Attic Ventilation Requirements and Benefits

If heat and moisture aren't removed from your home by proper ventilation, serious damage can occur, plus you will be paying higher utility bills. Less than 10% of existing homes are properly ventilated based on industry statistics.

Heat
Unventilated attics often are 140 to 150 degrees in the summer. Hot air travels down into your living space. It's hot and your air conditioner is working overtime because heat is trapped in your attic. This damages shingles and any items stored in the attic.

Moisture
In cold weather, proper ventilation helps prevent moisture from condensing on the insulation, rafters, and roof deck. If moisture creeps into you attic and gets trapped; then you're in for trouble. Trapped moisture can mean soaked insulation, and wet insulation does not work. Trapped moisture works down through walls and causes paint to bubble, crack and peel. Heat and moisture damage can rob years of useful life from the roof over your head.

Rain & Snow
If you have rain or snow coming into your attic during storms, the most likely event causing this is, improper attic ventilation. There is not enough air being pulled through your attic vents and during the storm a reverse effect is happening and the rain and snow are being pulled in instead of being pushed out.

Shingle Warranty
When ventilation is not adequate, shingles deteriorates twice as fast as shingles over well ventilated air spaces. With this in mind, shingle manufacturers void their warranties if their shingles are installed over improperly ventilated attics.

Rules for proper ventilation

1. A good rule of thumb is that you should have one square foot of ventilation for every 300 square feet of attic space. There are many different kinds of vents: stationary vents, whirlybirds and power vents are the most popular. Each vent type can handle a certain amount of air. So the number of exhaust vents depends on the type you purchase.
2. One-half of the vent area should be intake, and the other half should be exhaust.

Good air in and bad air out! That's the way proper ventilation works and that's the only way to get rid of heat and moisture! So protect your investment and contact us for all of your ventilation needs.

Please call (816) 935-2066 or visit our contact page to find out how Ambassador Roofing can help.