Just bought a house in New England.

The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate. First, the ridge vent wasn't big enough. Second, he said there were no soffit vents.

Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very narrow. How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no soffit?

Also, is a roofer the best type of contractor to look at attic ventilation?

TIA,

S

wrote:
Just bought a house in New England.

The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate. First, the
ridge vent wasn't big enough. Second, he said there were no soffit vents.

Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very narrow.
How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no soffit?

Also, is a roofer the best type of contractor to look at attic ventilation?

TIA,

S

Describe "very, very narrow". 1"? 2"? 3"?

Soffit vents can be installed by cutting away all of the wood on the
underside and then covering the gap with slotted vinyl like this:

http://images.lowes.com/product/715751/715751903202.jpg

Those vents can be trimmed to fit, but not knowing what you mean by "very,
very narrow" I can't say if those will work for you. You could add gable
vents, even powered gable vents. They are not as efficient as soffits
vents, but they should help.

http://tinyurl.com/ojulw4g

http://www.doityourself.com/forum/at...side-house.jpg

On Sunday, June 15, 2014 7:44:54 AM UTC-4, wrote:
Just bought a house in New England.



The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate. First, the ridge vent wasn't big enough.

Big enough how? Length? Width?




Second, he said there were no soffit vents.



Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very narrow. How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no soffit?



How narrow? If you can get a 2" wide continuous opening to put a vent
in, that's probably minimal, 3" wide or better should be fine. A ridge
vent typically has about a 2" wide opening at the top. You need something
comparable at the soffits.





Also, is a roofer the best type of contractor to look at attic ventilation?


That would be my first choice, especially if it involves the ridge vent.
But this stuff is pretty basic and within the skills of many home repair
contractors, DIY, etc.

wrote:

Just bought a house in New England.

Woburn Mass?

The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate.
First, the ridge vent wasn't big enough. Second, he said there were
no soffit vents.

Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very
narrow. How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no
soffit?

Look at this picture and tell us what type of roof you have:

http://cloud.homedesignersoftware.co...oof-styles.gif

If you have a gable roof, or gambrel roof (sorta looks like a barn roof)
then you install vents in the gable ends.

If you have a hipped roof (with no gable ends) then unless there is
absolutely no soffit possibility (ie - there is no roof overhang) then I
guess you could install vents along the lower edge of the roof line:

http://www.single-family-home-remode...roof-vents.jpg

I've never seen vents like that installed along the *lower* edge of a
roof line, but it might be your only option if you really don't have any
roof overhang where you can install intake vents.

Also, is a roofer the best type of contractor to look at attic
ventilation?

Roofer's typically don't know **** when it comes to engineering new
ventilation solutions. They can replicate what was there originally
when replacing a roof, and they can replicate what they've seen on other
jobs.

On 06/15/2014 07:44 AM, wrote:
Just bought a house in New England.

The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate. First, the ridge vent wasn't big enough. Second, he said there were no soffit vents.

Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very narrow. How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no soffit?

Also, is a roofer the best type of contractor to look at attic ventilation?

TIA,

S


Or maybe your home inspector is just trying to justify his large fee.

If you don't have mold in the attic or elsewhere in your house then you probably don't need more ventilation.

Personally, I'd just make sure the full bathrooms have working exhaust fans that actually exhaust outside.

Jack Legg wrote:
On 06/15/2014 07:44 AM, wrote:
Just bought a house in New England.

The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate. First,
the ridge vent wasn't big enough. Second, he said there were no soffit vents.

Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very narrow.
How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no soffit?

Also, is a roofer the best type of contractor to look at attic ventilation?

TIA,

S


Or maybe your home inspector is just trying to justify his large fee.

If you don't have mold in the attic or elsewhere in your house then you
probably don't need more ventilation.

Personally, I'd just make sure the full bathrooms have working exhaust
fans that actually exhaust outside.

Really? Mold in the attic or elsewhere in the house is the only reason to
ventilate an attic? Perhaps you should do a little research before
answering attic ventilation questions. Here, I'll help you out...

Stolen without permission from
https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm...ic_ventilation

Natural Attic Ventilation
At first it may seem odd to add insulation for warmth and then purposely
allow cold air to enter the attic through vents, but this combination is
the key to a durable and energy-efficient home. Here's why: in the winter,
allowing a natural flow of outdoor air to ventilate the attic helps keep it
cold, which reduces the potential for ice damming (snow that melts off a
roof from an attic that is too warm and then re-freezes at the gutters,
causing an ice dam that can damage the roof). Proper insulation and air
sealing also keeps attics cold in winter by blocking the entry of heat and
moist air from below. In the summer, natural air flow in a well-vented
attic moves super-heated air out of the attic, protecting roof shingles and
removing moisture. The insulation will resist heat transfer into the house.

On Sunday, June 15, 2014 9:00:05 AM UTC-4, o m e H o m e G u y wrote:
wrote:



Just bought a house in New England.



Woburn Mass?



The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate.

First, the ridge vent wasn't big enough. Second, he said there were

no soffit vents.



Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very

narrow. How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no

soffit?



Look at this picture and tell us what type of roof you have:



http://cloud.homedesignersoftware.co...oof-styles.gif



If you have a gable roof, or gambrel roof (sorta looks like a barn roof)

then you install vents in the gable ends.



Not only can a ridge vent be used in the gable roof in that link,
but a ridge vent is the preferred and better solution.





If you have a hipped roof (with no gable ends) then unless there is

absolutely no soffit possibility (ie - there is no roof overhang) then I

guess you could install vents along the lower edge of the roof line:



http://www.single-family-home-remode...roof-vents.jpg



It's not a choice between gable vents or soffit vents. Gable or ridge
vents allow hot air to exit. Soffit vents are there to allow cool
air to enter from below.






I've never seen vents like that installed along the *lower* edge of a

roof line, but it might be your only option if you really don't have any

roof overhang where you can install intake vents.



If there really isn't any space for soffit vents, which I doubt,
there are still other solutions that are better than putting ugly box vents
all over the lower portion of a roof.




Also, is a roofer the best type of contractor to look at attic

ventilation?



Roofer's typically don't know **** when it comes to engineering new

ventilation solutions.

Nonsense. Knowing about correct ventilation is a key part of any
competent roofer's job. It's part of the training they receive from
roofing systems manufacturers, part of the warrantee for roofing
products, etc. That's how it works in the USA. Don't you Canadians
know about correct roofing?


They can replicate what was there originally

when replacing a roof, and they can replicate what they've seen on other

jobs.

And you think a competent roofer who's been in business for even a
couple years hasn't seen attics that didn't have proper ventilation and
needed it added? If anyone doesn't know WTF they're talking about, it's
you. You showed him a pic of a typical roof where a ridge vent is the
recognized #1 choice of experts and you proceeded to tell him to use
gable vents. And if that's not bad enough, he even already has a ridge vent.
Nobody thinks you should have both a ridge vent and gable vents. Good grief.

On Sunday, June 15, 2014 9:37:20 AM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
Jack Legg wrote:

On 06/15/2014 07:44 AM, wrote:

Just bought a house in New England.



The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate. First,

the ridge vent wasn't big enough. Second, he said there were no soffit vents.



Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very narrow.

How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no soffit?



Also, is a roofer the best type of contractor to look at attic ventilation?



TIA,



S





Or maybe your home inspector is just trying to justify his large fee.



If you don't have mold in the attic or elsewhere in your house then you

probably don't need more ventilation.



Personally, I'd just make sure the full bathrooms have working exhaust

fans that actually exhaust outside.



Really? Mold in the attic or elsewhere in the house is the only reason to

ventilate an attic? Perhaps you should do a little research before

answering attic ventilation questions. Here, I'll help you out...



Stolen without permission from

https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm...ic_ventilation



Natural Attic Ventilation

At first it may seem odd to add insulation for warmth and then purposely

allow cold air to enter the attic through vents, but this combination is

the key to a durable and energy-efficient home. Here's why: in the winter,

allowing a natural flow of outdoor air to ventilate the attic helps keep it

cold, which reduces the potential for ice damming (snow that melts off a

roof from an attic that is too warm and then re-freezes at the gutters,

causing an ice dam that can damage the roof). Proper insulation and air

sealing also keeps attics cold in winter by blocking the entry of heat and

moist air from below. In the summer, natural air flow in a well-vented

attic moves super-heated air out of the attic, protecting roof shingles and

removing moisture. The insulation will resist heat transfer into the house.

+1

Mold isn't a reliable indicator of whether attic ventilation is sufficient.
Plus a big factor here is the inspector said there is a ridge vent that is
too small and *no soffit venting*. I'd like to see a building engineering
or code reference that says that's an acceptable ventilation system. Every
credible source, roofing supplier, etc will tell you that with a ridge
vent you also need soffit vents of equal capacity to allow air to flow
via convection.

trader_4 wrote:

.....large snippage occurred....

...And if that's not bad enough, he even already has a ridge vent.
Nobody thinks you should have both a ridge vent and gable vents. Good grief.

That is not necessarily true. There are differing opinions on the Short
Circuit theory...

I've posted 2 links below. One says never mix gable vents and ridge vents
while the other claims to debunk the short circuit myth. There are many
other articles taking both sides of the question. I'm not saying who is
right and who is wrong, I'm simply saying that claiming that "nobody
thinks" you should have both isn't true.

Granted, I don't know that anyone would actually install soffit, ridge
_and_ gable vents from scratch, but gable vents and ridge vents are not
mutually exclusive.

http://www.airvent.com/pdf/literature/TipsBooklet.pdf

http://www.roofingcontractorreview.com/Attic-Ventilation-Help/Roof-Ventilation-|-The-Short-Circuit-Myth.html

Personally, when I had soffit and roof vents installed with my new roof, I
closed off my gable vents based the recommendation of my roofing
contractor, but that was before I read any of the differing opinions on the
Short Circuit theory. That said, I'm not planning on opening them back up.

DerbyDad03 wrote:
trader_4 wrote:

....large snippage occurred....

...And if that's not bad enough, he even already has a ridge vent.
Nobody thinks you should have both a ridge vent and gable vents.
Good grief.

That is not necessarily true. There are differing opinions on the
Short Circuit theory...

I've posted 2 links below. One says never mix gable vents and ridge
vents while the other claims to debunk the short circuit myth. There
are many other articles taking both sides of the question. I'm not
saying who is right and who is wrong, I'm simply saying that claiming
that "nobody thinks" you should have both isn't true.

Granted, I don't know that anyone would actually install soffit, ridge
_and_ gable vents from scratch, but gable vents and ridge vents are
not mutually exclusive.

http://www.airvent.com/pdf/literature/TipsBooklet.pdf

http://www.roofingcontractorreview.com/Attic-Ventilation-Help/Roof-Ventilation-|-The-Short-Circuit-Myth.html

Personally, when I had soffit and roof vents installed with my new
roof, I closed off my gable vents based the recommendation of my
roofing contractor, but that was before I read any of the differing
opinions on the Short Circuit theory. That said, I'm not planning on
opening them back up.

I have soffit, ridge, and gable vents. I have considered installing something on
the bottom of the rafters to creat tunnels for air coming from the soffits to
the ridge vent, which should carry the hottest air out the ridge vents. That
leaves the gable vents to ventiate most of the air space not directly heated by
the sun. I suspect that doing this would cool the roof more due to the faster
airflow past its bottom surface, and should reduce the attic temp significantly.
Any opinions?

On Sunday, June 15, 2014 1:53:09 PM UTC-4, Bob F wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

trader_4 wrote:



....large snippage occurred....



...And if that's not bad enough, he even already has a ridge vent.

Nobody thinks you should have both a ridge vent and gable vents.

Good grief.



That is not necessarily true. There are differing opinions on the

Short Circuit theory...



I've posted 2 links below. One says never mix gable vents and ridge

vents while the other claims to debunk the short circuit myth. There

are many other articles taking both sides of the question. I'm not

saying who is right and who is wrong, I'm simply saying that claiming

that "nobody thinks" you should have both isn't true.



Granted, I don't know that anyone would actually install soffit, ridge

_and_ gable vents from scratch, but gable vents and ridge vents are

not mutually exclusive.



http://www.airvent.com/pdf/literature/TipsBooklet.pdf



http://www.roofingcontractorreview.com/Attic-Ventilation-Help/Roof-Ventilation-|-The-Short-Circuit-Myth.html



Personally, when I had soffit and roof vents installed with my new

roof, I closed off my gable vents based the recommendation of my

roofing contractor, but that was before I read any of the differing

opinions on the Short Circuit theory. That said, I'm not planning on

opening them back up.



I have soffit, ridge, and gable vents. I have considered installing something on

the bottom of the rafters to creat tunnels for air coming from the soffits to

the ridge vent, which should carry the hottest air out the ridge vents. That

leaves the gable vents to ventiate most of the air space not directly heated by

the sun. I suspect that doing this would cool the roof more due to the faster

airflow past its bottom surface, and should reduce the attic temp significantly.

Any opinions?

I think it's questionable if it would be of benefit or if it could
make things worse. AFAIK, it's not done and if there was a reasonable
benefit, you think it would be common.

If you want to do it, the "something" to use would be the foam baffles
that are available at HD, roofing supply, etc for that purpose. They
form essentially chutes between the rafters. They are used in attics
for the lowest few feet to keep insulation from blocking the soffit vents.
And they are used top to bottom in cathedral ceilings to make a continuous
passage, which is what you're talking about doing.

On Sunday, June 15, 2014 10:19:17 AM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
trader_4 wrote:



....large snippage occurred....



...And if that's not bad enough, he even already has a ridge vent.

Nobody thinks you should have both a ridge vent and gable vents. Good grief.



That is not necessarily true. There are differing opinions on the Short

Circuit theory...



I've posted 2 links below. One says never mix gable vents and ridge vents

while the other claims to debunk the short circuit myth. There are many

other articles taking both sides of the question. I'm not saying who is

right and who is wrong, I'm simply saying that claiming that "nobody

thinks" you should have both isn't true.



Granted, I don't know that anyone would actually install soffit, ridge

_and_ gable vents from scratch, but gable vents and ridge vents are not

mutually exclusive.



http://www.airvent.com/pdf/literature/TipsBooklet.pdf



http://www.roofingcontractorreview.com/Attic-Ventilation-Help/Roof-Ventilation-|-The-Short-Circuit-Myth.html



Personally, when I had soffit and roof vents installed with my new roof, I

closed off my gable vents based the recommendation of my roofing

contractor, but that was before I read any of the differing opinions on the

Short Circuit theory. That said, I'm not planning on opening them back up.


I couldn't get the Air Vent link to open on this PC, so I'll have to take
a look at it later, but I assume it says that you should not have both gable
and ridge vents. I did look at the other link. I have wondered what the
exact effect of having both gable and ridge vents together would be and I
would say that I never fully bought the short circuit idea either.

In the current discussion, the OP already as a ridge vent, and apparently
no gable vents. In that context, the suggestion was made that for a
typical gable type roof, gable vents should be used. I should have said
was that I don't know of any credible source that would tell you to add
gable vents to a house that already has a ridge vent. I think most "experts" would tell you to
close off the gables if you install a ridge vent. Per the model video,
that may not be necessary and I often thought if hot air is rising, that
the gable would just offer another way out. That;s what the model video
shows. But also, if you look at the
smoke in the video, it appears that on the end closest, little smoke is coming
out of the ridge vent near the gable vent. That would suggest that while
in that model the gable vent isn't hurting, it may not be helping either,
because air just comes out it instead of out of the ridge vent.

So, I can see not closing off existing gable vents. What I disagree with
is Homelessguy's idea that gable vents are the best solution for that type
roof and the implication that the OP with a ridge vent should be looking at
gable vents. Clearly his main problem is no soffit vents and maybe an
inadequate ridge vent.

trader_4 wrote:
On Sunday, June 15, 2014 1:53:09 PM UTC-4, Bob F wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

trader_4 wrote:



....large snippage occurred....



...And if that's not bad enough, he even already has a ridge vent.

Nobody thinks you should have both a ridge vent and gable vents.

Good grief.



That is not necessarily true. There are differing opinions on the

Short Circuit theory...



I've posted 2 links below. One says never mix gable vents and ridge

vents while the other claims to debunk the short circuit myth. There

are many other articles taking both sides of the question. I'm not

saying who is right and who is wrong, I'm simply saying that claiming

that "nobody thinks" you should have both isn't true.



Granted, I don't know that anyone would actually install soffit, ridge

_and_ gable vents from scratch, but gable vents and ridge vents are

not mutually exclusive.



http://www.airvent.com/pdf/literature/TipsBooklet.pdf



http://www.roofingcontractorreview.com/Attic-Ventilation-Help/Roof-Ventilation-|-The-Short-Circuit-Myth.html



Personally, when I had soffit and roof vents installed with my new

roof, I closed off my gable vents based the recommendation of my

roofing contractor, but that was before I read any of the differing

opinions on the Short Circuit theory. That said, I'm not planning on

opening them back up.



I have soffit, ridge, and gable vents. I have considered installing something on

the bottom of the rafters to creat tunnels for air coming from the soffits to

the ridge vent, which should carry the hottest air out the ridge vents. That

leaves the gable vents to ventiate most of the air space not directly heated by

the sun. I suspect that doing this would cool the roof more due to the faster

airflow past its bottom surface, and should reduce the attic temp significantly.

Any opinions?

I think it's questionable if it would be of benefit or if it could
make things worse. AFAIK, it's not done and if there was a reasonable
benefit, you think it would be common.

If you want to do it, the "something" to use would be the foam baffles
that are available at HD, roofing supply, etc for that purpose. They
form essentially chutes between the rafters. They are used in attics
for the lowest few feet to keep insulation from blocking the soffit vents.
And they are used top to bottom in cathedral ceilings to make a continuous
passage, which is what you're talking about doing.

As part of my roofing contractor giving me the quote for his work, he
suggested that I install the foam baffles after he cut the soffit vents and
installed the ridge vent. Knowing the cramped layout of my crawl space
attic, I (jokingly) asked him how much he would charge me to do it. He
laughed and refused to give me a number. I'm sure he would have if I had
pressed him, but he also knew I wouldn't go for it.

It was one of the sweatiness, dirtiest jobs I've done in a long time.
Crawling on top of insulation, dressed in long sleeves, long pants and
wearing a dust mask, squeezing between the rafters while lying on my back
and reaching as far down as I could to staple the baffles in place. It
really sucked, but I knew I had to do it or the money spend on having the
soffits cut and the ridge vents installed would have been wasted. The
difference between soffit and ridge vents vs. the gable and box vents I had
before is tremendous. It is so, so much cooler in the attic.

trader_4 wrote:

What I disagree with is Homelessguy's idea that gable vents are the
best solution for that type roof and the implication that the OP
with a ridge vent should be looking at gable vents. Clearly his main
problem is no soffit vents and maybe an inadequate ridge vent.

You're a ****ing dickweed.

Of course I know that the OP's problem is soffit.

I wasn't suggesting that he replace his ridge vent with a gable vent.

I was saying that if he had gable ends, his only or "best" solution for
****ING INTAKE VENTING was to put intake vents on the gable ends. And
do I have to add that such venting would be installed along the bottom
of the gable sides?

On Sunday, June 15, 2014 11:23:37 PM UTC-4, o m e H o m e G u y wrote:
trader_4 wrote:



What I disagree with is Homelessguy's idea that gable vents are the

best solution for that type roof and the implication that the OP

with a ridge vent should be looking at gable vents. Clearly his main

problem is no soffit vents and maybe an inadequate ridge vent.



You're a ****ing dickweed.



Of course I know that the OP's problem is soffit.



I wasn't suggesting that he replace his ridge vent with a gable vent.



You must be extra slow today, so let me help you out
with exactly what you posted:

"Look at this picture and tell us what type of roof you have:

http://cloud.homedesignersoftware.co...oof-styles.gif

If you have a gable roof, or gambrel roof (sorta looks like a barn roof)
then you install vents in the gable ends. "

You told him that if he has the most common type
of roof, ie the roof labeled "gable" in your link,
that you install vents in the gable ends. So, yeah, even though
he has a ridge vent, which today is considered by most
to be best for that type roof, you told him to install
gable vents.





I was saying that if he had gable ends, his only or "best" solution for

****ING INTAKE VENTING was to put intake vents on the gable ends. And

do I have to add that such venting would be installed along the bottom

of the gable sides?

Sure, try to morph it all you want. And you're wrong again. It would be
pretty dumb to put gable vents on the ends for at least two reasons.
One is that they are not going to work well with a ridge vent. You're
going to get short circuiting for sure, with air coming in the low gable
side vent and going out the ridge vent directly above, doing little
to cool most of the main portion of the attic. And it sure would look
like hell to have vents in the middle of the side of the house,
compared to no vents or 99.9% of gable vents, which are at the peak. You
have a pic of how nice that would look?

And no reason to even go there. He has soffits. He says the soffits
are too narrow, but never gave a width. Like Derby, I'm betting that
there is room to install at least a 2" or 3" wide vent along the entire
soffit. Figure out the size of vents in the sides of the ends of the
house that you would need to equal that. And it's very easy to do. If he can't then there are other solutions for getting soffit venting in there.

On Sunday, June 15, 2014 7:44:54 AM UTC-4, wrote:

snip

It's a gable roof. There are no gable vents, though on each gable end there's a smallish window.

Not sure what the inspector meant by the ridge vent not being big enough.

Eaves narrow: it's hard for me to see---the house is pretty big with two stories (I'll open a second floor window and peer up, but I can't do that right now because the polyurethane is drying on the floors there which we just had finished). But it looks like a gutter, then a fascia board, then some kind of moulding. Just looking at it from below w/o binoculars, and assuming the measurement is between the wall and the fascia board, it looks like 1".

On Sunday, June 15, 2014 9:00:05 AM UTC-4, o m e H o m e G u y wrote:

snip
Just bought a house in New England.



Woburn Mass?

Heh. Good guess. Winchester, actually, right next door.

snip

On Monday, June 16, 2014 9:29:19 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sunday, June 15, 2014 7:44:54 AM UTC-4, wrote:



snip



It's a gable roof. There are no gable vents, though on each gable end there's a smallish window.



Not sure what the inspector meant by the ridge vent not being big enough.



You should be able to see the length of it from the ground. It should
span the whole peak, with the exception of the last two feet or so on
each end. Width wide you can check from the attic. The gap is usually
1" on either side, about 2" wide total. It would be kind of odd for it
to not be wide enough. It's just as easy to cut it the right size as
making it small.





Eaves narrow: it's hard for me to see---the house is pretty big with two stories (I'll open a second floor window and peer up, but I can't do that right now because the polyurethane is drying on the floors there which we just had finished). But it looks like a gutter, then a fascia board, then some kind of moulding. Just looking at it from below w/o binoculars, and assuming the measurement is between the wall and the fascia board, it looks like 1".

There are products that may work for those cases:

http://www.gaf.com/Roofing/Residenti...asciaFlow_Vent


That's one example, if you google for fascia vents you can find others.
How hard it is to install on an existing roof would depend on what's
there now.

On Monday, June 16, 2014 9:45:18 AM UTC-4, trader_4 wrote:
snip
http://www.gaf.com/Roofing/Residenti...asciaFlow_Vent
/snip

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

trader_4 wrote:
On Monday, June 16, 2014 9:29:19 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sunday, June 15, 2014 7:44:54 AM UTC-4, wrote:



snip



It's a gable roof. There are no gable vents, though on each gable end
there's a smallish window.



Not sure what the inspector meant by the ridge vent not being big enough.



You should be able to see the length of it from the ground. It should
span the whole peak, with the exception of the last two feet or so on
each end.

Some ridge vents span the entire width of the roof. Mine does. Mine is a
GAF Cobra product, this link is to an OwensCorning model, so full width
ridge vents are common across manufacturers.

http://www.owenscorning.com/roofing/...her-protector/

On Monday, June 16, 2014 3:54:19 PM UTC-4, DerbyDad03 wrote:
trader_4 wrote:

On Monday, June 16, 2014 9:29:19 AM UTC-4, wrote:

On Sunday, June 15, 2014 7:44:54 AM UTC-4, wrote:







snip







It's a gable roof. There are no gable vents, though on each gable end

there's a smallish window.







Not sure what the inspector meant by the ridge vent not being big enough.







You should be able to see the length of it from the ground. It should

span the whole peak, with the exception of the last two feet or so on

each end.



Some ridge vents span the entire width of the roof. Mine does. Mine is a

GAF Cobra product, this link is to an OwensCorning model, so full width

ridge vents are common across manufacturers.



http://www.owenscorning.com/roofing/...her-protector/

You're right, having the ridge vent product span the entire peak is
typical. And it makes sense because it looks uniform. We were talking
about the ridge vent being inadquate and what I was thinking of when
I typed that was where the *cut for the opening* ends. With a typical
install the opening will stop well short of the end of the roof.
One good reason is that you don't want to cut into the eaves, only into
the attic. And you want to leave some extension of the ridge vent past
the attic opening so wind driven rain can't get in from the end. But you're right, he can't see that from the ground, only the attic.

wrote:
Just bought a house in New England.

The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate. First,
the ridge vent wasn't big enough. Second, he said there were no
soffit vents.

Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very
narrow. How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no
soffit?

One obvious solution is to install roof vents (jacks?) low on the roof, although
soffit vents should be the first choice if possible. Vents in the end walls near
the attic floor level could also work, I would think.

DerbyDad03 posted for all of us...

And I know how to SNIP


trader_4 wrote:
On Sunday, June 15, 2014 1:53:09 PM UTC-4, Bob F wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:

trader_4 wrote:



....large snippage occurred....



...And if that's not bad enough, he even already has a ridge vent.

Nobody thinks you should have both a ridge vent and gable vents.

Good grief.



That is not necessarily true. There are differing opinions on the

Short Circuit theory...



I've posted 2 links below. One says never mix gable vents and ridge

vents while the other claims to debunk the short circuit myth. There

are many other articles taking both sides of the question. I'm not

saying who is right and who is wrong, I'm simply saying that claiming

that "nobody thinks" you should have both isn't true.



Granted, I don't know that anyone would actually install soffit, ridge

_and_ gable vents from scratch, but gable vents and ridge vents are

not mutually exclusive.



http://www.airvent.com/pdf/literature/TipsBooklet.pdf



http://www.roofingcontractorreview.com/Attic-Ventilation-Help/Roof-Ventilation-|-The-Short-Circuit-Myth.html



Personally, when I had soffit and roof vents installed with my new

roof, I closed off my gable vents based the recommendation of my

roofing contractor, but that was before I read any of the differing

opinions on the Short Circuit theory. That said, I'm not planning on

opening them back up.



I have soffit, ridge, and gable vents. I have considered installing something on

the bottom of the rafters to creat tunnels for air coming from the soffits to

the ridge vent, which should carry the hottest air out the ridge vents. That

leaves the gable vents to ventiate most of the air space not directly heated by


Welcome to home ownership. This is a job for a day laborer.

--
Tekkie

Bob F wrote:

One obvious solution is to install roof vents (jacks?) low on the
roof, although soffit vents should be the first choice if possible.
Vents in the end walls near the attic floor level could also work,
I would think.

I made the exact same suggestions you did.

Trader-4 went ape-**** on my suggestions (after first misinterpreting
them).

Trying to retro-fit some sort of "micro-soffit" solution in a home with
some arbitrarily small potential for eve ventilation is likely to give a
poor cost / benefit result.

The OP never did come back and give any sort of dimensions for his eves
/ soffit.

Throwing in a few gable-end vents (low, as I said before and as you're
saying now) is likely to be an acceptible solution for a house that
apparently has little to no intake path as it is.

When it comes to ridge vent vs power vent, I'll take power vent because
on those days when you really need to shed attic heat, there will be
very little ambient outside airflow, rendering passive diffusion or
drafting of air through a ridge vent of little use or effect.

But the OP already has ridge vents.

So maybe a powered gable-end vent (pulling air in) will be just as good
(or superior to) passive intake flow through paltry soffit retro-fit.

posted for all of us...

And I know how to SNIP


On Sunday, June 15, 2014 7:44:54 AM UTC-4, wrote:

snip

It's a gable roof. There are no gable vents, though on each gable end there's a smallish window.
Ok

Not sure what the inspector meant by the ridge vent not being big enough.
If you ask he won't quote any specifics.

Eaves narrow: it's hard for me to see---the house is pretty big with two stories (I'll open a second floor window and peer up, but I can't do that right now because the polyurethane is drying on the floors there which we just had finished). But it looks like a gutter, then a fascia board, then some kind of moulding. Just looking at it from below w/o binoculars, and assuming the measurement is between the wall and the fascia board, it looks like
1".

I would recommend as much soffit venting as possible with the insulation
spacers mandatory. Do not use the little 2" dia buttons they use a hole saw
to install, they are useless.

I believe in the short circuit theory just as a common sense thing (to me).
I have done no research as DerbyDaddy did.

--
Tekkie

wrote in message ...
Just bought a house in New England.

The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate. First, the ridge vent wasn't big enough. Second, he said there were no soffit vents.

Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very narrow. How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no soffit?

Also, is a roofer the best type of contractor to look at attic ventilation?


Here's some photos of 3 attic fans. The dates on the photos are wrong and not in order due to camera snafus.

Vent from inside attic, before fan installed
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...zin/BEFORE.gif

I mounted it on 1/4-in plywood first because there was nowhere to conveniently mount it to the studs without blowing air back into the attic.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...in/MOUNTED.gif

Fan installed ready for wiring
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...in/FAN-IN2.gif

Fan as installed
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...zin/FAN-IN.gif

Thermostat wiring. http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...n/THERMOST.gif

Thermostat as installed. Ended up moving it to a hotter location and setting it at 110 deg F. Was not reliable leaving it mounting in the fan intake. I don't use leave the fan powered -- just use the thermostat to tell me when it's hot enough to run. Also it will shut the fan off in case I forget. But I don't depend on it.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...n/TS-MOUNT.gif

Different vent fan - was too noisy and vibrated off center-- returned
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...in/NOTUSED.gif

Roof-top fan on a different house - it looked like a space ship on the roof so I painted it with Rustoleum. If you install on of these, be sure you seal it good and slide it up under the shingles properly. I wouldn't install one of these again because of the windy rains we get. Also I don't like cutting holes in the roof.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...in/ROOFTOP.gif

Guv Bob wrote:

What you have in this pictu

Different vent fan - was too noisy and vibrated off center- returned
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...in/NOTUSED.gif

Is exactly what you see when you look under this "space ship":

Roof-top fan on a different house
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...in/ROOFTOP.gif

I wouldn't install one of these again because of the windy rains we
get.

I have two of those on my roof. For one of them, I raised the "space
ship" top-hat by about 8 inches using 2x2 pieces of wood. I also
installed a taller screen to match the new height. The extra height
improves airflow. The wood struts are unequal length so the top-hat
sits level (with the ground - not with the roof). This keeps rain out
(yea, we get windy rain too sometimes).

Also I don't like cutting holes in the roof.

You want a ventilated roof, you're gonna have to cut holes in the roof.

On Tuesday, June 17, 2014 10:28:13 PM UTC-4, Guv Bob wrote:
wrote in message ...

Just bought a house in New England.



The home inspector said the attic ventilation was inadequate. First, the ridge vent wasn't big enough. Second, he said there were no soffit vents.



Just eyeballing things from underneath, the eves are very, very narrow. How could soffit vents be installed if there's almost no soffit?



Also, is a roofer the best type of contractor to look at attic ventilation?





Here's some photos of 3 attic fans. The dates on the photos are wrong and not in order due to camera snafus.



Vent from inside attic, before fan installed

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...zin/BEFORE.gif



I mounted it on 1/4-in plywood first because there was nowhere to conveniently mount it to the studs without blowing air back into the attic.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...in/MOUNTED.gif



Fan installed ready for wiring

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...in/FAN-IN2.gif



Fan as installed

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...zin/FAN-IN.gif



Thermostat wiring. http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...n/THERMOST.gif



Thermostat as installed. Ended up moving it to a hotter location and setting it at 110 deg F. Was not reliable leaving it mounting in the fan intake. I don't use leave the fan powered -- just use the thermostat to tell me when it's hot enough to run. Also it will shut the fan off in case I forget. But I don't depend on it.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...n/TS-MOUNT.gif



Different vent fan - was too noisy and vibrated off center-- returned

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...in/NOTUSED.gif



Roof-top fan on a different house - it looked like a space ship on the roof so I painted it with Rustoleum. If you install on of these, be sure you seal it good and slide it up under the shingles properly. I wouldn't install one of these again because of the windy rains we get. Also I don't like cutting holes in the roof.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...in/ROOFTOP.gif

A key concept with soffit vents combined with a rigdge vent is that
you have equal air intake down low and exhaust up high. If you choose
to use a fan, you have to consider what size fan, how much air it moves
and where that air is going to come from. If he just puts in a gable
fan, with the existing ridge vent, it's not likely to do much good.
Most of that forced air is likely to short circuit, via the ridge vent.

IDK how Derby will feel about that, but it's how I see it when you
introduce a fan. Just a natural gable vent and a ridge, I can see how
it's debatable, but when you have a fan, I think it's very likely to
be of little benefit, unless you close off the ridge vent in the area
of the fan. And I think adding a powered roof vent is not of much
benefit, for the same reason.

And with a powered fan, if you don't have adequate/matching air intake,
you can wind up sucking conditioned cool air from the living space via
any recessed lighting, through bath fan openings, outlets, etc. because
you've created a negative pressure in the attic.