# Need a second opinion on ridge vent I just had installed



## rickkrause (Jul 15, 2014)

Hello all,

I'm a homeowner and I don't know a lot about roofing so I'm looking for some feedback on a roof replacement I just paid a ton of money for. The ridge vents don't look right to me. Aesthetically it looks horrible. Is this how it's supposed to look? It looks like they just nailed shingles to the roof. Shouldn't there be a some sort of vent under the shingles? 

Also - is chimney flashing typically replaced during a roof replacement? The flashing looks terrible too, like it's not even attached.

Thanks,

Rick in Boston


----------



## roofermann (Jul 7, 2012)

That is how that particular type of ridge vent looks. chimney was not reflashed and looks horrible.


----------



## hotrodo351 (Mar 18, 2012)

if you dont tell anyone you did that, then i wont. by the way, id of stopped after the 2nd or 3rd one to see what i was doing wrong. i know some ridge vent you have to use the ridge shingles and not cut them out of three tabs. the three tabs are to wide.


----------



## dDubya (Dec 21, 2012)

On the ridge vent, it looks like they didn't use a starter piece. And it looks like there may be a gap in the ridge vent material where that piece about 8' in is way low. ???

Also, they could have done way better re-using that chimney flashing. But it should have been re-flashed if you want it to last the life of the roof. 

I'm concerned about what you don't see.


----------



## GcontractorTX (Jul 29, 2014)

loos to me like they used the cheap roll out ridge vent that is 9" wide and installed a 12" ridge cap on top. The ridge shingles are going to blow off for sure in the next wind storm. the chimney flashing is always a worry if it didn't get replace, but at the same time it doesn't always have to be replaced. Though 10 pieces of step flashing would only have cost 5 bucks at home depot. It is the flashing at the top that needs to be addressed immediately. Wind driven rain will go right under there.


----------



## Doug K1 (Jan 20, 2012)

From an appearance stand point it is better to run the vent all the way to the edges. You are not going to cut the sheathing out in this area but if you continue to run the vent out it makes for a cleaner more uniform look


----------



## Joetheroofer (Sep 6, 2014)

I'd invite your roofing guy back out there for a long list of reasons already mentioned.

The chimney flashing is done incorrectly. I'm thinking he may have used staples for the ridge cap. 

You're probably gonna have some leaks very soon. 

You may want to get another contractor to help consult you on what you need to look for before you call out your original contractor. Maybe have him pull a couple shingles off and make sure he nailed them correctly as well...


----------



## Seabreezeroofing (Oct 15, 2014)

The ridge vent appears proper. Contrary to other comments the manufacturer requires the vent to be terminated a minimum of 3' from any other penetrations or edges. Http://www.SeaBreezeRoof.com


----------



## greg.connors (Oct 17, 2014)

I have been doing residential roofing for the past 25 years, and have been running my own business,successfully for the past 15. I have used all the kinds of ridge vents on the market, and me personally I almost always use the kind that was used on your roof because I think it actually looks the best. I have never had an issue with the vent itself or had any shingles blown off. With that being said your contractor did not go out of his way to install yours with any care to how it looks. I think that he drove some of the nails two deep causing it to look the way yours does. He definitely wanted to cut corners and just get the job done and get paid. One thing I would check for that I have seen many times is the contractor installs the ridge, without actually cuting the ridge hole, and looking at his work I would definitly go in the attic and see if you can tell if he actually cut the wood or not. Its not out of the realm of possibilities that he cheated you out of a ridge vent hoping you would never notice. As far as the chimney flashing goes, I don't always change out the counter flashing, especially if its not needed. It appears that your counter flashing is lead and looks to be a fairly good shape, it just needs a little more TLC than what your contractor did, but it is an easy fix, but like someone else said, if you get a hard rain before its fixed, it can definitly leak. And lastly, the flashing on your chimney is not how I would have installed it, but it is not wrong. I have seen it done many times this way in the past with no issues, so I wouldn't worry to much.


----------

