How To Vent An Old Attic

If those steps don t solve the problem add more soffit vents following the techniques we show in photos 4 17.

How to vent an old attic. Draw an outline for it on the soffit and cut the hole with a reciprocating saw. Hot air exhaust vents located at the peak of the roof allow hot air to escape. Most building codes require a ratio of 1 150 ventilation space to attic floor space. In of vent opening per 150 sq.

Then aim for about 1 sq. Install a soffit vent by working outside the house. If you don t currently have gable vents then it would be a good idea to install this vent. It must also circulate.

For proper ventilation it isn t enough for air to simply get into your attic. For this reason the square footage of vent space at the base of the roof and at the peak. A 30 x 40 ft. The building code lets you reduce that by half under some conditions but more roof ventilation is usually better.

First determine your attic area by multiplying the length by the width. Attic for example has an area of 1 200 sq. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool air to enter the attic. 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.

That said air resistance and interference such as vent grates reduces the area of true ventilation. Next bore a 3 4 or 1 in dia. Fit the vent in the hole and nail it to the soffit with. Ventilation of attic spaces is required by most building codes as well as by roofing material manufacturers and the national roofing contractors association nrca.

You can also contact your local municipality to check on building code in your area. Hole through the soffit right between the lines and measure the thickness of the soffit panel probably 1 4 or 3 8 in. The idea is that wind goes into one gable vent and then pushes the air out of the attic and through the secondary gable vent on the other side of the attic. Then set your circular saw to that depth and cut along the chalk lines.