.

I want to get a qualified energy audit person/company in to my house for
additional ideas.
Any thoughts on all this?

Thanks,
Walter



Special 468x60
Posted by on August 5, 2006, 1:52 pm

Walter Cohen wrote:
> I was thinking of installing some sort of roof vent directly over my
> unfinished attic to vent out some of the heat and moisture in summer.
> I live in NY. My house was originally a ranch and then the original owner
> had a second story put on the house (40 years ago). From what I can tell by
> living here for the past 15 years the upstairs level was not constructed
> very well with regards to energy efficiency and/or insulation. There does
> not seem to be any soffit vents, other than the few small ones I added
> myself in the past few years. The attic, which I can walk into as the
> previous owner put plywood down, has a small double-hung window at one end
> which I always leave open for ventilation. Above this window is the small
> typical louvered aluminum vent.
>
> Two years ago I had a new roof (asphalt shingles) put on. There was a fair
> amount of water damage to the underlying exterior plywood which the roofers
> replaced as they went along. I have no doubt that part of the damage was
> caused by poor/no ventilation.
>
> I should also note that the previous owner, for some reason although the
> attic is not finished, placed foil-faced insulation under all the roofing in
> the attic. Not sure why he did this and I also think that this is not a
> good idea in winter as it probably traps moisture right at the roof wood. I
> have seen some frosty areas on the attic roof wood on occasion.
>
> In summer the upstairs living areas get really hot. I do have central a/c
> up there but it cannot keep pace with the afternoon heat of the sun and does
> not cool the upstairs until after the sun goes down. This leads me to
> believe that there is little, if any, remaining insulation under the roof
> but above the living areas.
>
> I was originally thinking of installing a powered roof vent but I hear that
> sometimes the pressure from the vented air can suck air conditioned air from
> surrounding rooms and out the roof. So now I'm not sure about doing this.
> Perhaps installing some non-powered roof vents or a turbine would help but
> without soffit vents to allow air in under the eaves it would probably not
> help much.
>
> I want to get a qualified energy audit person/company in to my house for
> additional ideas.
> Any thoughts on all this?
>
> Thanks,
> Walter


I'd get a lot more soffitting venting in place, preferably a continuous
one. Then, I'd probably go with a ridge vent, which doesn't require
any power and provides uniform air flow, as opposed to a point which is
what you get with a gable, turbine, power fan, etc.

As to the foil faced insulation on the rafters, is it actual insulation
or a radiant barrier, which is just an aluminum shield? If it has
insulation, how much air space is open between the insulation and the
roof? Is there a clear channel from soffit to peak and a way for the
air to get in and out?


Posted by Walter Cohen on August 5, 2006, 3:31 pm
Actually, when I had new roofing shingles put on I paid for and had them add
a ridge vent the length of the roof. I have no idea if they put it on/in
correctly as I understand they would need to cut out a portion of the very
top wood along the ridge line for the length of the roof. Is there any way
to tell from inside/outside? Still, even with a ridge vent there is no (or
very few) soffit vents.

Who would put these soffit vents in - roofer or general contractor?

Thanks,
Walter

>
> Walter Cohen wrote:
>> I was thinking of installing some sort of roof vent directly over my
>> unfinished attic to vent out some of the heat and moisture in summer.
>> I live in NY. My house was originally a ranch and then the original
>> owner
>> had a second story put on the house (40 years ago). From what I can tell
>> by
>> living here for the past 15 years the upstairs level was not constructed
>> very well with regards to energy efficiency and/or insulation. There
>> does
>> not seem to be any soffit vents, other than the few small ones I added
>> myself in the past few years. The attic, which I can walk into as the
>> previous owner put plywood down, has a small double-hung window at one
>> end
>> which I always leave open for ventilation. Above this window is the
>> small
>> typical louvered aluminum vent.
>>
>> Two years ago I had a new roof (asphalt shingles) put on. There was a
>> fair
>> amount of water damage to the underlying exterior plywood which the
>> roofers
>> replaced as they went along. I have no doubt that part of the damage was
>> caused by poor/no ventilation.
>>
>> I should also note that the previous owner, for some reason although the
>> attic is not finished, placed foil-faced insulation under all the roofing
>> in
>> the attic. Not sure why he did this and I also think that this is not a
>> good idea in winter as it probably traps moisture right at the roof wood.
>> I
>> have seen some frosty areas on the attic roof wood on occasion.
>>
>> In summer the upstairs living areas get really hot. I do have central
>> a/c
>> up there but it cannot keep pace with the afternoon heat of the sun and
>> does
>> not cool the upstairs until after the sun goes down. This leads me to
>> believe that there is little, if any, remaining insulation under the roof
>> but above the living areas.
>>
>> I was originally thinking of installing a powered roof vent but I hear
>> that
>> sometimes the pressure from the vented air can suck air conditioned air
>> from
>> surrounding rooms and out the roof. So now I'm not sure about doing
>> this.
>> Perhaps installing some non-powered roof vents or a turbine would help
>> but
>> without soffit vents to allow air in under the eaves it would probably
>> not
>> help much.
>>
>> I want to get a qualified energy audit person/company in to my house for
>> additional ideas.
>> Any thoughts on all this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Walter
>
>
> I'd get a lot more soffitting venting in place, preferably a continuous
> one. Then, I'd probably go with a ridge vent, which doesn't require
> any power and provides uniform air flow, as opposed to a point which is
> what you get with a gable, turbine, power fan, etc.
>
> As to the foil faced insulation on the rafters, is it actual insulation
> or a radiant barrier, which is just an aluminum shield? If it has
> insulation, how much air space is open between the insulation and the
> roof? Is there a clear channel from soffit to peak and a way for the
> air to get in and out?
>



Posted by on August 5, 2006, 6:26 pm

Walter Cohen wrote:
> Actually, when I had new roofing shingles put on I paid for and had them add
> a ridge vent the length of the roof. I have no idea if they put it on/in
> correctly as I understand they would need to cut out a portion of the very
> top wood along the ridge line for the length of the roof. Is there any way
> to tell from inside/outside? Still, even with a ridge vent there is no (or
> very few) soffit vents.
>
> Who would put these soffit vents in - roofer or general contractor?
>
> Thanks,
> Walter

A general contractor should be fine. Or a roofer. You can even do it
yourself, depending on how high they are and how easy to get to.
Basicly you need to run a saw down the length of the house twice, set
to a depth to just cut off the soffit material creating a channel the
vent goes in.

You can see if you have a ridge vent by going in the attic. At the
peak, there should be a piece of sheathing gone, about 2" on each side.
And it should be covered by the ridge vent, the underside of which
will be visible.

There are a wide range of ridge vents and I think considerable diff in
how much air flow they allow, as some are more like foam filter
material, others are more open.




>
> >
> > Walter Cohen wrote:
> >> I was thinking of installing some sort of roof vent directly over my
> >> unfinished attic to vent out some of the heat and moisture in summer.
> >> I live in NY. My house was originally a ranch and then the original
> >> owner
> >> had a second story put on the house (40 years ago). From what I can tell
> >> by
> >> living here for the past 15 years the upstairs level was not constructed
> >> very well with regards to energy efficiency and/or insulation. There
> >> does
> >> not seem to be any soffit vents, other than the few small ones I added
> >> myself in the past few years. The attic, which I can walk into as the
> >> previous owner put plywood down, has a small double-hung window at one
> >> end
> >> which I always leave open for ventilation. Above this window is the
> >> small
> >> typical louvered aluminum vent.
> >>
> >> Two years ago I had a new roof (asphalt shingles) put on. There was a
> >> fair
> >> amount of water damage to the underlying exterior plywood which the
> >> roofers
> >> replaced as they went along. I have no doubt that part of the damage was
> >> caused by poor/no ventilation.
> >>
> >> I should also note that the previous owner, for some reason although the
> >> attic is not finished, placed foil-faced insulation under all the roofing
> >> in
> >> the attic. Not sure why he did this and I also think that this is not a
> >> good idea in winter as it probably traps moisture right at the roof wood.
> >> I
> >> have seen some frosty areas on the attic roof wood on occasion.
> >>
> >> In summer the upstairs living areas get really hot. I do have central
> >> a/c
> >> up there but it cannot keep pace with the afternoon heat of the sun and
> >> does
> >> not cool the upstairs until after the sun goes down. This leads me to
> >> believe that there is little, if any, remaining insulation under the roof
> >> but above the living areas.
> >>
> >> I was originally thinking of installing a powered roof vent but I hear
> >> that
> >> sometimes the pressure from the vented air can suck air conditioned air
> >> from
> >> surrounding rooms and out the roof. So now I'm not sure about doing
> >> this.
> >> Perhaps installing some non-powered roof vents or a turbine would help
> >> but
> >> without soffit vents to allow air in under the eaves it would probably
> >> not
> >> help much.
> >>
> >> I want to get a qualified energy audit person/company in to my house for
> >> additional ideas.
> >> Any thoughts on all this?
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Walter
> >
> >
> > I'd get a lot more soffitting venting in place, preferably a continuous
> > one. Then, I'd probably go with a ridge vent, which doesn't require
> > any power and provides uniform air flow, as opposed to a point which is
> > what you get with a gable, turbine, power fan, etc.
> >
> > As to the foil faced insulation on the rafters, is it actual insulation
> > or a radiant barrier, which is just an aluminum shield? If it has
> > insulation, how much air space is open between the insulation and the
> > roof? Is there a clear channel from soffit to peak and a way for the
> > air to get in and out?
> >


Posted by Joseph Meehan on August 5, 2006, 2:17 pm
Walter Cohen wrote:
> I was thinking of installing some sort of roof vent directly over my
> unfinished attic to vent out some of the heat and moisture in summer.
> I live in NY. My house was originally a ranch and then the original
> owner had a second story put on the house (40 years ago). From what
> I can tell by living here for the past 15 years the upstairs level
> was not constructed very well with regards to energy efficiency
> and/or insulation. There does not seem to be any soffit vents, other
> than the few small ones I added myself in the past few years. The
> attic, which I can walk into as the previous owner put plywood down,
> has a small double-hung window at one end which I always leave open
> for ventilation. Above this window is the small typical louvered
> aluminum vent.
> Two years ago I had a new roof (asphalt shingles) put on. There was
> a fair amount of water damage to the underlying exterior plywood
> which the roofers replaced as they went along. I have no doubt that
> part of the damage was caused by poor/no ventilation.
>
> I should also note that the previous owner, for some reason although
> the attic is not finished, placed foil-faced insulation under all the
> roofing in the attic. Not sure why he did this and I also think that
> this is not a good idea in winter as it probably traps moisture right
> at the roof wood. I have seen some frosty areas on the attic roof
> wood on occasion.
> In summer the upstairs living areas get really hot. I do have
> central a/c up there but it cannot keep pace with the afternoon heat
> of the sun and does not cool the upstairs until after the sun goes
> down. This leads me to believe that there is little, if any,
> remaining insulation under the roof but above the living areas.
>
> I was originally thinking of installing a powered roof vent but I
> hear that sometimes the pressure from the vented air can suck air
> conditioned air from surrounding rooms and out the roof. So now I'm
> not sure about doing this. Perhaps installing some non-powered roof
> vents or a turbine would help but without soffit vents to allow air
> in under the eaves it would probably not help much.
>
> I want to get a qualified energy audit person/company in to my house
> for additional ideas.
> Any thoughts on all this?
>
> Thanks,
> Walter

I agree with what trader wrote and was asking about.

You need to get air flow. Having just a outlet does not help, you need
to have inlets as well. Usually the best inlets are low at the soffits.
The exhaust vents should be high at the ridge. The difference in air
temperature will move the air and the hotter it is the more air it will
move.

I would avoid any kind of powered vents due to noise, maintenance and
cost.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit



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