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How many air vents should I have in my roof?

chouinardbros.com - How Many Roof Vents Do I Need? - Home Care Tips - Chouinard Bros

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Ever wonder how many roof vents you need? Chouinard Bros. has the answer for you in today's blog posts The simple answer to the question of how many roof vents you need is: it depends on the square footage of your attic. Vents are a crucial part of maintaining a healthy attic, roofing system and home. In many places, they are required to be installed as part of local building codes. There are two basic functions of vents: air intake and exhaust. And their primary function is to keep air circulating in your attic.

The Benefits of Roofing Ventilation

By allowing for the circulation of air in your attic, proper ventilation offers a number of advantages. Prevents moisture buildup in the attic and the mould and mildew growth it can cause

Helps prevent ice dams from forming in the winter

Moderated temperatures in the attic, which can increase energy efficiency in the rest of the home, lowering heating and cooling costs.

Types of Roof Vents

As we said, there are intake vents and exhaust vents. Toronto roofing companies determine which are intake and exhaust vents by their placement on the roof. As hot air naturally rises, vents at the lower edge of the roof are the intake vents, and those higher up on the roof at the peak are exhaust vents. Some examples of vents are: Soffit Vents – Most often the intake vents on the roof, soffit vents are located on the soffit of the roof which is the underside of the overhang of a roof. Gable Vents – Named for their location on roofing gables (sides of house). Turbine Vents – Placed higher up on a roof’s surface, turbine vents use a wind-powered turbine to suck the hot air out of the roof. Ridge Vents – Ridge vents run along the peak of the roof, making them an ideal exhaust vent

How to Determine How Many Vents You Need

The rule of thumb used to determine the number of roof vents to install is one for every 300 square feet of attic area if your attic has a vapour barrier, and one for every 150 square feet of attic area if the attic does not have a vapour barrier. Vents are rated by their net free area (NFA), which is the amount of space the vent has for air to flow in or out. The total NFA of the roof vents you need should be split 50/50 between intake and exhaust. That rule can change if the slope of your roof is more than the average 6:12 slope (a rise of six feet for a run of 12 feet) because there will be more space, heat and moisture to ventilate in the attic. If you liked this post, check out our recent article about the best roofing materials for the Canadian climate.

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What is a goose vent?

Goosenecks are installed much like an exhaust vent but do hold one key difference: an interior connection that allows exhaust pipes & hoses to be fastened directly to the vent. This provides for continuous air flow and eliminates any heat or moisture from escaping into the unconditioned Attic space. gooseneck-vent.

idealinsulation.com - Gooseneck Roof Vent - IDEAL Insulation

Household appliances that are exhausted through the Attic space must be connected to the proper roof vent. Bathroom fans, Clothes dryers and Kitchen hood exhaust fans are all vented using a type of Gooseneck Roof Vent. Goosenecks are installed much like an exhaust vent but do hold one key difference: an interior connection that allows exhaust pipes & hoses to be fastened directly to the vent. This provides for continuous air flow and eliminates any heat or moisture from escaping into the unconditioned Attic space. Moisture, condensation, mold and wood rot can all result from breakdowns & errors in how vent hoses/pipes are exhausted. A very common error we find in Attic inspections is a bath fan vent pipe simply pointed at or leaning against a turtle exhaust vent (pictured below) instead of connected to a proper Gooseneck. Although it may look harmless the gap between the vent pipe and hole in this roof is a recipe for problems. Although some hot moist air will escape of out of the turtle vent, much will spill back into the Attic space. The plywood in this picture looks quite new which may indicate that it was deteriorated and replaced during the last roof replacement. Where most likely the roofer made an error and installed an exhaust vent where a Gooseneck Roof vent should have been used.

bath fan exhaust pipe pointed at incorrect turtle exhaust vent

The good news is that this is a simple fix: the shingles can be taken apart in this area, the vent pipe can be replaced with a new pre-insulated flexible exhaust hose, the hose connected to a new Gooseneck roof vent and the shingles put back together to continue to shed water.