No Attic Vents

Improperly installed attic ventilation cannot address two important aspects of indoor comfort.

No attic vents.

Problems when roof has no overhang. Gable vents may circulate air through only a small percentage of your attic. Too often mechanical ventilation ducts from bathrooms kitchens or laundry rooms deposit warm moist air into the attic instead of outside the building envelope. This can lead to a number of serious and expensive problems.

For the same reason insulation shouldn t touch the roof s underside. The airflow from the soffits to the ridge vent keeps the roof cool and prevents ice dams and the material will block that flow. Without proper ventilation moisture from everyday activities such as showering washing laundry and washing dishes rises to the attic and slowly collects there. When the attic becomes part of the home to be heated and cooled open wall gable vents and roof vents are no longer feasible but the underside of the roof the sheathing and rafters can still get.

For an attic without soffit vents you may have the option to use gable vents instead. The majority of roofing experts agree that ridge vents are the most effective and cost effective roof vents available. The eaves are the part of the roof that hangs over the walls of the house. A great example of great wide eaves are the homes of frank lloyd wright.

The design of many older houses omits eaves which maximizes the amount of sunlight. This moisture is released into the air inside the house from bathing cooking plants laundry and other causes. Construct a soffit or eaves overhang combined with assuring that an opening is provided all along the top of the. Without baffles blinders that prevent outside air from crossing over the vent a ridge vent may create almost no ventilation at all.

Without adequate ventilation moisture rises with the hot air and forms condensation on the inside of the roof deck. Un vented roof solutions to buildings with no roof overhang and which are a more distant second best approach are. So if you have shallow eaves with a flat soffit you have a very small overhang that has a flat bottom. Typically you would have a gable vent on each end of the attic.

A combination of air sealing and insulating the attic floor while providing ventilation considerably reduces the potential for condensation as warm moist air is less likely to enter the space and condense on cold surfaces. Covering up the soffit vents with loose fill or batts which can happen if you stuff insulation along the eaves is a huge no no. For proper ventilation it isn t enough for air to simply get into your attic. He loved big eaves.

How to vent an attic with no eaves the function of soffit vents. Soffits are the underside of the eaves.