Types and Importance of Attic Ventilation

If you want your roof to have a long life, you need to take care of the ventilation. Although when vents placed at the base of the roof the eaves and the soffits) and near the top of the roof or the ridges allowing warm air to leave through the top while the cool air is drawn by the base. Here the ventilation takes place naturally without any need of electrical or mechanical fans. This makes it important that the vents placement follows particular guidelines.

Guidelines for vent placement – never insert the vents in the mid sections of the roof as such vents can disrupt the natural air circulation. It is best to distribute the vents in an even way along the roof ensuring steady airflow to all portions of the roof. To promote maximum airflow place about half of the vents near the ridge and the remaining half close to the eaves or soffits. One square foot of ventilation per 300 square feet of attic floor space is a must approximation depends on the climate, orientation, roof pitch, as well as the available attic vent space.

There are four different types of attic vents to ventilate the attic and help your roof live longer and are named depending on the place they are placed.

Soffit Vents – the finished under side of the eaves is called soffit and a vent at that place is called soffit vent. These vents are capable of providing the inlet and outlet of air and are most efficient when combined with ridge vent or roof vent.
Gable End Vents – as the name says these vents are located at the top of the gable area and on both ends of the house.
Ridge Vents - vents found all along the entire ridge of the roof are ridge vents and useful outlet for the hot air to escape when it rises to the upper attic area.
Roof Vents – the vents that are placed in the usual or motorized version on the roof are called roof vents. These vents are useful when set up toward the top of the roof.

When sufficient ventilation is not provided many grave problems arise causing attic condensation, mildew and mold formation, wood rot, and metal rusting. These problems can impinge on the soundness of the roof as well as the dependability of the house, apart from causing all sorts of health issues for the inmates. Improper ventilation also leads to one of the major roof problem called 'ice dam' that can be very damaging to the basic structure of the house as the water from the ice dam gains access into wall cavities. The dampened building materials raise the humidity inside wall frames and the moisture ultimately wets interior wall and exterior. Only by keeping the temperature of attic air below freezing, whiles the air temperature outside is low in twenties can help to lessen the formation of ice dams.

Therefore, by providing good attic ventilation by placing appropriate types of vents in the roofs you can facilitate warm air in the attic to be replaced by the cold outside air.