How To Vent An Attic Without Eaves

Normal vented air likes to enter the attic lower down near the bottom third of the attic and as it passes through it will exit higher up near the top third of the attic space.

How to vent an attic without eaves.

An important part of installing any system of ventilation into your roof system is to make sure that there is a point of entry and a point of exit for airflow. Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool air to enter the attic. Thankfully there are some ways around this dilemma. Now that i know the ins and outs of attics i wanted to share more about what i ve learned about venting your attic if you don t have eaves.

Attic ventilation keeps your house cooler in summer and it prevents moisture from building up in winter and ruining your roof framing and insulation. It s a classic post war ranch house built in the 50s to meet the needs of the soldiers returning from ww2 and the needs of their growing families. However if the home has no soffit it is quite a different matter. Venting solutions for roofs with no overhang or soffit.

The important thing to remember is the air must flow through the attic to the roof vents somewhere near the ridge of the roof. I live in a small square house. However if two or more different types of exhaust vents gable and ridge are used above a shared attic air space one exhaust vent will likely to interrupt air flow to the other. It begins with soffit vents that inhale outside air necessary to create an airflow that moves warm attic air out the roof vents.

When hot air rises up through the soffit venting it then keeps rising all the way up to the ridge vent. For an attic without soffit vents you may have the option to use gable vents instead. This creates a natural suction phenomenon where the ridge vent is sucking air out of the soffit vents creating a natural ventilation cycle. Typically you would have a gable vent on each end of the attic.

Install special roof intake venting products that work at the lower edge of the roof decking underneath the first course of shingles. In a properly designed and installed attic ventilation system air flow travels from intake vents to exhaust vents flushing out warm humid air along roof deck think underside of roof steel. The main idea of the ridge vent is to act together with soffit venting to properly ventilate the attic. With a soffit venting is not much of a challenge.

As a homeowner it is important that you review the soffit areas of the home for soffit vents. Hot air exhaust vents located at the peak of the roof allow hot air to escape.