Proper Home Attic Ventilation

Proper attic ventilation offers numerous advantages to the homeowner.

Proper home attic ventilation.

Touch your ceiling on a warm sunny day. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool air to enter the attic. Look at your eaves and roof. There are many different options available to provide adequate ventilation to your attic space.

Guide to attic air ventilation adequate ventilation. Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents. Ventilation can be accomplished using various products and techniques. Before we explore how to.

Proper attic ventilation attics should be insulated to r 38 which is approximately eighteen inches of insulation material. If your home is fitted solely with small gable end vents or a ventilator high in the roof you might want to consider adding soffit vents to increase airflow. Proper interior ventilation is vital to your family s health and comfort. About attic ventilation natural attic ventilation.

As the ventilation helps moderate the temperatures in the attic this may also help moderate the temperature in the rest of the home. Structural ventilation controls heat levels in the attic moderates dampness in the crawlspace and basement and keeps moisture out of uninsulated walls. Generally speaking you need a ratio of 1 300 where for every 300 square feet of ceiling space you need 1 square foot of attic ventilation. Installing continuous soffit vents along the outer edge of the eaves adding a ridge vent insulating along the top plates to meet or exceed the r value already in the walls sealing the attic floor to make it airtight and making sure there s the recommended r value of properly installed.

If you don t see any attic vents on the roof or in the eaves you need to add some. Without exception you should talk to a professional to determine what your home requires. You ll want to pull out the six inches remaining and put a full fluffy eighteen inch piece of material in place. Here are four signs of an unventilated or under ventilated attic.

That said air resistance and interference such as vent grates reduces the area of true ventilation. These vents allow outside air to enter the attic at the lowest point of the roof along the underside of the eave. Attic fans are intended to cool hot attics by drawing in cooler outside air from attic vents. A hot ceiling tells you that the attic is acting like a solar oven.

If there are portions of insulation that have been eroded down don t just slap some extra material on top.