Insulating Attic With No Soffit Vents
That way you won t need soffit venting to begin with along with its associated complications soffit baffles ridge venting and it will also be more efficient if you have mechanical appliances or ductwork in the attic.
Insulating attic with no soffit vents. The roof cavity between rafters can be filled with insulation followed by installation of a perfect vapor barrier followed by finish surface of drywall or whatever else. The soffit vents are now installed but you still need to make sure there s no insulation blocking the new vents. Foam blocks airflow needs no vapor barrier and has a higher r value per inch than loose fill or batts so you ll get more protection with less depth. Warming trends in january and again in april cause the roof strate to warm and evidently i had condensation ptoblrms no soffit vents but do have small gable end vents.
I reshingle this past year and pulled out old r14 insulation and retaped as many as visually possible areas of vapour barrier leaks cuts in material etc. Aside from the technical aspects of insulating and venting an attic without a soffit this is a project that requires both experience and expertise. In cases where there is no under roof venting system no soffit intake vents no ridge vents a hot roof design is followed. Install special roof intake venting products that work at the lower edge of the roof decking underneath the first course of shingles.
Smart vent a special roof eaves vent product that provides a 3 4 opening about 6 above the top of the roof drip edge. Details are at hot roof design problems. If not you might as well go whole hog and make the attic itself a part of the conditioned space. Then cover the foam with drywall as required for fire safety.
Homeowners can too easily inadvertently block them when insulating the attic. This gives you access to all parts of the attic. If there s blown in insulation like ours rake back the fluffy stuff with a 3 or 4 ft long 1 x 6 or use a garden rake or hoe. With spray foam unlike with loose fill or batts you must cover the soffit vents they aren t needed to keep the roof cool.
Venting solutions for roofs with no overhang or soffit. Place the plywood sheets or boards across the rafters in the attic. In terms of product batt insulation will be different than blown insulation which will be different than spray polyurethane foam insulation. Figure out how much insulation you need for the area of the country in which you live by accessing the the u s.
The two most common options are to. Install low gable vents located above the top level of the attic ceiling insulation use eye brow vents that are on the top of the sloping roof surface near the soffit eave area. Focus on the other ventilation you have in the attic. While effective at pulling in cooler air the biggest problem posed by this type of soffit vents is their positioning.