Ventilation For Your Roof In Toledo. What Is Best To Use, And How Much Should You Install? All While You Might Be Debating Between Repair And Replace For Your Project.
- Amazon Roofing
- Mar 22
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 29
Of all the topics you could file under "ask 10 different contractors, get 10 different answers", roofing ventilation may very well be the biggest example. With that being established, always remember to take our recommendations as an option, and not an absolute requirement for you to achieve the results you desire.
For many years now, roof ventilation has become a topic that continues to draw a lot of differing opinions, up to and including no ventilation at all. Much of the logic attached to that view is energy efficiency. While energy efficiency is a great goal that we fully support, sacrificing air flow in your home is not something we would advise. Proper ventilation for your roofing system should be an absolute must to assure longevity and protect your home from interior damage that could occur over the years to come.
With so many options available with ventilation, we're going to start off with the option that we least recommend, Ridge Vent.
Ridge Vent is designed so that air travels into your soffits / overhangs, along your rafters, and escapes at the ridge of your roof. See illustration below.
The problem with much of this is, many homes do not have any overhangs at all, while some homes have smaller overhangs, and finally, even if proper overhangs do exist, you will often find that they do not have any / or enough perforation to allow air entry. In order to compensate for this, you would now need to install an "air intake system" which is a product similar to ridge vent, but gets installed near the gutter line area of your roof. This is a lot of investment for ventilation, for questionable results, especially considering the other options that are much more productive, with far less investment required.
***NOTE*** THERE IS ONE EXCEPTION! If the structure has cathedral ceilings, with no attic space, whatsoever, ridge vent may now become the best option. If there is even a 2 foot attic space towards the top of your dwelling, any of the other options available, would then be advised.
Louver / Pancake Style Vents.
Here in the Toledo OH area, this is one of the most commonly found ventilation systems you'll find on residential roofs. The design is simplistic, but effective. Low profile with different colors to help blend in with your roof. Ideally placed in areas that are least visible when looking upon your home from a street view. Opinions vary on how many vents one should install, but we recommend 1 vent for every 400 sq. ft. of roofing space. If you're not certain on the number of vents you should have installed, we'd recommend getting more vents, rather than less, to assure the ventilation you need.
Turbine Vents aka Whirlybird Vents.
This ventilation option still remains vastly underrated for residential roofing installs. This may be due to it's size and assumption that it's exclusive to commercial roofing needs. Which is a shame, since it's highly effective. Even with the slightest wind, the turbine will spin, and actually draw the air out of your attic space, promoting a consistent air flow within your attic.
Gable Vents.
A truly oldie, but a goodie. While this approach could be more considered a siding approach, rather than roofing, there's no denying it's effectiveness. If the structures design is accommodating, this is true air flow, where wind enters 1 gable vent and exits the gable vent on the other side. Having gable vents on your home is certainly a good thing, the only possible downside is wildlife that uses your gable vents as entry to your home, so be sure to inspect your gable vents periodically, to assure the only thing that penetrates it is wind.
As always, we hope our information shared, helps you in deciding on your upcoming roofing needs. Whether your roof is needing a repair and / or replace in the Toledo
Thank you, Amazon Roofing - Toledo Ohio
Kommentare