Blocking Attic Vents In Winter

Vent these fans through the roof or soffit.

Blocking attic vents in winter.

Blocked soffit vents invites attic or roof cavity moisture condensation mold. If the gable vents aren t letting in rain or snow leave them alone. Roof ventilation is a complex topic particularly for cathedral ceilings where there is no attic between the living space and the roof. The majority of roofing experts agree that ridge vents are the most effective and cost effective roof vents available.

Take for example ridge vents. If the attic is insulated with fiberglass batts just pull back any that are blocking the flow of air. Trim the last vent to length using aviation snips. Your attic vents perform another job than just releasing excess heat during the summer.

Kitchen and bath fans vented into the attic. Attic vent fans pull the cool air from outside into the attic to chill the air during the summer months and aide in the cooling of the home. While hardly anybody agrees on the best roof ventilation system everybody agrees some roof vents do hardly any good at all. Roof ridge vents do work well when there are soffit vents or box vents that help to draw air into the attic.

Install rectangular roof vents on both sides of the roof. I have roof vents so i have roof ventilation. The photograph at page top shows an attic whose intake venting is blocked by fiberglass insulation. Adding a ridge vent is a fine idea and don t worry about it competing with the gable vents.

In the winter the vents will cause the attic to become cold but this should not damage your home or increase the energy use of your home so covering the roof vents is not necessary. During cold winter months the attic vent fan is not. You will also discover that this product can work by itself to release moisture from the house which is especially useful during the winter months. Hot air exhaust vents located at the peak of the roof allow hot air to escape.

They also release excess moisture from your attic during the winter. Taking advantage of this natural process referred to as passive ventilation is the most common way to vent an. The soffit vents are now installed but you still need to make sure there s no insulation blocking the new vents. The photograph at left shows severe mold on the underside of roof sheathing in a 1920 s cape cod attic where there was no under roof ventilation.

Believe it or not the cold temperatures outside combined with the warm air down below mean that there can be an excessive amount of moisture building up in your attic during the cold. Rectangular roof vents work best when the wind blows over the top of them rather than into them. Step 6 remove any insulation from the new vent photo by merle henkenius.