Ridge Vent
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Proper ventilation protects your home from damage. In a home without effective attic ventilation, excess heat and humidity can become serious problems with costly consequences.
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Heat and moisture can cause roof structures, shingles and paint to deteriorate prematurely.
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Excessive heat causes air conditioners to run more.
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Excessive moisture can lower the R-value of some insulations.
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Uneven room temperatures can cause the formation of ice dams.
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The easiest and most effective way to create a year-round ventilation system is to use ridge vents. A ridge vent exhausts hot air from the highest point in your attic without help from fans or blowers. All it needs is a balanced amount of fresh air entering the attic, usually through soffit vents (also called under-eave vents), gable vents or both. Ridge vents provide continuous air movement along the entire underside of the roof deck for maximum benefit. |
Ridge
vents adjust to different roof pitches and come in painted metal — typically
aluminum — and plastic versions. Although metal vents have been around
longer, homeowners and contractors now prefer plastic ridge vents. Unlike
their metal counterparts, plastic ridge vents don't dent, and they can be
capped with shingles to blend with the rest of the roof. (Most metal vents
can't be capped.)
To estimate how many feet of vent you'll need, just measure the length of the
roof peak, or ridge, minus any sections interrupted by chimneys or
sidewalls.
A. H. Bennett Company carries the following types of ridge vents (click on the vendor logo to be taken to their website for more information).
| Shingle Vent II by Air Vent
Inc.
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Cobra Nailable Ridge Vent by
GAF
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Omni Ridge OR-4 by Lomanco
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RidgeMaster vent by Mid America
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| Rigid Roll by Trimline
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