I noticed recently (on a house we've owned 2 years) that the blown in
insulation in the attic was blown right into the soffit gaps. I am
interested in improving soffit venting as i have a "wee bit" of faint frost
on the main header in the winter and am hoping the AC won't work as hard in
the summer.

So I got up there today with a scoop I made with sheet metal and a broom
handle, hoping to pull out the plugged up gaps. It turns out that the batt
insulation (with the paper on the back) was installed in such a way that it
is stuffed into the gaps as well!!!!!!!! Its obvious this has been the case
for the 20 years of this house's life.

I'm perplexed now....I've got 3 of the regular square type vents near the
roofs peak, and a pair of about 24x24 gable vents (one on either side). I'm
thinking about having two of the three top vents changed to turbine style,
but am told that with plugged eaves, the turbines will make a negative
pressure and draw household air into the attic.

What do I do? Is there sense in taking down some of the soffit/fascia and
seeing if I can rectify from the outside? It doesn't look possible.....
considering it has been this way for a LONG time and there doesn't appear to
be any sort of systemic damage from it, I'm almost tempted to just install
the turbines and say screw it.

any ideas?

b

There may not be a significant gain in adding turbines, if either of
these situations are true:

a) that the soffet vents are blocked
b) that the ventilation is more or less ok

I would open up at least some of the the soffit venting and see how it
goes next winter.

Hamilton Audio wrote:
I noticed recently (on a house we've owned 2 years) that the blown in
insulation in the attic was blown right into the soffit gaps. I am
interested in improving soffit venting as i have a "wee bit" of faint
frost on the main header in the winter and am hoping the AC won't
work as hard in the summer.

So I got up there today with a scoop I made with sheet metal and a
broom handle, hoping to pull out the plugged up gaps. It turns out
that the batt insulation (with the paper on the back) was installed
in such a way that it is stuffed into the gaps as well!!!!!!!! Its
obvious this has been the case for the 20 years of this house's life.

I'm perplexed now....I've got 3 of the regular square type vents near
the roofs peak, and a pair of about 24x24 gable vents (one on either
side). I'm thinking about having two of the three top vents changed
to turbine style, but am told that with plugged eaves, the turbines
will make a negative pressure and draw household air into the attic.

What do I do? Is there sense in taking down some of the
soffit/fascia and seeing if I can rectify from the outside? It
doesn't look possible..... considering it has been this way for a
LONG time and there doesn't appear to be any sort of systemic damage
from it, I'm almost tempted to just install the turbines and say
screw it.
any ideas?

b

I would want to open them up. Have you seen the various forms of
baffles made to hold back the insulation? Could that work for you along
with some sort of tool to pull back the insulation as you install them?

How about removing the covers over the openings and working from below,
maybe with someone else in the attic?

It sounds like you are not getting buy with just slightly sub standard
venting due the the existing vents. I would want to correct that.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

What about installing ridge vents? My son did this last year after months
of research and it certainly made a big difference in for his house. I then
installed 30 feet of the same thing on my shop and I think it was a good
investment.

Jimbo


"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
Hamilton Audio wrote:
I noticed recently (on a house we've owned 2 years) that the blown in
insulation in the attic was blown right into the soffit gaps. I am
interested in improving soffit venting as i have a "wee bit" of faint
frost on the main header in the winter and am hoping the AC won't
work as hard in the summer.

So I got up there today with a scoop I made with sheet metal and a
broom handle, hoping to pull out the plugged up gaps. It turns out
that the batt insulation (with the paper on the back) was installed
in such a way that it is stuffed into the gaps as well!!!!!!!! Its
obvious this has been the case for the 20 years of this house's life.

I'm perplexed now....I've got 3 of the regular square type vents near
the roofs peak, and a pair of about 24x24 gable vents (one on either
side). I'm thinking about having two of the three top vents changed
to turbine style, but am told that with plugged eaves, the turbines
will make a negative pressure and draw household air into the attic.

What do I do? Is there sense in taking down some of the
soffit/fascia and seeing if I can rectify from the outside? It
doesn't look possible..... considering it has been this way for a
LONG time and there doesn't appear to be any sort of systemic damage
from it, I'm almost tempted to just install the turbines and say
screw it.
any ideas?

b

I would want to open them up. Have you seen the various forms of
baffles made to hold back the insulation? Could that work for you along
with some sort of tool to pull back the insulation as you install them?

How about removing the covers over the openings and working from below,
maybe with someone else in the attic?

It sounds like you are not getting buy with just slightly sub standard
venting due the the existing vents. I would want to correct that.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Jimbo wrote:
What about installing ridge vents? My son did this last year after
months of research and it certainly made a big difference in for his
house. I then installed 30 feet of the same thing on my shop and I
think it was a good investment.

Jimbo

Ridge vents are great, I had them put in when my roof was replaced due
to hail damage last year, but you need both low and high vents to create an
air flow. You want the hot air to go out the top (ridge vents or gable
vents) while cool air comes in the soffit vents. There can even be a problem
when the mix of vents creates a short circuit so part of the area does not
get ventilation.




"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
Hamilton Audio wrote:
I noticed recently (on a house we've owned 2 years) that the blown
in insulation in the attic was blown right into the soffit gaps. I
am interested in improving soffit venting as i have a "wee bit" of
faint frost on the main header in the winter and am hoping the AC
won't work as hard in the summer.

So I got up there today with a scoop I made with sheet metal and a
broom handle, hoping to pull out the plugged up gaps. It turns out
that the batt insulation (with the paper on the back) was installed
in such a way that it is stuffed into the gaps as well!!!!!!!! Its
obvious this has been the case for the 20 years of this house's
life. I'm perplexed now....I've got 3 of the regular square type vents
near the roofs peak, and a pair of about 24x24 gable vents (one on
either side). I'm thinking about having two of the three top vents
changed to turbine style, but am told that with plugged eaves, the
turbines will make a negative pressure and draw household air into
the attic. What do I do? Is there sense in taking down some of the
soffit/fascia and seeing if I can rectify from the outside? It
doesn't look possible..... considering it has been this way for a
LONG time and there doesn't appear to be any sort of systemic damage
from it, I'm almost tempted to just install the turbines and say
screw it.
any ideas?

b

I would want to open them up. Have you seen the various forms of
baffles made to hold back the insulation? Could that work for you
along with some sort of tool to pull back the insulation as you
install them? How about removing the covers over the openings and working
from
below, maybe with someone else in the attic?

It sounds like you are not getting buy with just slightly sub
standard venting due the the existing vents. I would want to
correct that. --
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Yeah, I've seen those sytrofoam baffles - there are acutally a few in this
house. Not many tho I traced back with the past owners of the house
(who bought the house at 5 years old and owned it till 20 years old) and
they confirmed they didn't touch a thing in the attic. That is, no adding
or changing of insulation.

This leads me to believe that the insulation done was done from new or
almost new. Not sure why they thought it was a good idea to block the
vents! However, you can speculate that if after 20 years of being this way
there is /really/ no issue, not sure I wanna rush and change thigns now -
considering the work involved. If there was notable condensation in winter
the insulation and roof members would show it - and they don't. I'm sure
there is /some/ issue with heat buildup in the summer - which i'm sure adds
to /some/ deterioration of shingle life....

but considering the job of evacuating the insulation from the soffit gaps
(really, you HAVE to see this nightmare) i'm pretty sure i'll accept 5 years
less shingle life in exchange

bmoney
"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
Hamilton Audio wrote:
I noticed recently (on a house we've owned 2 years) that the blown in
insulation in the attic was blown right into the soffit gaps. I am
interested in improving soffit venting as i have a "wee bit" of faint
frost on the main header in the winter and am hoping the AC won't
work as hard in the summer.

So I got up there today with a scoop I made with sheet metal and a
broom handle, hoping to pull out the plugged up gaps. It turns out
that the batt insulation (with the paper on the back) was installed
in such a way that it is stuffed into the gaps as well!!!!!!!! Its
obvious this has been the case for the 20 years of this house's life.

I'm perplexed now....I've got 3 of the regular square type vents near
the roofs peak, and a pair of about 24x24 gable vents (one on either
side). I'm thinking about having two of the three top vents changed
to turbine style, but am told that with plugged eaves, the turbines
will make a negative pressure and draw household air into the attic.

What do I do? Is there sense in taking down some of the
soffit/fascia and seeing if I can rectify from the outside? It
doesn't look possible..... considering it has been this way for a
LONG time and there doesn't appear to be any sort of systemic damage
from it, I'm almost tempted to just install the turbines and say
screw it.
any ideas?

b

I would want to open them up. Have you seen the various forms of
baffles made to hold back the insulation? Could that work for you along
with some sort of tool to pull back the insulation as you install them?

How about removing the covers over the openings and working from below,
maybe with someone else in the attic?

It sounds like you are not getting buy with just slightly sub standard
venting due the the existing vents. I would want to correct that.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

Wind turbine vents installed near the top of the roof will do about the
same as or slightly better than ridge vents. Electric powered attic
fans will pull a negative pressure on the attic which will pull air out
of the house through any openings like ceiling fixtures, especially
most can lights, I have never seen ridge vents or wind turbines do
that. I have checked with a digital manometer to be sure.

Stretch

stretch wrote:
Wind turbine vents installed near the top of the roof will do about
the same as or slightly better than ridge vents.

I tend to prefer the ridge vents as they have no moving parts to make
noise or go bad. That is not to say that in some situations they may not be
the best solution.

Electric powered
attic fans will pull a negative pressure on the attic which will pull
air out of the house through any openings like ceiling fixtures,
especially most can lights, I have never seen ridge vents or wind
turbines do that. I have checked with a digital manometer to be sure.

Stretch

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

I was told by contractors that you basically want the same temp under the
roof that you have above the roof to get the max life out of a roof.
Personally, I'd unblock the vents.
"Hamilton Audio" wrote in message
news:n0ade.1184801$Xk.1055100@pd7tw3no...
I noticed recently (on a house we've owned 2 years) that the blown in
insulation in the attic was blown right into the soffit gaps. I am
interested in improving soffit venting as i have a "wee bit" of faint frost
on the main header in the winter and am hoping the AC won't work as hard in
the summer.

So I got up there today with a scoop I made with sheet metal and a broom
handle, hoping to pull out the plugged up gaps. It turns out that the
batt insulation (with the paper on the back) was installed in such a way
that it is stuffed into the gaps as well!!!!!!!! Its obvious this has
been the case for the 20 years of this house's life.

I'm perplexed now....I've got 3 of the regular square type vents near the
roofs peak, and a pair of about 24x24 gable vents (one on either side).
I'm thinking about having two of the three top vents changed to turbine
style, but am told that with plugged eaves, the turbines will make a
negative pressure and draw household air into the attic.

What do I do? Is there sense in taking down some of the soffit/fascia and
seeing if I can rectify from the outside? It doesn't look possible.....
considering it has been this way for a LONG time and there doesn't appear
to be any sort of systemic damage from it, I'm almost tempted to just
install the turbines and say screw it.

any ideas?

b

Ridge vents are great, I had them put in when my roof was replaced due
to hail damage last year, but you need both low and high vents to create an
air flow. You want the hot air to go out the top (ridge vents or gable
vents) while cool air comes in the soffit vents. There can even be a problem
when the mix of vents creates a short circuit so part of the area does not
get ventilation.


Well, it works BETTER with a ridge vent and soffit vents, but it's
not actually necessary. If you have ridge vents and gable-end
vents, then hot air will go out the ridge, and possibly out the
down-wind gable, and replacement cold air will come in the
up-wind gable and possibly the down wind gable. As long as
there's a way for cooler outside air to get into the attic, it
will pool on the floor, forcing the other heated air out.

Likewise with the turbine vents. They will not pull air
out of your living space if there is anywhere easier to
get it from.

"This leads me to believe that the insulation done was done from new or

almost new. Not sure why they thought it was a good idea to block the
vents! However, you can speculate that if after 20 years of being this
way
there is /really/ no issue, not sure I wanna rush and change thigns now
-
considering the work involved. If there was notable condensation in
winter
the insulation and roof members would show it - and they don't. I'm
sure
there is /some/ issue with heat buildup in the summer - which i'm sure
adds
to /some/ deterioration of shingle life....

But considering the job of evacuating the insulation from the soffit
gaps
(really, you HAVE to see this nightmare) i'm pretty sure i'll accept 5
years
less shingle life in exchange "

Well what is it then that you're trying to do? Installing ridge vents
or anything else isn't going to do much if you have no lower entry
point for cool air to enter. Air that enters from gables will just go
out the nearest ridge opening or other top vent and not do much to cool
the whole attic. The basic flow that cools the whole attic and keeps
moisture under control is cool air entry from below, exiting somewhere
at the top.

It's not unusual for soffit vents to be covered with insulation. If
you don't want to open them up with baffles and are willing to live
with 5 yrs less shingle life, plus possible sheathing deterioration,
then just leave it like it is.