Thursday, April 21, 2016

Why Roof Ventilation Is Important

By Dorothy Patterson


In order to make sure that there is a consistent flow of cool and dry air through your roof, one has to create a system that provides a way for air to come in and go out without any of it being trapped. This means that intake and exhaust have to function well. Roof ventilation is therefore important to prevent damages and aging due to moisture trapped during winters and too much heat in the summer.

Roof types that have attics are most affected when good flow of air in and out is not allowed for. Maintaining good balance between intake and exhaust is very important for them. To take maximum advantage of natural convection, intake vents should be placed at points lower than those of exhaust ones. All these functioning as they should, an individual can comfortably expect good and efficient air flow.

The interior of intake air way should never be blocked by insulation. These air ways should also have designs that prevent precipitation, and insects and animals from entering ventilation space. There are a number of intake vents but the most liked ones are the drip edge, continuous and individual soffits.

Examples of common exhaust vents include ridge, static, gable-end, turbine and powered ones, depending on the type of roof. There are set regulations on how and when to use these different types of exhaust air passages which should be adhered to, to avoid harm or suffering loss. For instance, use of powered ventilation in combination with a static one is not allowed as it can cause moisture infiltration.

Persons in U. S. A are required to know when and why they need to ventilate their roofs. The most common reason happens to be climate change. Ventilation done in cold weather times are done with intentions to create way for moisture leaving the house and stop ice dams from forming. Doing this in hot weather conditions shows need of letting go of hot air and preventing strain on air-conditioners.

During summers, unwanted heat gets transferred into the living rooms of homes with poorly ventilated roofs. The heat gets very uncomfortable and might even affect the levels of energy of people in such homes. It is also possible for the undesired heat buildup to cause cracking of woods as well as premature aging of other roofing materials.

Cold periods in U. S. A also come with problems associated with poor system of allowing exchange of air on the roof. These would include formation of ice dams and moisture buildup as we have seen. This moisture causes dry wall damage and peeling of paint as well as rotting and mildew. It eventually leads to an unattractive house.

If a person ventilates their roof using non-recommended ways, they may suffer more danger than even lacking vents. Learning of the recommended processes is therefore vital. Guidelines set by association of builders in the nation as well as the government are supposed to be followed. Holes punching your ceiling so as to ventilate is not wise as one is creating a chance for collection of ice dams or having humidity issues in winter and summer respectively.




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