[slyfink]

Hi all,

I'm having my roof redone, and in seeking quotes, we had one contractor say we'd be better off getting "ridge ventilation" over the more common "tall ventilator" vents that are on neighbouring units. (like this

). That contractor said those types of vents would suck too much air out of our roof, including the air we have heated/cooled. Ultimately, we're not going with that guy, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a point.

But I really don't know, and I imagine I can ask the roofer we're going with about it. But since I know jack shit about this, I also don't want to cause an unnecessary delay in booking him because our roof is in really (really) bad shape. We really should have done this last year.

FWIW, we have "semi-cathedral" ceilings, in that the ceilings are really high (+/- 16' at the peak), and the attic is probably no more than 2' "thick".

Any thoughts or comments on attic venting are welcome...

 

[sunringlerider]

I have a ridge vent and two functioning cupolas. We have a huge attic and with the amount of insulation up there I am not concerned with excessive heat loss and more concerned with condensation due to our relative high humidity.

With such a small attic I would think you would get away with a ridge vent

 

[Westy]

Hi all,

I'm having my roof redone, and in seeking quotes, we had one contractor say we'd be better off getting "ridge ventilation" over the more common "tall ventilator" vents that are on neighbouring units. (like this View attachment 176578). That contractor said those types of vents would suck too much air out of our roof, including the air we have heated/cooled. Ultimately, we're not going with that guy, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a point.

But I really don't know, and I imagine I can ask the roofer we're going with about it. But since I know jack shit about this, I also don't want to cause an unnecessary delay in booking him because our roof is in really (really) bad shape. We really should have done this last year.

FWIW, we have "semi-cathedral" ceilings, in that the ceilings are really high (+/- 16' at the peak), and the attic is probably no more than 2' "thick".

Any thoughts or comments on attic venting are welcome...

Venting requirements where you live may be very different from most people here, hopefully @Jozz can add his $0.02 I beleive he has the technical and climate background you seek.

 

[Westy]

I have a ridge vent and two functioning cupolas. We have a huge attic and with the amount of insulation up there I am not concerned with excessive heat loss and more concerned with condensation due to our relative high humidity.

With such a small attic I would think you would get away with a ridge vent

Vents let the air out, you still need a pathway for fresh air to get in.

 

[boostindoubles]

If your insulation is in the ceiling between your house and roof (like blown in) the attic space should not have conditioned air. Heating/cooling un-used attic space is a terrible waste of energy.

 

[sunringlerider]

Vents let the air out, you still need a pathway for fresh air to get in.

Yes forgot to mention the louvered vents on the attic walls on either end

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Just a thought, but should you really take HVAC advice from a roofer ?

 

[boogenman]

Where do you live?

 

[WestCoastHucker]

architect by trade here, FWIW, if the air in your roof/attic is being heated/cooled by your ac or heater, you're doing it very very wrong. all airflow thru the attic should be just natural air. 1 square foot of venting for every 150 square feet of roof space...

 

[jonKranked]

architect by trade here,

show us your portfolio of bong sheds

 

[WestCoastHucker]

show us your portfolio of bong sheds

these of course are spec homes. projects that my clients that actually live in are not shown out of respect for their privacy.

25210 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302 | Zillow

Zestimate® Home Value: $9,500,000. 25210 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA is a single family home that contains 11,748 sq ft and was built in 2019. It contains 6 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. The Zestimate for this house is $14,006,800, which has decreased by $164,768 in the last 30 days. The...

www.zillow.com

25211 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302 | Zillow

Recently sold: $10,768,888. Sited at the end of the cul-de-sac in the exclusive Ashley Ridge enclave of guard gated Hidden Hills, this magnificent new build sits on 4+ acres of land. With exquisite finishes and complete with 7 Bd, 9 bathrooms, the home combines a refined aesthetic w/the...

www.zillow.com

2333 Mandeville Canyon Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90049 | Zillow

Zestimate® Home Value: $10,400,000. 2333 Mandeville Canyon Rd, Los Angeles, CA is a single family home that contains 10,600 sq ft and was built in 2019. It contains 6 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. The Zestimate for this house is $13,647,700, which has increased by $157,048 in the last 30 days...

www.zillow.com

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/24220-Long-Valley-Rd-Hidden-Hills-CA-91302/19882832_zpid/

 

[sunringlerider]

these of course are spec homes. projects that my clients that actually live in are not shown out of respect for their privacy.

25210 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302 | Zillow

Zestimate® Home Value: $9,500,000. 25210 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA is a single family home that contains 11,748 sq ft and was built in 2019. It contains 6 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. The Zestimate for this house is $14,006,800, which has decreased by $164,768 in the last 30 days. The...

www.zillow.com

25211 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302 | Zillow

Recently sold: $10,768,888. Sited at the end of the cul-de-sac in the exclusive Ashley Ridge enclave of guard gated Hidden Hills, this magnificent new build sits on 4+ acres of land. With exquisite finishes and complete with 7 Bd, 9 bathrooms, the home combines a refined aesthetic w/the...

www.zillow.com

2333 Mandeville Canyon Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90049 | Zillow

Zestimate® Home Value: $10,400,000. 2333 Mandeville Canyon Rd, Los Angeles, CA is a single family home that contains 10,600 sq ft and was built in 2019. It contains 6 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. The Zestimate for this house is $13,647,700, which has increased by $157,048 in the last 30 days...

www.zillow.com

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/24220-Long-Valley-Rd-Hidden-Hills-CA-91302/19882832_zpid/

Those are cool, but do they have a bong shed in the back yard?

 

[Westy]

Those are cool, but do they have a bong shed in the back yard?

Bong sheds are for the poors. Those have coke dens.

 

[jdcamb]

I thought this would be a pretty straightforward thing. It is not. I got varying answers from 3 sources of reliable info or so I thought.

 

[rideit]

Just a thought, but should you really take HVAC advice from a roofer ?

I think he just came here to vent.

 

[buckoW]

these of course are spec homes. projects that my clients that actually live in are not shown out of respect for their privacy.

25210 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302 | Zillow

Zestimate® Home Value: $9,500,000. 25210 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA is a single family home that contains 11,748 sq ft and was built in 2019. It contains 6 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. The Zestimate for this house is $14,006,800, which has decreased by $164,768 in the last 30 days. The...

www.zillow.com

25211 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302 | Zillow

Recently sold: $10,768,888. Sited at the end of the cul-de-sac in the exclusive Ashley Ridge enclave of guard gated Hidden Hills, this magnificent new build sits on 4+ acres of land. With exquisite finishes and complete with 7 Bd, 9 bathrooms, the home combines a refined aesthetic w/the...

www.zillow.com

2333 Mandeville Canyon Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90049 | Zillow

Zestimate® Home Value: $10,400,000. 2333 Mandeville Canyon Rd, Los Angeles, CA is a single family home that contains 10,600 sq ft and was built in 2019. It contains 6 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. The Zestimate for this house is $13,647,700, which has increased by $157,048 in the last 30 days...

www.zillow.com

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/24220-Long-Valley-Rd-Hidden-Hills-CA-91302/19882832_zpid/

Dang! Nice work man.

 

[slyfink]

Vents let the air out, you still need a pathway for fresh air to get in.

architect by trade here, FWIW, if the air in your roof/attic is being heated/cooled by your ac or heater, you're doing it very very wrong. all airflow thru the attic should be just natural air. 1 square foot of venting for every 150 square feet of roof space...

Yes forgot to mention the louvered vents on the attic walls on either end

yes, forgot to mention I definitely have soffit vents as well, so I'm going to assume there is proper, sufficient air flow between the attic and roof...

Where do you live?

Ottawa, Canada. So very similar climate to @Jozz : cold in winter, hot and humid in summer.

these of course are spec homes. projects that my clients that actually live in are not shown out of respect for their privacy.

25210 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302 | Zillow

Zestimate® Home Value: $9,500,000. 25210 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA is a single family home that contains 11,748 sq ft and was built in 2019. It contains 6 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. The Zestimate for this house is $14,006,800, which has decreased by $164,768 in the last 30 days. The...

www.zillow.com

25211 Jim Bridger Rd, Hidden Hills, CA 91302 | Zillow

Recently sold: $10,768,888. Sited at the end of the cul-de-sac in the exclusive Ashley Ridge enclave of guard gated Hidden Hills, this magnificent new build sits on 4+ acres of land. With exquisite finishes and complete with 7 Bd, 9 bathrooms, the home combines a refined aesthetic w/the...

www.zillow.com

2333 Mandeville Canyon Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90049 | Zillow

Zestimate® Home Value: $10,400,000. 2333 Mandeville Canyon Rd, Los Angeles, CA is a single family home that contains 10,600 sq ft and was built in 2019. It contains 6 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. The Zestimate for this house is $13,647,700, which has increased by $157,048 in the last 30 days...

www.zillow.com

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/24220-Long-Valley-Rd-Hidden-Hills-CA-91302/19882832_zpid/

dang... very very nice... certainly not within my financial reach, but very nice indeed!

thanks all for your feedback... this helps with perspective

 

[boogenman]

Here in Boofalo, NY we have the same climate with the exception of more snow and maybe a touch warmer in the winter. Pretty much all homes just have a ridge vent for top of the roof ventilation.

 

[jimmydean]

When we had our roof redone they installed a solar vent fan that I think is more gimmick but it's a cool idea.

 

[Sandwich]

I've been looking into this a bit as I have what I think is insufficient attic ventilation, causing ice dams in the winter and some condensation/mold issues.

Anyways, my understanding is there is no such thing as too much ventilation, just too little. The only way to have too much is via a powered vent/fan, which can draw conditioned air out of your living space, or to have poor airflow by means of poorly designed ventilation.

We have ridge vents, chimney vents (like what you showed), gable vents, but very few soffit vents, and I think that's the problem. The gable vents ruin the airflow from the soffits and out the ridges. Should be an easy fix, but just haven't gotten there yet.

 

[vivisectxi]

balancing intake & exhaust is key. mixing up vent types can be problematic as well (ie, if you don't have enough soffit ventilation, the gables and/or roof vents could be acting as intakes to feed the ridge so you're not getting enough draw at the soffit, which may lead to the problems described).

sly - if you've got a (at least partially) vaulted roof, i'd be using a continuous ridge vent. looks better as well (no ugly vents peppering the roof).

 

[Poops McDougal]

Another Architect here, although I don't work on residential, or even wood structures very often; so take this with a grain of salt. One of the potential downsides to continuous ridge venting in a climate like yours is the vents becoming blocked by snow during the winter. Attic ventilation is critical during winter, as well. The taller vents that your neighboring houses have help prevent that problem.

 

[Jozz]

Ridge vents with two foot of snow might not vent well. Choosing the right amount of venting needed is affected by insulation thickness and air tightness of your envelope. Venting is needed for condensation. If you have a tight envelope and loads of insulation like R60, venting is not critical. But if you have basic insulation and punctured envelope, then more heat loss will generate more condensation. There are many models of maximum vents. Some are pulling less air.