RoofersCoffeeShop https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/ Roofing Forum, Classifieds, Galleries and More! en-us All things attic ventilation: Physics, field insights and fundamentals https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/post/all-things-attic-ventilation-physics-field-insights-and-fundamentals all-things-attic-ventilation-physics-field-insights-and-fundamentals Wed, 16 Apr 2025 10:00:00 PDT

Coffee Shop crew members spent the day learning about the relationship between attic ventilation and the roofing system. Registration and attendance were free – but the knowledge they gained was priceless.

Editor’s note: The following is a transcript of a conversation The Coffee Shop crew had after attending the 2025 Air Vent Attic Ventilation: Ask the Expert™ Seminar. 

Dani Sheehan: We just finished hearing from Paul Scelsi, marketing communications manager at Air Vent, a division of Gibraltar Building Accessories, who hosted the 27th annual Ask the Expert™ Seminar. It was Paul’s first time in Little Rock, Arkansas, and there were three contractors in attendance. Even though it was a small crowd, I still felt like there was really great engagement in the room. 

We learned so much! I had no idea there are five different types of exhaust vents, and that there are different reasons for using each one. Paul made it really engaging, walking us through all the different types of exhaust you need in a home’s attic for proper ventilation. He also talked about intake and emphasized one key takeaway: proper attic ventilation requires a balanced system of air intake and air outtake. 

During his presentation, he went through some installation tips and tricks that were honestly a little over my head – no pun intended – but it gave great insight into what roofing contractors do and how many variables they need to keep in mind on any given project. Paul also included some real-world stories and case studies from roofs that have been sent to him, showcasing poor ventilation and how contractors fixed the problem. 

What really stood out to me was that it seems like roofing contractors aren’t having this conversation at the kitchen table with homeowners. I thought that it was interesting, and an opportunity for growth and education for roofing contractors and homeowners who trust us to do the work. Which really highlights the importance of Air Vent’s seminar in disseminating some common misconceptions about attic ventilation and showing best practices to contractors out in the field. 

Emma Richardson: I really agree – it was a lot of information that’s really important to homeowners, and I think most of them don’t know about it. 

At the very end, Paul started going over some tips and tricks on how to get a homeowner on board if you’re trying to get them to rethink their ventilation. For me personally – and I imagine a lot of others feel this way – when there’s a topic like your car, your house, plumbing or electrical that you don’t know much about, your gut instinct is that someone’s going to try to sell you more than you need. I think homeowners lean into that fear when it comes to attic ventilation and their roof. 

There’s a huge opportunity for contractors to educate homeowners and help them feel more empowered during the process. Even for me, looking into buying a home for the first time, I feel more confident now. I have at least a general idea of what to look for – input and output ventilation. 

Before today, I would have looked at a hole in the roof and thought, ‘Stuff goes in, stuff goes out,’ without understanding there are two different systems involved: intake and output. That was huge for me. Also, venting directly into the attic, say a bathroom fan or a dryer vent, I imagined that was a bad idea, but if someone told me, ‘No, you could vent into the attic and it’ll get taken out through the vents,’ I probably would’ve believed them. It sounds logical enough, but now I have a better understanding to see why it’s problematic. 

There’s an opportunity for contractors to educate homeowners – or for homeowners to go directly to the source and find out more. It would help people feel empowered instead of being afraid someone’s going to upsell them on something they don’t understand and don’t need. I think that could help all parties involved. 

Dani Sheehan: Absolutely! To that point, I really loved Paul’s discussion where he talked about price. He understands that homeowners are concerned about how much their roof will cost them – it's a very big purchase and absolutely a concern. 

But he shared a lot of testimonials from roofing contractors who have shared the same sentiment – you can’t just show the homeowner the sticker price. You have to explain the value you’re providing by educating the homeowner on exactly what work is being done and why. When you talk about it as a system and show how it all works together, I think it’s a really good starting point to engage the homeowner – or from your perspective, if you’re the homeowner looking at a new house or needing a roof replacement – and have a conversation that goes beyond picking out the shingle colors. 

Emma Richardson: I completely agree. You actually reminded me – another thing I found really interesting was Paul’s discussion of the thermal effects of high pressure versus low pressure, and the Bernoulli effect. That’s not something I would have considered, and I thought it was fascinating how physics played into understanding the roof system. Again, a great opportunity for education. I thought it was pretty cool. 

Dani Sheehan: Yeah, I was so interested in the science behind attic ventilation and the roofing contractors in attendance were already familiar with its importance, but you could tell they were excited by this presentation as well. Brad Burchfield from Homesite Construction and Restoration, mentioned that he was having trouble explaining some of these technical details to insurance companies and even engineers. He said that Paul’s slides, especially when he covered thermal effect, gave him the knowledge and the language to go back and have this conversation and get everyone to the same level of understanding.  

Overall, we had such an incredible time and want to thank Paul and Air Vent for hosting this seminar each year. We may not be roofing contractors, but we both have a better understanding of our own homes. Look out for the seminar next year and we highly recommend you stop by if Paul’s coming to a city near you!

]]> Día 1: Sesiones clave en IRE 2025 https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/post/dia-1-sesiones-clave-en-ire-2025 dia-1-sesiones-clave-en-ire-2025 Wed, 12 Feb 2025 03:00:00 PST

Por Jesse Sanchez, traducido por Jessica Bravo.  

El primer día de IRE está lleno de experiencia e innovación en la industria. 

Profesionales del sector de techado de todo el país se reúnen para un día completo de conocimientos, networking y estrategias visionarias en International Roofing Expo (IRE) 2025. Con sesiones que cubren desde liderazgo en seguridad hasta prácticas sostenibles, este evento promete proporcionar a los asistentes las herramientas necesarias para mantenerse al tanto en una industria que evoluciona rápidamente. 

Antes de explorar la agenda completa de sesiones educativas, asegúrate de detenerte en el stand de The Coffee Shop en el vestíbulo para saludar, ver nuestro escenario y obtener algunos obsequios divertidos. Luego, dirígete al piso de exhibición para explorar las últimas herramientas, tendencias e ideas de cientos de proveedores, incluido Roof Scout en el stand #27116. 

El primer día de IRE tiene una variedad de sesiones disponibles. Asegúrate de planear con anticipación para encontrar las sesiones que mejor se alineen con tus intereses y objetivos comerciales. 

Sesiones destacadas para el miércoles 19 de febrero 

Con una programación tan diversa de sesiones educativas y técnicas, IRE 2025 se perfila como un evento esencial para los profesionales del sector de techado que buscan mantenerse al dia. Ya sea que te interesen el liderazgo en seguridad, la sostenibilidad, las estrategias de ventas o las innovaciones en techado de vanguardia, hay algo para todos. 

No olvides explorar el salón de exhibición y conectar con los principales proveedores de la industria durante todo el día. ¡Nos vemos en las sesiones! 

¿Buscas asistir a sesiones en otros días del evento? ¡Ve lo que sucederá durante el segundo y tercer día de IRE 2025! 

]]> Day 1: Key insights and sessions at IRE 2025 https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/post/day-1-key-insights-and-sessions-at-ire-2025 day-1-key-insights-and-sessions-at-ire-2025 Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:00:00 PST

By Jesse Sanchez. 

The first day of IRE is packed with industry expertise and innovation. 

Roofing professionals from across the country are gathering for a full day of insights, networking and forward-thinking strategies at the International Roofing Expo (IRE) 2025. With sessions covering everything from safety leadership to sustainable practices, this event promises to equip attendees with the tools they need to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving industry. 

Before exploring the packed schedule of educational sessions, be sure to stop by The Coffee Shops booth in the lobby to say hi, check out our soundstage and get some fun swag. Then make your way onto the show floor to explore the latest tools, trends and insights from hundreds of vendors, including Roof Scout in booth #27116.  

Day one of IRE has a variety of sessions available. Make sure you plan ahead to find the sessions that best align with your interests and business goals. 

Featured sessions for Wednesday, February 19

With such a diverse lineup of educational and technical sessions, IRE 2025 is shaping up to be an essential event for roofing professionals looking to stay ahead of the curve. Whether you're interested in safety leadership, sustainability, sales strategies or cutting-edge roofing innovations, there’s something for everyone. 

Don't forget to explore the exhibition hall and connect with leading industry vendors throughout the day. See you at the sessions! 

Looking to attend sessions on other days of the event? Check out what’s going on during day two and day three of IRE 2025!

]]> AirVent seminar attendees share their highlights https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/post/airvent-seminar-attendees-share-their-highlights airvent-seminar-attendees-share-their-highlights Fri, 30 Aug 2024 18:00:00 PDT

By Paul Scelsi, AirVent.

Of the favorite content at the air vent seminar, field-generated tips tops the list!

Every winter we hit the streets with our educational seminar Attic Ventilation: Ask the Expert™, offered free to roofing professionals across North America. Ever since it kicked off in 1998, the focus of the program has been collecting and sharing best practices, tips, solutions and mistakes to avoid in attic ventilation. In our recent podcast episode, I highlighted three of the most favorite and useful content segments from the seminar as told to me by past attendees.

1 - Bundled together from across North America

By far, the single most useful aspect of the seminar’s content, I’ve been told, is the fact that the tips and solutions are collected from across North America, bundled together and delivered directly to the attendee wherever the attendee happens to be. That could be an in-person seminar in a hotel in Chicago. It could be a private virtual seminar for a roofing company prearranged with us. Or it could be the filmed in-person seminar condensed to the absolute key points on our YouTube channel. We bring this wealth of industry-wide knowledge straight to you. That’s information we’ve gathered from the north, the south, the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest and the west coast.

We made a commitment decades ago to actively engage with the industry to collect and share tips. Much of our collecting happens during day-to-day communication, including email, our website, social media, our podcast and old-school phone calls. Some of our best-received seminar content is the result of our one-on-one phone conversations troubleshooting tricky roofs to ventilate.

2 - A small dose of building science

Another seminar content favorite, according to past attendees, is there’s just enough building science discussed to drive home key points without boring the audience. We show how air moves through an attic most efficiently. We show what helps the air movement and what hinders the airflow. And we explain why. We also point to third-party references to support the information.

As the host of the seminar, a neat perspective for me is not only do I know what content is most useful and interesting because audiences tell me, I also witness their reactions to the content. One clear sign the content hits home is when I see the cell phones pop up during our in-person seminars. That’s when attendees snap a photo of certain PowerPoint slides on the big screen displayed in the front of the room. Many of those key slides are captured in our YouTube video of the seminar.

See the full article about the third most beneficial seminar content on our website. And to listen to our podcast episode on this topic, visit our YouTube!

3 - From the field for the field

The third most beneficial seminar content is the real-world examples from the women and men working in the field. We are relaying to audiences the from-the-field pain points as well as the success stories in residential attic ventilation. These field examples come from roofing contractors, remodelers, homebuilders, architects, home inspectors, building code officials, insurance adjusters and building materials wholesalers and retailers. They all participate in the seminar and share their experiences with AirVent so we can then share them with audiences. And because AirVent talks with homeowners year-round, we mix in some “from the perspective of the homeowner” into our seminar content.

AirVent seminars happen between every January and April in 30 to 40 cities across North America. You can find more information on our website, www.gibraltarbuildingproducts.com. You can find the video of our filmed in-person seminar both on our website and our YouTube channel. The video is titled “Attic Ventilation Educational Video 3rd Installment.”

About Paul Scelsi

Paul Scelsi is marketing communications manager at AirVent and leader of its Attic Ventilation: Ask the Expert™ seminars. He hosts the podcast, “Airing it out with AirVent,” and he’s the chairperson of the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association Ventilation Task Force.

]]> Catching up with the Air Vent team at IRE 2024! https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/post/catching-up-with-the-air-vent-team-at-ire-2024 catching-up-with-the-air-vent-team-at-ire-2024 Wed, 22 May 2024 18:00:00 PDT

By Anna Lockhart. 

Paul Scelsi shares his tips and expert advice on proper attic ventilation techniques.  

 

At the 2024 International Roofing Expo (IRE), the RoofersCoffeeShop® crew stopped by the Air Vent and Gibraltar Building Accessories booth to check out the equipment they brought to the trade show floor for attendees to check out. Paul Scelsi, marketing and communications manager for Air Vent, walked the crew through the special items showcased on the floor.  

Paul demonstrated how they use a smokehouse display model to simulate proper and improper attic ventilation, emphasizing the necessity for proper ventilation systems. The smokehouse is a machine that produces smoke within a clear dome meant to represent heat and moisture trapped within an attic. Paul shared, “The message of this demonstration is that in order to properly get rid of the heat and moisture in an attic, you need proper intake and exhaust ventilation. Use a ridge vent that has an external wind baffle.” 

For over 20 years, Paul has served as the seminar leader for the Attic Ventilation: Ask the Expert™ series, where he tours the nation presenting seminars for industry professionals. The seminar series highlights the benefits of quality attic ventilation systems and how to install these systems to get the best results for ultimate customer satisfaction. Paul walks attendees through his best tips and tricks for installing systems, calculating proper ventilation and more! 

While the 2024 seminar tour has recently ended, there will certainly be plenty of opportunities for industry professionals interested in attending to grab tickets for the next tour!  

Check out the Air Vent Ask the Expert Seminars schedule!  

Watch the full smokehouse attic simulation video on YouTube!

]]> Top April Stories: Drone technology, attic ventilation and people on the move https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/post/top-april-stories-drone-technology-attic-ventilation-and-people-on-the-move top-april-stories-drone-technology-attic-ventilation-and-people-on-the-move Fri, 03 May 2024 15:00:00 PDT

By Evelyn Witterholt.  

Here’s what’s been trending on RoofersCoffeeShop® (RCS) this past April. 

Roofers across the nation have been seizing the opportunity to utilize advanced technology, specifically drones. Two of our most read articles from last month were stories from EagleView Assess™ about how roofers can benefit from using their drone technology. EagleView Assess offers drones that offer high-quality images of roofs that also integrate well with their EagleView measurement software. 

Attic ventilation is key to having a well-rounded roof system and no one knows this better than Air Vent. One of our most popular articles from April was highlighting a series of seminars put on by Paul Scelsi, Air Vent’s marketing communications manager. These seminars help roofers calculate exactly what ventilation system an attic needs and how to best communicate these needs to homeowners. 

Our most-read article from April was a press release highlighting Nick Musel’s promotion to technical field manager at Mule-Hide Products Co. Nick has been with the company for five years and has been in the roofing industry for 22 years. In his new position, he will manage a team of 11 technical field representatives. 

Here are the most read articles for the month of April: 

Honorable mention (#6-#10):   

10 - Local roofing industry has its community’s back 

9 - RoofersCoffeeShop® welcomes Rapid RevOps 

8 - Leveraging drones to level up your home inspections 

7 - Drone technology allows for safer home inspections 

6 - Maximizing productivity: The efficiency and versatility of the NTM SSQ II™ MultiPro Roof and Wall Panel Machine 

Read the top 5 articles:     

5 - Roofer profile: Marco Lujan, Revelation Roofing LLC 

4 - Creating seamless user experience, APOC launches new website 

3 - Attic ventilation is crucial to a roof system and to homeowners 

2 - RoofersCoffeeShop® welcomes Progressive Materials! 

1 - Nick Musel promoted to technical field manager at Mule-Hide Products Co.

]]> Attic ventilation is crucial to a roof system and to homeowners https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/post/attic-ventilation-is-crucial-to-a-roof-system-and-to-homeowners attic-ventilation-is-crucial-to-a-roof-system-and-to-homeowners Tue, 02 Apr 2024 12:00:00 PDT

By Dani Sheehan. 

Understand what ventilation means and why it matters to contractors and homeowners with this free seminar. 

There’s still time! From Kentucky to California, Paul Scelsi with Air Vent is hosting his free technical seminar Attic Ventilation: Ask the Expert™ at a handful of locations early this month. Last week, some of the Coffee Shop crew attended a packed seminar in Portland, Oregon to learn about all things related to ventilation. Register for a seminar near you now so you won’t have to wait until next year to elevate your roofing game. In Season 6, Episode 1 of Roofing Road Trips®, Heidi J. Ellsworth hosted Paul as a special guest to learn about this insightful, educational seminar held every first quarter across North America. 

Every year they evaluate responses from industry professionals to tweak their seminar and improve the information they share. With only two hours to get through a laundry list of important facts about attic ventilation, they can’t add anything new without cutting something else. This year, the Coffee Shop crew learned how to do the math to calculate ventilation so that you know exactly how many vents are needed for your project. Paul admits it sounds boring at first, but he explains how important it is: “Okay, I’m in front of the attic. How many vents does this attic need? We walk you through the math and we’re constantly tweaking. Okay, the homeowner is not convinced. I need vents. I do need a new roof from you, Heidi, but I don’t want the vents. How do you overcome that?” 

He keeps waiting for the responses to show him it’s time to remove the math, and yet every year the math gets rated high. Paul’s only response is, “I think it’s because we arm you with the confidence you can calculate any attic out there.” He and Heidi agreed that discussing how to sell ventilation isn’t really something you need to sell, it’s simply an important part of taking care of the customer.  

At the end of the day, attic ventilation affects so much of the roofing system. Paul concluded, “The shingle warranty is tied to proper attic ventilation. You might not get the full terms of the warranty. There are studies which we share in the seminar, where energy efficiency in both winter and summer comes with proper attic ventilation...The attic air quality could negatively affect the living space air quality. There are all these factors. The bottom line, you’re doing the right thing.” 

Check for the final presentations this quarter and register now! Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast episode for more information on what this free, educational seminar teaches you about airflow and why balanced ventilation matters.

]]> Lose the hot pockets, balance your ventilation! https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/post/lose-the-hot-pockets-balance-your-ventilation lose-the-hot-pockets-balance-your-ventilation Thu, 28 Mar 2024 13:00:00 PDT

By Lauren White.

Air Vent’s Ask the Experts seminar drew a full house of industry professionals eager to learn about balanced ventilation systems in Oregon. 

Good morning from Portland, Oregon! On this classic rainy spring day in PDX, an army of roofing trucks filled with tools and ladders brought over 130 roofing professionals to the Embassy Suites for an engaging presentation from Paul Scelsi with Air Vent about all things ventilation! The 26th year of this Ask the Expert™ seminar series and the 21st time educating roofers in Portland, saw Paul leading the audience, including some of the Coffee Shop crew, through a two-hour ventilation journey, exploring intake, exhaust, airflow and more! 

Starting off, Paul asked, “Why have we been touring North America for almost three decades to talk about the benefits of attic ventilation?” The answer? To fight heat buildup, moisture buildup and ice dams before they become problematic. An average household produces two to four gallons of water PER DAY through cooking, showering, perspiring, etc. And if a roof isn’t properly vented, that water doesn’t have anywhere to escape and it builds up in the attic, causing damage and diminishing the life of the roof. Unfortunately, most homes today have attics that are not properly vented. Hence the seminar! 

“Attic ventilation is a critical design and performance consideration of a roof system,” according to a technical bulletin from the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturer’s Association (ARMA). Paul joked that if we didn’t remember anything else from his presentation today, remember this: air intake should equal or exceed exhaust area, that means 50% intake vents, 50% high exhaust. Without the proper ventilation, energy efficiency is reduced, the roof life is reduced and the home could experience mold damage from moisture buildup. 

Once we had an understanding of what ventilation means and why it matters to contractors and homeowners, we learned about airflow. It’s necessary to understand airflow and how it affects roofs to help understand ventilation and why it matters.  

The next stop of our journey was to understand the various types of exhaust and intake ventilation options available – best uses, benefits of each, Net Free Area (NFA). As a group, Paul guided us through the exhaust vent decision tree. He showed examples of different rooflines and asked the audience which type of ventilation they would recommend to homeowners with that roofline, explaining why that’s the best option. 

He then showed us how to do the math to calculate ventilation, in addition to how Air Vent can help you calculate the amount of ventilation needed for your project at hand. We even learned there’s an Air Vent app now! It has a calculator to help you quickly determine the ventilation needed without using pen and paper, which is still a viable option. And if you don’t want the app, Air vent has an online calculator for you to utilize that’s customizable with your company logo and colors. It allows you to send bids to homeowners with just a few clicks! 

Other stops on our ventilation journey included installation tips, mistakes to avoid, selling tips and tools, how to respond to homeowner pushback and where to find more information about ventilation. If you can’t attend a seminar, though we recommend you do, it’s a great way to start your day, Air Vent University is available to you online from airvent.com to learn at your own pace and about topics most relevant to you or that you need a refresher on.  

With standing room only, Paul taught professionals in the industry – competitors or not – about airflow, why balanced ventilation matters, how to save homeowners money and save materials from ending up in landfills prematurely due to water damage. Proper ventilation gives moisture in a home a place to go to fight heat buildup, moisture buildup and ice dams before they become problematic. As Paul says, if you remember one thing, remember this: air intake should equal or exceed exhaust area! 

Check for a presentation in your area, you won’t want to miss it!  

]]> Live From IRE 2024 Air Vent - TRANSCRIPT https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/post/live-from-ire-2024-air-vent-transcript live-from-ire-2024-air-vent-transcript Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:00:00 PST

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview from the trade show floor see what is happening at the Air Vent booth at IRE 2024. You can read the interview below or watch the video.

Paul Scelsi: Hi, I am Paul Scelsi. I'm with Air Vent Gibraltar Building Accessories. And this smokehouse display is something we use to show the benefits and importance of proper attic ventilation. So the smoke represents heat and moisture buildup in the attic, and we're counting on the vents, both the exhaust vents represented here by a ridge vent and soffit vents to remove that. And right now we have some movement, pretty good, but we don't have the intake vents actually activated just yet. So we're going to open up the intake vents over here and we're going to have some more movement of the heat and moisture, the smoke. And that's good.

And now we're going to bring in mother nature and the wind through that fan. Thank you Justin. And now the wind rides the roof deck, hits the vent and you see it just pumping out. It's using this external wind baffle on the ridge vent to create low pressure on both sides of the vent and it's literally just pulling more heat and moisture out of the attic. It's called the Bernoulli principle, the Bernoulli effect. It's named after a scientist years ago. It gives lift to the airplane as well, and that's what is being demonstrated here. The message is to get rid of the smoke, which is heat moisture. You need intake and exhaust. Use a ridge vent that has an external wind baffle like this one, ShingleVent II from Gibraltar Building Accessories and Air Vent. Thanks for watching our demo.

]]> Revolutionize your approach to attic ventilation https://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/post/revolutionize-your-approach-to-attic-ventilation revolutionize-your-approach-to-attic-ventilation Thu, 29 Feb 2024 06:00:00 PST

By Dani Sheehan. 

Don’t miss this free seminar to elevate your expertise, empower your team and dive into the critical aspects of attic ventilation. 

You still have time to attend an Ask the Expert™ seminar by Air Vent in a city near you across the U.S. and Canada! This year marks 26 years of expert attic ventilation education for roofing professionals, and this season once again promises an enriching learning experience from January 16, 2024, to April 11, 2024. 

Immerse yourself in a technical overview covering the benefits of a balanced attic ventilation system, foolproof specification and installation techniques and invaluable tips from the industry’s best. Explore real-life case studies, master the art of calculating adequate ventilation and get ready for a dedicated question and answer period to ensure you leave armed with practical knowledge to conquer any roofing challenge. 

All registrations are online. Sign up now for an enriching experience! The seminars are free, with breakfast included, showcasing Air Vent’s unwavering commitment to advancing education and professional development within the industry. Invite your team, including employees and project managers, for a collaborative learning journey that promises to elevate your entire organization. 

Each two-hour session also earns you continuing education credits recognized by prestigious organizations like the American Society of Home Inspectors and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. Your commitment to excellence doesn’t go unnoticed – provide feedback and walk away with a Certificate of Attendance and an exclusive Ask the Expert badge! 

Ready to revolutionize your roofing skills by adding critical knowledge of attic ventilation to your roofing toolkit? Visit the official website to register in a city closest to you and seize the opportunity to learn, network and venture into ventilation this season!

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