Have you ever climbed the ladder to your attic only to be hit with a wave of humidity? Maybe you spent half an hour up there searching for your son’s baseball trophies from when he was in middle school, only to come down soaked in sweat. Or perhaps a family of bats decided your hot, humid attic would make a great tropical vacation, and now you can’t seem to get rid of them (as a homeowner in an area with lots of bats, that hits a little too close to home).
When it comes to home maintenance, there’s little more annoying than an unventilated attic – in fact, the only thing worse is the massive damage accumulated humidity can do to your roof (well, that and cleaning up after the birds who’ve made your patio home – again, a little too close to home). When hot air collects in your attic, it can lead to cracked and curled shingles in the summer or swelling in the winter, compromising your roof’s integrity in both cases. That’s why proper attic ventilation is so crucial, and there’s no better way to keep air flowing through the top of your home than with ridge vents. Here’s why:
How Do Ridge Vents Work?
Roof ridge vents are a form of air exhaust ventilation installed at the very top of your home, taking advantage of your roof’s shape in order to direct hot air out of your attic (to see how this process works, check out this video). When we install these systems, we start by creating a thin slot across the ridge where the two slopes of your roof meet. Then, we cover this space with a layer of plastic or metal with small vertical slits cut in its side. Of course, these slits provide the ventilation, allowing hot air to flow out of your humid attic. Afterward, we cover the solid portion with shingles to protect against rain infiltration, which often works alongside a filter within the vent that keeps snow and pests out of your home.
Benefits of Ridge Vents
With all that in mind, it’s easy to see why ridge vents have a leg up against other forms of attic ventilation. Here are some of the top reasons why:
- Efficiency: Since ridge vents sit atop the peak of your roof, they take advantage of how heat rises – the angle of your roof directs hot air upward to where the two slopes meet, where it can filter out of the ridge vent and be replaced by external cool air through intake vents.
- No Leaks: For the same reason, since ridge vents are located at the top of your roof, they’re essentially immune from water flowing down from a higher point and getting caught within. When rain hits the vent, it flows down the shingles that cover it onto the rest of your roof, avoiding the slits that let hot air out.
- Long-lasting: Ridge vents tend to last 10-20 years before declining in functionality. As such, since the average roof lasts 20-30 years, you may only have to replace the ventilation in the same roof once (or perhaps not at all!).
Problems with Ridge Vents
Of course, no ventilation system is perfect, and ridge vents are no exception. For instance:
- Cost: Ridge vents are fairly expensive compared to other ventilation systems – while ridge vents cost around $300-$650 to install, other systems such as gable roof vents cost only between $60-$150 per unit.
- Limited Use: Ridge vents can only be used on homes with sloped roofs (sorry to all my fellow flat roof lovers). Also, since these systems require robust air circulation to function properly, some older homes may be better off with more active forms of ventilation.
Installing and Maintaining Ridge Vents
Do you still have your heart set on ridge vents, even after reading the drawbacks? Great! Now comes the fun part: installation (well, it’s fun for us at least – as roofing nerds, we live for this sort of thing). Of course, ridge vent installation involves working at the steepest, highest point of your roof for an extended period of time, and with that comes the risk of injury; with that in mind, we recommend hiring roofing professionals to handle this process for safety reasons. However, if you’re confident you can do the job safely, it’s not terribly difficult. While we won’t go too into depth here (check out this article for more detailed instructions), these are the basics of installing ridge vents:
- Remove the cap shingles from the ridge of your roof to expose the wood beneath.
- Use a power saw to remove the wood sheathing, getting rid of any remaining debris afterward to open up the slot you’ll need for your vent.
- Install the ridge vent itself over this slot, using nails to fasten it in place.
- Next, cover the vent with shingles to prevent water infiltration, again using nails to secure them.
- Finally, check to see whether you have adequate intake vents to match your new ridge vents. Like we said before, the purpose of ridge vents is to let warm air out – you still need to get cold air in. As such, you need to install intake systems like soffit or eave vents that allow the same amount of air in as your ridge vents let out. Measuring this gets complicated, so if you’re not sure whether your intake matches your exhaust, you should speak with a roofing professional.
Naturally, once you get your ridge vents installed, you’ll want to ensure they last as long as possible. Consequently, it’s crucial that you inspect your ridge vents for signs of wear and tear twice a year – preferably, once in the spring and once in the fall. If you find any red flags, it may be time for repair or even replacement. Here’s what to look for:
- Structural issues like dents, cracks, or rust, which may cause leaks.
- Unwanted debris like twigs and leaves, which can block up your vent and thereby prevent proper airflow.
- Earthy smells, which often indicate mold within your vent.
- Loose screws or fasteners, which can allow rain infiltration.
In the end, there’s little more important than protecting your roof’s integrity and preventing leaks –- at least if you don’t like waking up in the middle of the night with rainwater dripping on your head. Fortunately, now that you understand ridge vents inside and out, you’re one step closer to a strong roof and an even stronger home.
Interested in installing ridge vents on your roof? For over 100 years, Baker Home Exteriors has been using its unparalleled roofing expertise to help families turn their houses into homes. Let our family take care of yours – visit our website today to get in touch with a representative.
