Attic Ventilation is Essential for a Healthy Attic
Attic ventilation is an important, yet often neglected, issue affecting our home’s preservation. The building codes passed regarding attic ventilation are rarely enforced and often ignored. Nearly all homes in our area, both old and new, suffer from the effects of poor attic ventilation.
We can correct these problems by installing additional soffit venting, an attic fan, or perhaps insulation baffles to channel the air from the soffit vents, past the insulation, and into the attic.
In the summer, attic temperatures can soar beyond 160 degrees Fahrenheit. This heat broils the living space in your home and literally bakes the life out of your shingles. In fact, shingle warranties are void without adequate intake and exhaust venting.
The cold winter weather creates condensation in your attic, which leads to mold and trapped heat will create ice dams.
A properly balanced system of both soffit intake venting in the eaves and exhaust venting on the roof will cycle air through the attic to keep it cooler in the summer and drier in the winter. This will extend the life of your shingles, reduce your air conditioning expense, improve your family’s comfort and help prevent attic mold and ice dams.
Unfortunately, most homes fall far short of the minimum amount of intake and exhaust venting that our attics require. Common problems include little or no soffit venting, inadequate ridge venting, soffit or ridge venting that was installed improperly, and soffit venting that is blocked by insulation.
We can correct these problems by installing additional soffit venting, an attic fan, or perhaps insulation baffles to channel the air from the soffit vents, past the insulation, and into the attic.
The key to any attic ventilation system is balance.
A properly balanced system of both soffit intake venting in the eaves and exhaust venting on the roof will cycle air through the attic to keep it cooler in the summer and drier in the winter. This will extend the life of your shingles, reduce your air conditioning expense, improve your family’s comfort and help prevent attic mold and ice dams.
During your free attic evaluation, we are able to calculate the required intake and exhaust ventilation for your home based upon the most up to date International Residential Building Codes.
Unfortunately, due to the design of some roofs you are left with very little space for the required exhaust vents. In this scenario, an attic fan provides the necessary ventilation.
Our attic fan will automatically draw the superheated air out of your attic in the summer, pulling cool air in through the soffit vents, and reducing your attic temperatures by up to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
We offer both solar powered and electric attic fans to meet your ventilation needs.
Insulation baffles create a channel for the air entering your soffit vents to get past the insulation and into your attic cavity. Most homes have few, if any, baffles and they are often installed improperly. This is one of the most common things overlooked by insulation contractors, as installing baffles properly is a very strenuous process involving crawling out to the edge of the home.
Bathroom Exhaust Fans
Bathroom exhaust fans must be vented out of the attic to prevent mold, rotten wood, and ice dams. The preferred method is to install a combo vent with a built-in damper that prevents back drafts.