An ‘attic’ for our purposes is an open space directly beneath the pitched roof of a building. This ‘loft’ may also go by the name of a ‘garret’ depending on where we live. Attics may be difficult spaces to use for practical purposes, because of the arrangement of their rafters. For this reason they often remain empty, except for attic vents at gable ends or along ridges.
Attic Vents Help Manage Temperatures Beneath
Attics contain volumes of warm, slowly-moving air that rises from the living space below. Ceiling installers do their best to prevent this heat transfer, but some warm air does inevitably find a way through. Folk living in warmer climates do everything they can to encourage this air flow, even to the extent of putting vents in their ceilings.
Back to the Northern Hemisphere and Attic Vents
We strongly recommend putting vents in empty attics in Calgary, to avoid the uncontrolled accumulation of heat and moisture there. That’s because this warm, damp air could otherwise encourage mold, decay wood rafters, and damage the framework of joists supporting ceilings.
Attic vents are the most cost-effective way to expel warm air from beneath a roof. This in turn prevents ice dams forming when snow-melt reaches the colder surface above the soffits. However, it is usually necessary to add ceiling insulation as well, to prevent any warm air escaping from the living space below.
The Best Places to Vent an Attic of Warm Air
Ideally we want to install attic vents without disturbing the roof surface at all. That’s why builders install them in gable ends wherever they can. These are often at opposite ends of a roof, where they deliver air flow without disturbing the roof structure at all.
However – and here’s the catch with using gable-ends – this arrangement may actually short-circuit the airflow, and not vent the roof-space adequately. In this case it may become necessary to install vents along the length of roof ridges.
If there are no gable-ends, as is the case with hip roofs for example, the best solution is often installing top vents along the length of the roof ridge. These draw warm, moist air as it rises into the roof space, and vent it efficiently from a broader catchment area.
The Best Solution is Often a Compromise
Attic-venting specialists are often tempted to offer their products as the ideal solution. Hence, a jobbing builder may suggest venting gable-ends because this is easier for them to do, although this may not be the ideal solution.
A roof-ridge-venting specialist, on the other hand, might present this as the perfect solution. Valiant Exteriors have the resources to tackle either option, or a combination of the two, and complete the job properly and tidy up afterwards.
More Information
Attic Ventilation Must Be Comprehensive