Your roof ventilation probably isn’t something you think about very often, but it plays an important role in many aspects of day-to-day life in your home. Having the right amount of ventilation in your attic can have a positive effect on the lifespan of your roof system, the comfort and well-being of your family, your future costs for home repairs and how much you pay for heating and cooling. Ensuring proper roof ventilation is an important part in performing preventative maintenance of your roofing system.
How Attic Ventilation Works
Effective ventilation in an unfinished attic usually includes intake vents down low along the soffits, and exhaust vents up high at the peak or roof ridge. This allows for a continuous flow of air through the space. Cooler outdoor air gets drawn in through the soffit vents, and warm, humid air that migrates to the highest point exits through the vents along the roof ridge.
Why Adequate Roof Ventilation is Important
Proper ventilation in your attic helps reduce excess heat and moisture that could otherwise wreak havoc on your home. Heat and moisture buildup in an attic can cause different problems depending on the time of year.
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- When it’s hot outside, the warmth of the sun on your roof can increase the temperature inside the attic. Prolonged exposure to hotter temperatures can warp your roof sheathing and prematurely age the singles on your roof. If the attic floor isn’t properly insulated, that heat can radiate down into the living area of your home and make it uncomfortably hot.
- In locales like ours where the temperature can drop below freezing in the winter, warm air can escape through your attic, making it colder inside your home and causing any snow on your roof to melt from underneath. This moisture can then refreeze overnight, eventually creating an ice dam that prevents proper drainage and causing water to seep through your shingles and into your home.
- Humidity from either outside and inside can condense into liquid water when it enters your attic. Over time, that moisture can cause a number of problems for your roof – including mold, rot and structural weakening, potentially costing you thousands.
If you have any concerns about the ventilation in your roof, it’s best to call in the experts at RoofPro who will examine it closely and provide you with clarity. If there are insufficient ventilation or any other issues, our roofing experts will provide you with solutions catered to the unique needs of you, your family and your home.
Contact us today at 250-248-3400 or at info@theroofpro.ca today for more details on how our team of roofing experts can help with all of your roofing needs across all of central Vancouver Island as well as Tofino and Ucluelet.