Venting A Home With No Attic

Proper ventilation of the roof and attic of a home achieves several important functions.

Venting a home with no attic.

This creates a natural air flow by drawing in the air from outside pushing it up and out through the vent at the top of the house. With a soffit venting is not much of a challenge. This is called passive ventilation. If there are asphalt shingles on your roof the attic must be ventilated to comply with the terms of the manufacturer s warranty.

If the area is insulated without a vapor barrier the requirement doubles. Thankfully there are some ways around this dilemma. Venting solutions for roofs with no overhang or soffit install special roof intake venting products that work at the lower edge of the roof decking underneath the first course of shingles. When the attic becomes part of the home to be heated and cooled open wall gable vents and roof vents are no longer feasible but the underside of the roof the sheathing and rafters can still get.

Attic ventilation keeps your house cooler in summer and it prevents moisture from building up in winter and ruining your roof framing and insulation. Your actual living space is sealed and insulated at the attic floor the attic is outside this envelope. It makes the attic space cooler it makes the home more energy efficient. Without exception you should talk to a professional to determine what your home requires.

Don t avoid ventilating your attic for fear you re letting cold air into the house. Normal vented air likes to enter the attic lower down near the bottom third of the attic and as it passes through it will exit higher up near the top third of the attic space. Generally speaking you need a ratio of 1 300 where for every 300 square feet of ceiling space you need 1 square foot of attic 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.

If you have an older home that has no soffits eaves or roof overhangs then there are a few different options to add venting to your attic. That said air resistance and interference such as vent grates reduces the area of true ventilation. Inadequate attic venting can lead to premature aging of. If you have an attic with no soffit vents but 2 unobstructed gable vents then you will probably be ok on ventilation.

Smart vent a special roof eaves vent product that provides a 3 4 opening about 6 above the top of the roof drip edge. Many years ago home builders were simply unaware of the importance of attic ventilation this is why some older homes don t even have soffits.