Improve Attic Ventilation

Look at your eaves and roof.

Improve attic ventilation.

How you can improve your attic ventilation the u s. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool air to enter the attic. Don t avoid ventilating your attic for fear you re letting cold air into the house. Ways to improve attic ventilation installing attic vents is a quick and effective answer to the attic ventilation issue.

It helps prevent ice dams in winter by keeping your roof colder. Rectangular soffit vents are. More is not necessarily. Your actual living space is sealed.

These improve attic ventilation by creating a draft of air coming into the attic from outside at the lowest possible location on the roof. A hot ceiling tells you that the attic is acting like a solar oven. Touch your ceiling on a warm sunny day. A well ventilated attic offers four benefits it prevents mildew growth and rot on your roof s framing and sheathing by reducing moisture buildup.

You can also contact your local municipality to check on building code in your area. Ventilation of attic spaces is required by most building codes as well as by roofing material manufacturers and the national roofing contractors association nrca. Hot air exhaust vents located at the peak of the roof allow hot air to escape. Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents.

As soffit vents are essentially intake vents which contribute to better attic ventilation by drawing the air from the. This allows for a continuous flow of air through the space. Here are four signs of an unventilated or under ventilated attic. Effective ventilation in an unfinished attic usually includes intake vents down low along the soffits and exhaust vents up high at the peak or roof ridge.

Federal housing administration recommends a minimum of at least one square foot of attic ventilation split evenly between intake and exhaust for every 300 square feet of attic floor space. If you don t see any attic vents on the roof or in the eaves you need to add some. It extends the life of your shingles by keeping the roof cooler in hot weather. Intake vents are typically found along the soffit of the house which is the horizontal wood surface under the eaves.

Obviously more research is needed but here s what we do know.