Soffit Vent Attic Ventilation Remedies

Beyond the decreased capacity for insulation when venting the roof deck venting the roof deck or the attic has some other drawbacks worth considering.

Soffit vent attic ventilation remedies.

Soffit ventilation is required to replace all the air that s exhausted. Just like properly sizing your furnace and air conditioning unit you want precisely the right amount of attic. If your attic is well insulated the insulation might be plugging the spaces between rafters just above exterior walls. Roof vents are for warmer climates.

A soffit vent is simply a vent installed into the underside of your home s eaves called the soffit that permits fresh outside air to be drawn up into the attic. In cold climates snow can enter the soffit and ridge vents melt and potentially cause rot. Powered attic ventilators pavs use electricity to spin a fan blade. The standard intake vent for attics is a soffit vent also sometimes referred to as an eave vent and it allows for air to enter the attic down low near the eaves.

Attic ventilation myths that are off the charts. Baffles are available at home centers. Install air chutes in each rafter space to keep the air path clear between the rafters and the roof sheathing. The remedy to acute attic temperatures and humidity is increased ventilation.

Rafter vents or insulation baffles install in any rafter space to create narrow gaps that direct fresh air from the soffit vents to the peak of the roof. More attic ventilation is good. Turbine vents that spin for free in the wind suck lots of air out of an attic. Passive ventilation most homes are designed with passive attic ventilation that uses vent openings at the soffits.

That means air can t flow from the soffit vents to the roof vents. Intake air is critical to maintaining a proper flow of air throughout the attic space. The answer is rafter venting. To be sure your roof is getting enough ventilation there are simple calculations that you can follow.

Almost all homes are fitted with some kind of roof vents at the peak of the roofline be it individual roof vents hip roof ventilation and many homes have gable vents as well. Coat your arms face and neck with talcum powder to reduce the itching from insulation staple the chutes in place. Air enters low and then escapes out of the attic higher up near the peak of the roof usually via a ridge vent an attic fan which we do not recommend static roof vents or a high mounted gable vent fan. 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.

The solution is to add baffles which allow air to flow past the insulation photo 9.