Roof Ventilation Education

Here is a great picture of snow! So a really good customer of the RCS, Roof Saver (Andy the boss is really one of my favorite people) sent me this link to his customers Linked-in page with this inside snowfall. (Thank you Chris Cavanaugh for sharing) This brings me a few questions:

If the roofing contractor cleans up the mess of bad ventilation how come a ventilation system is not an automatic part of every roof installation?

With all the different ventilation products out there. How do you pick a product to use?

I must admit I didn't pay attention with my own re-roofing project but I live in Southern California where it is not a priority, but as a homeowner shame on me.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-buy-roof-saver-ridge-vent-chris-cavanaugh

(for below comment) that read just like... an out of country person/company that knows nothing of the topic at hand, but makes a blanket statement about the general discussion (to try and fit in) and then promote somoene or something ... tsk tsk ...

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-LindaJ4525

The home owners start calling about it in May and the calls don't slow down until October. I actually ramp up my lead generation strategies for attic ventilation during this time

-GaryAdams

Gary, like my reply earlier, this is an older topic/conversation but .. thanks for adding to it! :P

What part of the country are you in?  Good to know many people ARE concerned about the ventilation part of the roofing/build system! :)

To Vickie:

(Didn't read through all the replies below, so these things may already have been said or covered...)

Not sure what Mess there may be, from "bad ventilation" system.  If a roof component failed, then it is the responsibility of the contractor to warranty their work/job!

Yes, there are a lot of Products on the market, but which is best for "your" residential roof, really depends on the roof area or it's layout. (your Contractor should know of all this, if not... Next!)  I.e. (OPINION!) For passive systems, Ridge Vents are great (the non-sponge type), IF you have a long ridge/span for them to be effective.  If your roof is a T-Pee style or very cut up, then you'll have to another route, as in Wind Turbines (if your hoa allows them) or box vents etc.  THEN, there are the power vents and/or solar vents.  Electric Power Vents do move the most air, but the motors generally burn out in 5-8yrs. (and you have to wire them into the attic too)  Solar power vents can be neat, IF they turn fast enough (higher RPM), but most times they don't work at night, when it's cloudy, etc.  There ARE combo-units, solar but also wired for electric usage.  They use solar when possible and if the conditions aren't right, it converts over to use the electric side to work. Great units (most) but also pricey.

Those are the basics really. AND, remember that no matter what you put on top, you Must have a way to bring air INTO the attic, usually via soffit vents, or added Shingle Over vents if needed etc. (bring air in, flush air out)

Being in S.Cali, you SHOULD be concerned about this!  It's a warmer climate, like us here in the Dallas, TX area, so we focus on the "heat" side (getting it out!)  Let us know what other questions you may have! :)

Oh, I know what yo are talking about. The design was to make the energy heels on the trusses so that you could insulate all the way out to the plate and still have the air channel to let the air in. It works great! The problem is on the older homes and there are a heck of a lot of them. The ONLY time to fix the ventilation problem is in conjunction with ro-doing the roofs. that is what we do.

OS - Roofing has nothing to do with ventilation - However, ventilation can & does affect roofing.

Attic ventilation is an integral part of a structures overall energy efficiency.

As long as 30 yrs ago, I recall new building permit applications requiring energy calc's, (which included attic ventilation), had to be performed by an HVAC engineer. Much the same as a structural engineer must design a foundation or roof structure, regardless of the carpenters', (or roofer, for that matter), self-proclaimed expertise/knowledge.

If a guy wants to take on the responsibility, that's all well-n' good......I'm just say'n from a legal standpoint, it may not be a good idea.

I'm just venting/mussing, (no pun was intended), at to how attic ventilation responsibility get's skirted by those who should be making the calls, yet so eagerly picked-up by carpenters or roofers who are supposed to be installing systems as designed by the "engineers" - Not designing them!

I'm in the Southeast about 250 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. We get very little snow here. Didn't have any at all to speak of this winter but attic ventilation is still very important as in my opinion other than the installation of a roof and the products used, it is the next most important thing as to how long the roof will last. Having hot stagnant air trapped under a roof combined with the heat of the sun from above at the same time during near 100 degree weather will absolutely cook a shingle roof. Not to mention the energy savings a properly ventilated attic provides.

When I did roof replacements, I always took it upon myself to improve the attic ventilation as part of the job making sure there would be proper intake as well as exhaust after the roof was completed.

I don't do roof replacements anymore and these days I straighten out even more attic ventilation problems than I did back when we were doing full roofs because of the many others who just roof the house with little to no concern of the attic ventilation.

The home owners start calling about it in May and the calls don't slow down until October. I actually ramp up my lead generation strategies for attic ventilation during this time.

I know, but the HVAC pertains to the air inside the envelope and not in the attic. The attic is some of the most important and they do nothing with it.

HVAC = Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning

;)

The problem is that no one knows and very few people even care. The problem is almost exclusively relegated to older homes without the new energy heels designed into the trusses. Pretty much anything over 25 years old. When I do a house, I fix it by making it like it was supposed to be when the house was built, or at least retrofitting it to make it breath AFTER others have plugged everything up by trying to make it more energy efficient.

MOST ventilation has nothing to do with the HVAC systems. Most architects know nothing about ventilation either. Some one has to take the bull by the horns and teach these skills. We do that., and it works very well!

Actually attic ventilation is a critical component of a structures'overall ventilation performance, which falls under HVAC, (not roofing - not carpentry).

Roofers & carpenters provide for installation of venting apparatuses, as designed per an architect or HVAC engineer.

I've never understood this notion of a roofer taking on the responsibility of ventilation. As a specifier you've taken on the responsibility if there is future ventilation issues, be it mold or what-have-you.

If you know what you are looking at, that picture reveals a thousand different things. The three different piles of snow (that we can see) means that the snow is coming from above; so from a ridge vent. At the far end, you can see one large gable end vent. Air is lazy, and it ALWAYS follows the path of least resistance. I will almost guarantee you that some Einstein insulated the hell out of the atic and plugged up the soffit vents; if there were any, and now the ridge is the "Path" of least resistance and the gable end vents are the exhaust.

A ventilation "system" IS part of every job I sell. The problem is that a lot of "roofers" are not also carpenters. It is a different skill set to be able to take apart a roof AND a soffit, AND a fascia if necessary to open everything up and fix it right. it is also a LOT more expensive; in the SHORT term. The picture shows better than I can explain about the potential costs to fix it right later.

As far as being is south CA. and it not being a "priority", do you realize that the exact opposite is happening in your attic in the summer and it is just as destructive? You have to treat the roof over your home more as an umbrella and not an airtight enclosure. Even with an umbrella, if you sheathed one in clear plastic and tied the plastic around your waist, it would be steamed up in about 30 seconds. The same thing applies to your home and your roof.