Many things you do daily at home generates moisture, such as cooking, showering and doing your laundry. This water vapor rises to your attic, where it either escapes or builds up. Without sufficient ventilation, your home is at risk of problems like mold, mildew and excess humidity.
To help prevent this situation, a trusted residential and commercial attic ventilation company shares some of the best attic ventilation best practices.
Best Practices on Attic Ventilation
The code requires the ratio of attic ventilation to be at one square foot of net-free ventilation for every 150 to 300 square feet of attic place. This ratio goes down to 1:150 if there is no vapor barrier installed. Still, this requirement depends on your location, so it’s best to consult your local codes when designing your attic ventilation. At Deschutes Roofing & Insulation, we go by the 1:300 rule to make sure your space has sufficient ventilation and to have you avoid moisture-related problems.
Popular Ventilation Design
Among the most known designs in residential roofing systems is the soffit-to-ridge design. It’s not only efficient but also cost-effective for both new-builds and retrofits. This design involves installing louvered vents along the length of the soffits and continuous vents along the roof ridge.
The soffit-ridge design lets air move effortlessly from the soffit to the eave and through the entire roofing system without hot or cold spots. It creates a passive chimney effect in raised heel truss roof installations. However, to achieve this, the vents must be of the right size, or else the air pressure at the top of the roof will keep air from below from ventilating properly.
Are you thinking of adding installation or getting a new metal roofing system? Choose a reliable attic ventilation contractor for your project like Deschutes Roofing & Insulation. Call us in Bend: (541) 241-5720, Portland: (503) 967-9590, Eugene: (541) 246-6860, Lake Oswego: (503) 468-7663, or Beaverton: (503) 928-8750. You can also fill out our contact form to get a free estimate.
