Proper Attic Ventilation Without Soffits

Step 5 attach the vent to the soffit photo by merle henkenius.

Proper attic ventilation without soffits.

If i had an older home without soffits i would strongly consider just completely air sealing the attic and adding foam insulation totally removing the need for ventilation. With old homes it can be very difficult to properly ventilate the attic for a variety of reasons. The soffit vents allow convective air movement from the soffits of the residence to the ridge vent. For more information on ventilation and moisture control read this article i wrote on proper attic ventilation it s my position that you should have a proper ventilation system in your attic and that you should always take the time to air seal the floor of the attic.

The important thing to remember is the air must flow through the attic to the roof vents somewhere near the ridge of the roof. This creates a natural air flow by drawing in the air from outside pushing it up and out through the vent at the top of the house. One static vent style is the turbine vent which uses wind to power its enclosed fan all it takes is a light breeze to rotate the blades and suck heat out of the attic view example on the home. For proper ventilation it isn t enough for air to simply get into your attic.

In addition insulation baffles must be installed at the point where the attic floor meets the roofline to prevent the attic insulation from migrating into the cavities and restricting the airflow from the soffit vents. Attic fans are intended to cool hot attics by drawing in cooler outside air from attic vents soffit and gable and pushing hot air to the outside. The function of soffit vents. However if your attic has blocked soffit vents and is not well sealed from the rest of the house attic fans will suck cool conditioned air up out of the house and into the attic.

Both roof and soffit vents are easy to install in just a few hours. However if the home has no soffit it is quite a different matter. Use a cordless drill driver to secure the vent to the soffit with in long no. Space the holes 12 to 14 in.

For this reason the square footage of vent space at the base. Adequate roof ventilation reduces cooling bills extends shingle life and prevents roof rot and ice dams in winter. The most common way to add ventilation to an attic is by installing air intakes in the soffits and putting an outlet at the gable of the house. Thankfully there are some ways around this dilemma.

It must also circulate. Roof and attic ventsl protect your house from expensive future repairs.