Hello,

I have a house from the 60s. It is 30 feet deep and 60 feet long. I have
3'x3' gable vents in each end of the house. Plus there are two roof
vents about 8 to 10 inches round.

There are no soffit vents what so ever. Reading on the Internet only
talks about the benefits to roof its self. I would like to know how much
it would help with the temperature in the rooms just below the attic.

The walkout basement family room and bedroom are always a good 15
degrees below that upstairs and the A/C runs all the time.

Will the vents help?

Thank you,
--
Frederick Wilson

_____________________________________
for multimedia design services visit
http://www.legalanimatics.com

The vents would help. Hot air rises, but if there is no way for cooler air
to enter so the hot air can exit the higher vents it gets trapped. That
said, without knowing the A/C configuration for supply and return vents what
you'll actually observe in the effect on cooling may not be that great. The
basement rooms that are at least partially surrounded by the cooling effect
of the earth will always be cooler than the upstairs rooms that are not.
Improving the air flow within the house (drawing the cool air up to the
upper levels and the warm air down to the lower levels) will probably have a
more dramatic effect on the cooling.

That said, there is also the risk of moisture build-up in the attic with
insufficient ventilation. Installing the soffit vents will help reduce
this, keeping mold, rot, and other moisture related problems to a minimum.


"Frederick Wilson" wrote in message
news
Hello,

I have a house from the 60s. It is 30 feet deep and 60 feet long. I have
3'x3' gable vents in each end of the house. Plus there are two roof vents
about 8 to 10 inches round.

There are no soffit vents what so ever. Reading on the Internet only talks
about the benefits to roof its self. I would like to know how much it
would help with the temperature in the rooms just below the attic.

The walkout basement family room and bedroom are always a good 15 degrees
below that upstairs and the A/C runs all the time.

Will the vents help?

Thank you,
--
Frederick Wilson

_____________________________________
for multimedia design services visit
http://www.legalanimatics.com

I live in Indiana. So it does get quiet cold in the winter and it has
been 90 degrees F, for the past couple of days.

wrote:
Frederick Wilson wrote:
Hello,

I have a house from the 60s. It is 30 feet deep and 60 feet long. I have
3'x3' gable vents in each end of the house. Plus there are two roof
vents about 8 to 10 inches round.

There are no soffit vents what so ever. Reading on the Internet only
talks about the benefits to roof its self. I would like to know how much
it would help with the temperature in the rooms just below the attic.

The walkout basement family room and bedroom are always a good 15
degrees below that upstairs and the A/C runs all the time.

Will the vents help?

Thank you,
--
Frederick Wilson

_____________________________________
for multimedia design services visit
http://www.legalanimatics.com

Depends on your local climate and wind direction.
Look at the Building Science Corporation web site.
TB

Depends how much insulation is in your attic. This is more important in
winter. In summer if your ceiling is warm there is no convection (warm air
rises), in winter if the ceiling is cool than cold air sinks.


"Frederick Wilson" wrote in message
news
Hello,

I have a house from the 60s. It is 30 feet deep and 60 feet long. I have
3'x3' gable vents in each end of the house. Plus there are two roof vents
about 8 to 10 inches round.

There are no soffit vents what so ever. Reading on the Internet only talks
about the benefits to roof its self. I would like to know how much it
would help with the temperature in the rooms just below the attic.

The walkout basement family room and bedroom are always a good 15 degrees
below that upstairs and the A/C runs all the time.

Will the vents help?

Thank you,
--
Frederick Wilson

_____________________________________
for multimedia design services visit
http://www.legalanimatics.com

Frederick Wilson wrote:
Hello,

I have a house from the 60s. It is 30 feet deep and 60 feet long. I have
3'x3' gable vents in each end of the house. Plus there are two roof
vents about 8 to 10 inches round.

There are no soffit vents what so ever. Reading on the Internet only
talks about the benefits to roof its self. I would like to know how much
it would help with the temperature in the rooms just below the attic.

The walkout basement family room and bedroom are always a good 15
degrees below that upstairs and the A/C runs all the time.

Will the vents help?

Thank you,

The standard for venting is to have 1/2 of the
vent space near the top and 1/2 near the bottom of
the area being vented. My house had end gables
and a powered roof vent. When I reroofed the
inspector said I needed more venting, so I added
vents in the soffits. The change was remarkable
in controlling heat gain (single level ranch style).

To answer your question, you need the soffit
vents. Vents in just the upper area is like
having a car with brakes only on the rear axle.

The comparison of the walk-in basement with the
upper story is not a good one because the ground
is a heat sink and provides a lot of cooling. If
you A/C is sized for the house, you should have no
problem keeping the upper story any temperature
that you want providing you don't live in some
area where the temperature goes to 110 day after
day. And, the A/C should not run constantly. A
key component in keep the house cool is how much
and how well the attic is insulated from the
ceiling below. You should have at least 12" of
insulation and depending on the severity of your
winters and summers the insulation should be
increased 3" to 12" more.

George E. Cawthon wrote:

Frederick Wilson wrote:

Hello,

I have a house from the 60s. It is 30 feet deep and 60 feet long. I
have 3'x3' gable vents in each end of the house. Plus there are two
roof vents about 8 to 10 inches round.

There are no soffit vents what so ever. Reading on the Internet only
talks about the benefits to roof its self. I would like to know how
much it would help with the temperature in the rooms just below the
attic.

The walkout basement family room and bedroom are always a good 15
degrees below that upstairs and the A/C runs all the time.

Will the vents help?

Thank you,


The standard for venting is to have 1/2 of the vent space near the top
and 1/2 near the bottom of the area being vented. My house had end
gables and a powered roof vent. When I reroofed the inspector said I
needed more venting, so I added vents in the soffits. The change was
remarkable in controlling heat gain (single level ranch style).

To answer your question, you need the soffit vents. Vents in just the
upper area is like having a car with brakes only on the rear axle.

Huh?

As long as you establish air currents that remove the hot air, it
doesn't matter how.


The comparison of the walk-in basement with the upper story is not a
good one because the ground is a heat sink and provides a lot of
cooling. If you A/C is sized for the house, you should have no problem
keeping the upper story any temperature that you want providing you
don't live in some area where the temperature goes to 110 day after
day. And, the A/C should not run constantly. A key component in keep
the house cool is how much and how well the attic is insulated from the
ceiling below. You should have at least 12" of insulation and depending
on the severity of your winters and summers the insulation should be
increased 3" to 12" more.


--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

CJT wrote:

To answer your question, you need the soffit vents. Vents in just the
upper area is like having a car with brakes only on the rear axle.

Huh?

As long as you establish air currents that remove the hot air, it
doesn't matter how.


Didn't like that comparison? I thought it was
pretty good.

You get good circulation only between the lower
and the higher vents. If there are no lower
vents, the circulation in the lower part will be
poor to non-existent.

George E. Cawthon wrote:

CJT wrote:


To answer your question, you need the soffit vents. Vents in just
the upper area is like having a car with brakes only on the rear axle.


Huh?

As long as you establish air currents that remove the hot air, it
doesn't matter how.


Didn't like that comparison? I thought it was pretty good.

You get good circulation only between the lower and the higher vents.
If there are no lower vents, the circulation in the lower part will be
poor to non-existent.

If you bring in cool air at the top, convection will do the rest.
It doesn't have to enter at the bottom.

I'm not knocking soffits, but they're not a panacea, and they're not
the only solution.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

better venting will prolong the life of your roof

CJT wrote:
George E. Cawthon wrote:

CJT wrote:


To answer your question, you need the soffit vents. Vents in just
the upper area is like having a car with brakes only on the rear axle.


Huh?

As long as you establish air currents that remove the hot air, it
doesn't matter how.


Didn't like that comparison? I thought it was pretty good.

You get good circulation only between the lower and the higher vents.
If there are no lower vents, the circulation in the lower part will be
poor to non-existent.

If you bring in cool air at the top, convection will do the rest.
It doesn't have to enter at the bottom.

The point to having soffit vents is that hot air naturally rises,
creating lots of natural convection for free. If you bring cold air in
at the top, sure it will help, but first, you're gonna need a powered
fan to do that, and it's not nearly as effective as bringing it in a
the bottom.






I'm not knocking soffits, but they're not a panacea, and they're not
the only solution.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

CJT wrote:
George E. Cawthon wrote:

CJT wrote:


To answer your question, you need the soffit vents. Vents in just
the upper area is like having a car with brakes only on the rear axle.


Huh?

As long as you establish air currents that remove the hot air, it
doesn't matter how.


Didn't like that comparison? I thought it was pretty good.

You get good circulation only between the lower and the higher vents.
If there are no lower vents, the circulation in the lower part will be
poor to non-existent.

If you bring in cool air at the top, convection will do the rest.
It doesn't have to enter at the bottom.

Why would you want to? That requires power.
Natural convection, heat rising, will not require
any power.

I'm not knocking soffits, but they're not a panacea, and they're not
the only solution.

Of course you are. Don't know what you mean by
panacea but soffitts plus ridge or end gable vents
is the system that is most used. Nope, not the
only solution, just the most practical and
economical.

Frederick Wilson wrote:
Hello,

I have a house from the 60s. It is 30 feet deep and 60 feet long. I
have 3'x3' gable vents in each end of the house. Plus there are two
roof vents about 8 to 10 inches round.

There are no soffit vents what so ever. Reading on the Internet only
talks about the benefits to roof its self. I would like to know how
much it would help with the temperature in the rooms just below the
attic.
The walkout basement family room and bedroom are always a good 15
degrees below that upstairs and the A/C runs all the time.

Will the vents help?


Basic rule of thumb: You can't have too many or too much soffit vents.

You really need lots of soffit vents and ridge vents.


On Mon, 03 Jul 2006 19:29:47 -0400, Frederick Wilson
wrote:

Hello,

I have a house from the 60s. It is 30 feet deep and 60 feet long. I have
3'x3' gable vents in each end of the house. Plus there are two roof
vents about 8 to 10 inches round.

There are no soffit vents what so ever. Reading on the Internet only
talks about the benefits to roof its self. I would like to know how much
it would help with the temperature in the rooms just below the attic.

The walkout basement family room and bedroom are always a good 15
degrees below that upstairs and the A/C runs all the time.

Will the vents help?

Thank you,