Attic Ventilation | Roofing Mythbusters Series - Episode #3 | Skywalker Roofing Company

Roofing expert Luke Wilson explains the importance of ridge vents, soffit vents, and why proper ventilation matters to the health of your attic and your overall roofing system.

[DOLRED]

The pitch of the roof makes a difference. Many Homes have shallow-low pitched roofs. Air flow in these type attics is weaker and the type of vents used is critical for sufficient air movement.

[FeedmeSeymore]

My AC ducts started sweating after I had a variable speed Trane installed. Company said Trane recommends closing soffit vents to take care of sweating problem. I wish the building industry would get their heads together and figure this out once and for all. Cold ducts in a hot humid attic is a terrible idea, yet so many homes in Florida have flex duct in a humid attic.

[mattvise]

Only reason I’m leaving a comment is because once I look up a video, I can no longer return to my search. Thanks YouTube.

[mjones]

We are building a metal building as a house in Montana, it doesn’t have soffits so we are installing 9 3” eave vents per side. How should we exhaust? Two gable vents, with or without a fan? Or some roof vents?

[Loschicos]

I just moved into a home and there isn’t any ventilation in the garage. The garage gets really hot. I started adding reflective barrier and came across your video. You saved me some trouble. I need to go back and figure out a way to add air flow in and out.

[basskilla]

I have a home that has no eaves at all. Just roof vents. Is there a way to fix this?

[slydog]

As I see it, ventilation is about controlling temperature and controlling humidity. There can be insufficient ventilation, and there can also be too much ventilation. In the PNW, if there was too much ventilation, the humidity levels in the winter would range between 75 and 100%. That is not good. Mold grows and wood rots, while temperatures could plumet leading to condensation and frost inside the attic on some days. Humidity levels can only be controlled by ventilation if the outdoor humidity is lower than the attic humidity or if intake air is from a source that is drier that the attic air, at least when the air has warmed to attic temperatures. If outdoor humidity is higher at attic temperatures, then ventilation just fills the attic with more-humid air. If there is insufficient ventilation, the same can happen and also temperatures can soar in the summer. The key is to keep temperatures and humidity within a proper range: 30-60% humidity and temperatures from a minimum of 33 degrees in the winter up to no more than 130 degrees in the summer, and best when less than outdoor summer temperatures plus 20 degrees. One way to know if an attic has proper ventilation is to use a remote temperature/humidity sensor that transmits to a base station that can also graph trends. That is the best way to determine if ventilation levels are appropriate. Ventilation requirements can change depending on the season. Not enough ventilation = bad. Too much ventilation = bad. (In my opinion.)

[onecrazywheel]

I have a 1:12 pitched roof with torch down roofing. I retrofitted a Whirlybird fan towards the peak of our roof years ago and it has made a tremendous difference in our attic temps. Our roof is only 2x6 rafters and has zero insulation. We live in Central Florida and our roof and house get tremendously hot in our Florida summers. Would we be better off installing foam board and then a new roof for out-sulation or use a white roof silicone coating to reflect the heat? Thanks 🙏👍

[NutmegThumper]

When we had our house resided I had them remove the gable vents and install ventilated soffits. The roof was done in 2016 and I think it has a ridge vent. I can see the plywood was cut shy of the peak but does a ridge vent have an actual piece of plastic installed or is it just a way of laying shingle to allow the air to escape?

[Guccixx]

I just told this to contractor I worked for. Hence the workED. Good stuff and thank you.

[darwinjina]

Something that I saw a lot in Asian countries (hot and humid) were soffit (kind of) vents under the overhang, but there were not any whirly birds or ridge vents. I ask and ask, but nothing could tell me why.

[Chackbay]

I bought my house 4 years ago. Had moisture and mold starting around ac vents, had multiple ac companies come out and none saw problem with unit which leads me to believe its my ventilation. Roof doesnt have ridge vent but had gable vents on each side and soffits look like there is plywood under soffit so no air flow.

[mshell]

What do you do when you have no ventilation whatsoever? Inspector says it should be a ridge vent roof but there is no cutouts or openings in the roof at all to even install a ridge vent.

[optics]

What's your opinion of adding a ridge vent on a manufactured home? Contractor plugged all the box vent holes and cut the ridge for a box vent. You can see insulation but there is only a half inch gap. There's extra framing at the ridge so I'm skeptical that's enough.
Also is Gaf ridgerunner any good because it looks super cheap to me.
Thanks

[Garage]

I have 1300 square foot ranch with gable vents and ridge vent that was installed when roof was put on. Attic was always really hott. I decided to drill soffit vents and install baffles in every bay . For some reason now i can smell my attic( musty smell) in my living space when my central ac turns on . Any ideas ?

[addison]

I love your videos! I just had my shingled roof replaced down in here in TX. It’s a smaller 2 story home and had all flat vents until today. The contractor installed three new lomanco whirlybirds and my home is only 1700sqft. My attic always gets insanely hot during the summer. Do you think this would help, or do you think we installed too many whirlybirds?

[cameronjones]

Im framing a granny flat with a skillion roof (single pitch). What type of ventilation system would you reccomend? Thanks for the help

[ivyhillmxtraining]

Hi! What would be the proper method to vent an attic with no eaves/overhang?

[jfarm_]

Split level house built in early 70s so basically a ranch style roof. Gable vents only no soffit vents. Regardless of if someone wants to keep the gable vents or switch to ridge, soffit vents would need to be added, correct? How does a house with no soffit vents and gables only supposed to flow? There was a fan, but was removed previously. I’m guessing it pulled more conditioned air than removing heat. What’s the first step? Adding soffit vents? Thanks

[rodmartel]

In the winter our ridge vent gets covered with snow. What's the solution...is there any solution other than removing the snow or do we just live with it?