Why Attic Ventilation is Important for Roof Health

Unless you have a fully finished attic and you use it for a spare bedroom or playroom, chances are you haven’t thought much about things like insulation and attic ventilation. Even if you’re not planning on renovating your attic into a new office space, it’s important to be aware of how well your attic is ventilated. Believe it or not, your attic plays a big part in the overall health of your roof.

Why Ventilation Matters

The importance of attic ventilation ultimately depends upon what part of the country you live in. If you live in the south where summers are extremely hot, attic ventilation is needed to vent hot air out of the attic. If warm air stays trapped in your attic, moisture in the air will become thicker and more dangerous, and cause some serious damage to your roof underlayment, support beams, and even the paint on your home.

If you live somewhere where winters never seem to end and you’re constantly running your heater, you run the risk of roof damage from ice dams. Warm air that finds its way into your attic through small cracks in your ceiling can get trapped and begin heating the surface of your roof. This causes snow and ice to melt and then refreeze further down where the temperature is a bit cooler. Having proper ventilation allows warm air to naturally rise and escape.

Improving your Attic Ventilation

Knowing whether or not your attic is properly ventilated can be difficult to the untrained eye. Your first step is to contact a professional to see if ventilation is the problem you’re dealing with. The U.S. Federal Housing Administration  recommends that there be one square foot of ventilation for every 300 square feet of attic space. While installing ventilation isn’t difficult, it’s always best to leave it to the pros. The last thing you want is for a DIY project to end up costing you more than if you had originally just left it to the experts.

If you think that your roof is beyond repair, give us a call. Damage that you may think was caused by attic ventilation could actually be caused by other factors such as storms and debris. Get in touch with us here to schedule your inspection.