Proper Home Attic Ventilation

A hot ceiling tells you that the attic is acting like a solar oven.

Proper home attic ventilation.

About attic ventilation natural attic ventilation. There are many different options available to provide adequate ventilation to your attic space. Structural ventilation controls heat levels in the attic moderates dampness in the crawlspace and basement and keeps moisture out of uninsulated walls. 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. Proper attic ventilation offers numerous advantages to the homeowner. 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. 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. 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. Hot air exhaust vents located at the peak of the roof allow hot air to escape. Guide to attic air ventilation adequate ventilation.

That said air resistance and interference such as vent grates reduces the area of true ventilation. Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents. As the ventilation helps moderate the temperatures in the attic this may also help moderate the temperature in the rest of the home. Proper attic ventilation attics should be insulated to r 38 which is approximately eighteen inches of insulation material.

Here are four signs of an unventilated or under ventilated attic. It helps your home rid itself of moisture smoke cooking odors and indoor pollutants. Without exception you should talk to a professional to determine what your home requires. At first it may seem odd to add insulation for warmth and then purposely allow cold air to.

Ventilation can be accomplished using various products and techniques. Attic fans are intended to cool hot attics by drawing in cooler outside air from attic vents. Before we explore how to. If there are portions of insulation that have been eroded down don t just slap some extra material on top.

You ll want to pull out the six inches remaining and put a full fluffy eighteen inch piece of material in place.