Improving Attic Ventilation Without Soffits

Even without soffit venting it is important to provide an air gap at the soffit level to help keep the roof deck dry.

Improving attic ventilation without soffits. The building code lets you reduce that by half under some conditions but more roof ventilation is usually better. One common problem is caused by ice buildup along the edges of a roof. They differ from whole house fans which are attic installed fans intended to cool the entire home rather than simply maintain proper attic temperature. Authoritative expert building diagnostic and repair advice toxic black mold and.

Step 5 attach the vent to the soffit photo by merle henkenius. Next lay the strip vent down on a flat wood surface such as a plywood sheet or long 2 x 4 and drill 1 8 in dia. The total venting space should equal 1 150 of the floor. A passive ventilation system should have air inlets at the base of the roof usually in the soffits and outlets in the peak or gables.

For more information on ventilation and moisture control read this article i wrote on proper attic ventilation it s my position that you should have a proper ventilation system in your attic and that you should always take the time to air seal the floor of the attic. With old homes it can be very difficult to properly ventilate the attic for a variety of reasons. With the help of an assistant raise the vent up to the soffit and center it over the cutout slot. If not measure the size yourself.

If i had an older home without soffits i would strongly consider just completely air sealing the attic and adding foam insulation totally removing the need for ventilation. The most common way to add ventilation to an attic is by installing air intakes in the soffits and putting an outlet at the gable of the house. Without proper airflow warm air can be trapped within the attic and cause ice dams to form along the roof line as snow and ice on the roof is melted from the warm air and then refreezes on the colder roof edge. Roof vents will provide about half of the vent area and soffit vents the other half.

The use of vented soffits along with non vented soffits helps prevent ice dams from forming along your roofline. These ice dams form when warm attic air melts the snow on the roof and the water refreezes along the colder edge of the roof. Before you go out and start poking holes in your roof and soffits check to see if you have the type of problem that attic ventilation can solve. Attic ventilation fans are a type of attic fan that cools attics by pushing hot air outside while pulling in cooler air from soffit and gable vents.

Screw holes through both flanges. Space the holes 12 to 14 in.