Roof Vents & Loft Ventilation Techniques - Why Vent an Attic

in this video I'm going to be looking at roof ventilation what it does and why you might need it quite often especially on older properties fitted before modern ventilation strategies I must buy the homeowners if they need ventilation fitting unfortunately it's not always a simple black-and-white answer let's take a quick look at what roof ventilation does to understand a little bit more first let's talk about the role of ventilation during the winter months warm moist air can build up in the roof space that has been generated from the rooms below potentially condensating on any cold surfaces in the Attic this damp and humid environment can lead to mold rot and damaged Timbers it can also stop insulation from working properly and I'll show you a little bit more on that later on in very cold and exposed areas a buildup of warm moist air inside the loft can under the right conditions creates ice dams in the guttering and at the bottom of a roof this happens when warm unventilated attic air melts any snow that's settled on your roof melt water then trickles down the bottom and refreezes in the cold outside air subsequent meltwater then runs down the roof hits the ice dam and trickles back onto the roof and into the property in hot weather though you may also feel the effects of a non ventilated roof heat from the Sun builds up inside the roof space throughout the day and it gradually gets hotter and hotter through a process known as solar gain not only can this trapped heat makes any bitumen under socking smell otherwise described in the UK often as a lofty smell it can also prematurely damage the bitumen under sacking or felt shingles if you have them but probably the worst effect that you will be familiar with is the buildup of heat inside the home as it radiates back into the rooms below particularly on hot humid nights when you're trying to get some sleep so what does roof ventilation do to solve these problems well there are a number of different ways to achieve this but the basic principle is always the same what you're looking to do is create a gentle movement of air inside the roof space ideally cool air is drawn in through low points in the roof usually the soffits the air then circulates in the roof space and is drawn out through high ventilation like rich vents or tile vents it can also be done with other forms of ventilation too however and you can read about these on the website with installation videos available for some of the easier fit dial wise solutions if you're interested so as we've seen roof ventilation not only caused a roof and therefore your house but it will also remove stale damp air in winter too and let's take a closer look at damp or moisture tin roof spaces now if we take any modern new build house as an example the chances are that thanks to current building regulation not only will the house be more airtight and well insulated but the roof space will be ventilated - on older properties though it's often a different story what you have to keep in mind is that these houses were built within the building regulations of the day and these were dictated by the products available to build with at the time and the way we lived in our houses also for instance worn or cavity insulation was mostly non-existent or quite poor glazing was also single glazed cold and drafty doors leaked air around them thanks to the lack of modern draught proofing and loft spaces and attics were either insulated with either 1 to 3 inches of insulation if you were lucky or none at all if you weren't oh and you may have had an open fireplace - to draw out the stale air what this all meant though is the house itself and your living environment had natural air circulation and any stale damp or humid air inside the home naturally ended up on the outside where it couldn't cause any problems internally the trouble really starts though because these lovely drafts also Maker's cold and cost of fortune to heat obviously we can't just bulldoze our homes and build a new one so we upgrade our old houses to a newer standard with wall insulation double glazing a masses of loft insulation oh and block off that drafty fireplace too now we're one hell of a lot warmer but there is just one small problem all of that moisture that we generate through day to day living that used to magically disappear through drafts and airflow is now trapped in the house with us this moisture will usually show itself as condensation inside the house often appearing on glazing or as the growth of black mold in various places around the home and if you suffer from any of these problems and want to know how to cut down or get rid of them I have a video available for that too at the end of the video or in the description bar inside the property we now have damp stale air and because heat and moisture rises in the home it will also be drawn upwards and into your loft space or attic where it can cause real problems household moisture will often pass through plasterboard ceilings small cracks all around loft patches and the chances are that unless you have a new roof with ventilation you may get a slight buildup of moisture in the loft space itself if you're looking the roof will have sufficient natural gaps and will be located in a windy location where no adverse problems will be felt on the other hand though it can lead to a buildup of humidity inside the roof space this can sometimes be seen as a buildup of moisture on the underneath of any under socking between the rafters as tiny or sporadic dew drops during the problem months on either bitumen base felt like these or on a dampening of breathable membrane like this or a growth of black mold on under socking boards like this sometimes though dampness may not be immediately visible and it could be trapped in the insulation slowly evaporating away and lowering the r-value or in other words making your insulation slightly damp and a lot less effective if you think you may have a ventilation problem I would always recommend calling in a competent roofing contractor to take a look and fit some form of ventilation strategy it may also be a sign of high moisture or humidity in the home and I'll make links to my video about reducing that problem available well as we've seen some form of gentle roof ventilation is always a good thing not only does it stop damp and mold but it helps to keep you cool too is it essential to install in all older roofs well maybe not but the next time you're scrambling around in the loft space for your suitcases or Christmas trimmings it might be worth having a quick look around with a torch if however you're interested in watching any of these videos on fitting DIY roof vents the links are also available here or in the description bar you can also visit my website which shows different forms of ventilation and has links to the video shown here well I hope this videos helped thanks for watching you

Channel: Fixmyroof

Views: 876,325

Rating: 4.7164121 out of 5

Keywords: ice dam prevention, ice dam solutions, ice damn, roof ventilation, roof vents, velntilating a roof, mold in the attic, mold in the roof, mould in the roof, damp roof, damp in the roof, damp in the loft, hot roof, hot attic summer, attic smell, loft smell, condensation in the loft, attic condensation, stop condensation, roof space condensation, loft ventilation, loft vents, how to ventilate a roof

Id: QEPzyrynU6Q

Length: 8min 19sec (499 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 21 2015