Proper roof ventilation – crucial to maintaining your home.

As a homeowner, you want to protect your home and a great way to do this is to ensure proper roof ventilation

Roof ventilation is a method of using intake and exhaust vents to provide a way for air to circulate and to keep the ambient temperature in the house comfortable. Without proper roof ventilation, hot air will get trapped in your home, causing a variety of problems. 

What’s the best way to improve the roof ventilation?

Natural Ventilation – Hot air within a house rises and creates pressure in the attic. If this higher pressure air is allowed to escape, it will automatically be replaced by cooler, lower pressure air. Natural air flow to provide proper roof ventilation and keep the inside of the home ventilated can also be achieved through doors, windows and other gaps

Mechanical Ventilation – In some homes, it might be necessary to use a system of mechanical vents. This type of ventilation requires a power source to provide air flow. Mechanical roofing ventilation options are necessary if the wind isn’t enough or the design of the roof doesn’t allow much ventilation. 

Why is it important to have proper ventilation? 

Improving your ventilation will keep your roof and all of your home in prime condition. Without proper ventilation, warm air will become trapped in your home and can cause issues that need costly repairs. 

• Hot air trapped in your home during the summer can make it difficult to keep your home cool.

• Trapped hot air causes problems like mold, mildew or ice dams in the winter. 

Signs of poor roof ventilation

 Ice dams – These occur when there’s a lot of snow piled up on your roof. You will notice ice dams forming along the roof, this is a problem with the ventilation. Ice dams occur when the roof is heating up, the snow is melting and the water is freezing when it reaches the gutter. This can lead to more serious problems. 

Your air conditioning breaks down. A lot of people don’t realize the connection of the condition of the air conditioning with the health of their roof.  But if you don’t have the proper roof ventilation in place, you can be making your air conditioner work too hard. 

On hot days in the summer, when all the hot air is trapped inside, your air conditioning is working overtime to keep the house cool. This puts more pressure on your HVAC system and can shorten the lifespan of your HVAC. If your conditioning has broken down more than once this is probably one of the reasons. 

Hot or cold areas in the house – Have you ever noticed an increase in temperature when you go up the stairs, or from room to room?  This is another indicator of poor roof ventilation. Hot or cold areas in your home are an indication that the roof ventilation isn’t working. Roof leaks can also occur causing mold and mildew. If you ignore proper roof ventilation, it can lead to problems later like water damage during a storm and can lead to mildew and other problems.

Unwanted pests  –  Some roof insulation problems can lead to damage to the exterior of your home, like with the roof, gutters or siding. This damage can allow insects or animals (squirrels or other rodents) to scratch their way indoors and can be indicators of an issue with the roof. 

How to improve roofing ventilation? 

There are numerous ways to do this. Please contact A-Plus Home Repair to go over to the ventilation of your home and find solutions