How To Ventilate Your Attic

Moreover if you have asphalt shingles on the roof attic.

How to ventilate your attic.

Don t avoid ventilating your attic for fear you re letting cold air into the house. Just like properly sizing your furnace and air conditioning unit you want precisely the right amount of attic ventilation for your home. In the winter warm moist air seeps into the attic from the living space below. Attic fans are intended to cool hot attics by drawing in cooler outside air from attic vents soffit and gable and pushing hot air to the outside.

This means for every 150 square feet of attic floor space there should be 1 square foot of net free area. How attic ventilation works. That keeps your attic dry and reduces ice dams. If those steps don t solve the problem add more soffit vents following the.

Good ventilation allows the heat and moisture to escape. Begin by making sure your existing system works photos 1 and 3 plugging major air leaks into the attic photo 2 and correcting any other of the common causes of poor attic venting. In the summer good attic ventilation reduces heat buildup. Ventilation can be accomplished using various products and techniques.

If there are asphalt shingles on your roof the attic must be ventilated to comply with the terms of the manufacturer s warranty. Exhaust vents which are located near or on the ridge line of the roof and allow air to leave the attic. Of net free area for every 150 sq. Before we explore how to ventilate an attic space it is prudent to understand how much ventilation is needed.

Ventilation of attic spaces is required by most building codes as well as by roofing material manufacturers and the national roofing contractors association nrca. To avoid rotting wood clumping insulation and mold your attic needs to be properly ventilated. The code minimum for attic ventilation in the 2012 irc section r806 roof ventilation 1 is as follows. However if your attic has blocked soffit vents and is not well sealed from the rest of the house attic fans will suck cool conditioned air up out of the house and into the.

To properly ventilate an attic two types of vents are needed. Of attic floor space. Insufficient ventilation can lead to moisture problems during the winter and decreased energy efficiency during the summer but too much ventilation can be just as bad if not worse. Intake vents which are located at the down slope edge of the roof aka eaves and allow fresh air into the attic.

Your actual living space is sealed and insulated at the attic floor the attic is outside this envelope. Here are four signs of an unventilated or under. If you have either ice dams or moisture buildup improve your attic ventilation. How to check attic ventilation.