We Get Attic Ventilation Right. Every Time.
A Roof That Can Breathe Is ESSENTIAL
Many residential roofing contractors in San Antonio pay little to no attention to attic ventilation. Even those that do consider the subject often get it wrong.
That isn’t true of USA Home Roofing & Exteriors. We understand how crucial it is to ensure our customers’ homes have adequate ventilation. Insufficient ventilation can cause tremendous heat and moisture buildup in the attic.
This can make the home uncomfortable, damage roofing materials, and even result in mold. To avoid these problems, we ensure your attic has enough ventilation to let heat and moisture escape outdoors.
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Our Answer To Damp Attics: Passive Vents
One problem we often see is that a home’s dryer and bathroom fans vent heat and moisture directly into the attic instead of outdoors. And if your roof can’t breathe, heat and moisture can reach dangerous levels
We use one or more effective methods of passive ventilation to ensure your attic stays cool and dry. These require no power other than those that use wind power. Our choices include the following:
- Ridge vents are mounted along the roof’s peak.
- Soffit vents are installed along an attic’s soffits or eaves.
- Gable vents are placed in the walls at the gabled ends of an attic.
- Rafter vents let air in through the soffits and out the gable or ridge vent.
- Static vents are individual, non-moving units installed near the ridge of the roof.
- Wind turbine vents use wind power to turn a fan that draws hot air quickly from the attic.
Attics that don’t feature enough ventilation can experience several problems of varying seriousness.
What Happens If The Attic Can’t Breathe?
When an attic does not have adequate ventilation, several problems can arise with your residential roofing materials and the attic. These issues can be far more expensive to fix than the cost of proper venting.
Damage To The Roof
As experienced roof replacement contractors, we’ve noticed that a roof’s lifespan is shortened by 10% or more when it has improper ventilation. The hotter and damper the attic gets, the shorter the roof’s lifespan.
When the attic receives almost no ventilation, the roof could begin to deteriorate even more quickly, and you might lose a quarter or more of its useful life.
In extreme cases, you could shorten the life of your residential roofing by half.
Why?
- The support structure can weaken and increase the risk of roof collapse.
- Excessive heat causes shingles to curl up at the edges and turn brittle.
- Moisture can cause nails and other fasteners to rust.
- Plywood decking that shingles attach to can rot.
- Nail heads can come off due to corrosion.
- Plumbing or venting straps can fail.
These failures are why proper attic ventilation is such an important topic for us at USA Home.
Humidity And Mold
High heat and humidity create an ideal breeding ground for mold. This is a problem for several reasons.
First, mold causes health problems. Exposure can result in fatigue, sinus issues, tinnitus, vertigo, digestive problems, and even vertigo.
Common minor problems associated with mold allergies include the following:
- Skin rash
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Itchy eyes
- Wheezing
- Runny nose
Second, mold is difficult and expensive to eliminate. It grows in cracks, crevices, and other hard-to-reach areas, and it must be thoroughly scrubbed away by hand. The moldy areas must be isolated and put under negative pressure to prevent spreading. And it often returns after remediation.
Finally, mold spreads easily. It releases spores that travel via air currents throughout the house and take root wherever there’s some moisture.
To avoid the issues with mold, be sure your attic has plenty of ventilation to let humidity escape.
Higher Cooling Bills
The final reason for our concern is that improper attic ventilation costs you money by causing your air conditioner longer or more frequently. Heat trapped in the attic eventually works its way into the home’s living quarters and requires you to run the cooling system more frequently.
It boosts moisture in the air, and moist air impairs our natural ability to cool down through perspiration since sweat doesn’t evaporate well when the environment is humid.
So, an investment in proper ventilation helps you stay comfortable, lowers your need to run the AC, and cuts your carbon footprint.
Proper roof ventilation is important for several reasons, including reducing roof damage, mold, and energy expenditure.So, if you need roofing work, choose a company that cares about adequate attic ventilation. Contact USA Home Roofing & Exteriors today to schedule a free consultation.
