# Ventilation issues



## user182 (Jan 17, 2009)

I don’t think it’s a good idea to use a vent that has a filter because that vent will eventually get clogged up by dust and debris. That goes for intake and exhaust vents.

Any vent with a filter wil eventualy clog and you will have virtually no air flow.

Leaves, pollen and dust will eventually clog the filter and make it useless.

That’s why I use ridgevent made by Lamanco, because they are non-filtered.

As for intake vents, I’ve used drip edge vent on houses that don’t have an overhang. I don’t want to use it any more because I found a better product to use.

A customer called me this week with a leak; I did the job about 10 years ago. The house did not have an overhang on the rear and I installed drip edge vent. The gutter is filled up with ice and it’s possible the ice is backing up into the drip edge.
(Could also be a siding leak)

I know you may be using a starter vent but I don’t think they have been on the market long enough to know if they will prevent leakage from ice dams. I would never use one for that reason, plus they have a filter that will clog.

When I encounter a roof that needs a vent at the eave edge I install a product called “The Inhaler”. It’s more like a fascia vent; you have to remove the gutter to install it. Its gets installed behind the gutter. 

I feel it’s the best way to ventilate the eave edge because it will not get blocked off by ice in the winter time and it’s non-filtered.

See the picture below.


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## user182 (Jan 17, 2009)

*Starter vents*

I know you may be using a starter vent but I don’t think they have been on the market long enough to know if they will prevent leakage from ice dams. 

I would never use one for that reason, plus they have a filter that will clog.

See the picture below.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

I don't like smart vent. I had a discussion with the manufacturers rep at the local CRCA show 2 weeks ago. I know Ed likes it, but here are my qualms. A) How do you NOT get water or ice back up? Assuming you don't get ice backup, the intake becomes essentially useless when it gets covered by snow and ice in the winter time.

His argument to that was the filter was so fine it doesn't allow snow to back up... Right. What about water if tghe gutters are clogged? He said they can't guarantee their product if you don't maintain your own home. Back to the ice, he said ice damning should form with proper ventilation and insulation. To this I totally agreed, then asked him how long he'd been living in Chicago because I can't see a single roof at this moment without an ice damn at the gutter. 


The inhaler is a nice product that has taken the place of the false vented fascia we used to build out and install. Much more economical and gets the job done too!


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## Roofsafe (Oct 29, 2008)

In my estimation, smart vent doesn't deliver all the air it is rated to deliver. It starts out at 11/16 inch, short of the 3/4 inch it's advertised at. It enters a 1 inch slot at just under 1/2 inch, why do you need an inch slot for a half inch of intake? Then after you deduct for all the cardboard type fillers you have less intake, add to that the filter glued to the top and bottom covering the face you have to take in account the fact that ALL filters plug up. Thats the job of filters, to plug up because they are made to collect debris to keep it from entering the area they are protecting, how often do you change the filter in roof vents?
Nonfiltered vents to me make good sense, but there is the argument that they allow moisture in the roof, if the wind is blowing and the vent has a vane in front of the opening very little water in the form of rain or snow can enter because of the air flow from the bottom of the roof is equal to the force above the vent, pretty much keeping the water out of the opening.
Other vents that are open on the side allow moisture in because there isn't any way to keep it out, fabric type filters on the bottom of the vents insure that debris that goes in lays on top of the fabric and plugs the vent up. 
I've seen all the ways vents can and do plug up over the last 37 years so I do know a little bit about it, any roofers who have been roofing long have undoubtedly seen the same things.


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## pcplumber (Mar 11, 2009)

*What about termites?*

I like to install vents with screens or filters to keep the swarming termites out. Charge the customer an annual fee to clean the screens and filters. 

Is it true that a lack of attic vents causes shingles to curl?


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## Ed the Roofer (Sep 15, 2008)

pcplumber said:


> I like to install vents with screens or filters to keep the swarming termites out. Charge the customer an annual fee to clean the screens and filters.
> 
> *Is it true that a lack of attic vents causes shingles to curl?*


More so with Organic Asphalt reinforced shingles than fiberglass shingles, but they too are affected by inadequate attic ventilation.

Ed


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## Roofsafe (Oct 29, 2008)

Jack, you have to put holes through that "inhaler" to install the gutter, isn't that the start of a leak? It's amazing what water can get through, even more when it turns to ice.


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## Roofsafe (Oct 29, 2008)

Organic shingles dry out and die, thats what makes them curl here, I think they last longer where there is more moisture. The lifespan here for organics is about eight to twelve years, some contractors have tried IKOs and they last about 7 years. Fiberglass will go the warrenty but get to looking pretty bad in their last years.
But, I have seen old Elk three tabs in the organic go thirty years, diminsional organics I have seen do 25, but they were looking pretty bad after that long.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

Roofsafe said:


> Jack, you have to put holes through that "inhaler" to install the gutter, isn't that the start of a leak? It's amazing what water can get through, even more when it turns to ice.


 Yeah but then the water just falls behind the gutter instead of getting inside the soffit.


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## Roofsafe (Oct 29, 2008)

I've seen ice dams go all the way to the ground, the way ice can build (espiecially behind the gutter) any where there is space for it to grow. You ever see gutters full of ice?


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## tomstruble (Jan 19, 2009)

i bet grumpy has seen that once or twice


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## flashingmaster56 (Dec 17, 2009)

*This is how we fix "No Soffits"*

Many years ago thousands of homes were built with no soffits. They all have one thing in common. Ice Dams. That is the heading of one of our brochures we sent out last fall. What we do to repair the problem is extend the soffits. We remove the gutter, fascia board to expose the truss tails. We make shure the insulation is pushed back & down to allow air flow. We then install new truss tails to each rafter 2 foot up with 1 foot out. Any part of the roof we expose is covered with Ice Shiels and new shingles are installed, color to match as close as possible.


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## flashingmaster56 (Dec 17, 2009)

*Forgot one.*

This expands your project, it lets the home owner know that you really know how to remedy the pre-existing problem and repair it perminatly. You can bet all of the other bids the home owner got sounded like the conversations in this forum. And then I came along and offered her this solution. Who do you think she is going to hire to install her new roof. "Mam while we are here we might as well fix it right". How would you repair your home? The nice thing about this repair is that you can pick this work up years after the new roof is installed. Because the roofer who installed the roof did not have this information. Hope this helps someone.


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## English Roofer (Dec 26, 2008)

I like it nice work
Cheers
Dave


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## Interloc (Apr 6, 2009)

You really got something up your azz dont cha flashman,

_"You can bet all of the other bids the home owner got sounded like the conversations in this forum. And then I came along and..dribble dribble"_

What a joke...


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## flashingmaster56 (Dec 17, 2009)

Interloc said:


> You really got something up your azz dont cha flashman,
> 
> _"You can bet all of the other bids the home owner got sounded like the conversations in this forum. And then I came along and..dribble dribble"_
> 
> What a joke...


Why don't you post your work. Must be nice to hide behind anonymity, no web site, no company name. I take it you are a Shingle Slinger sub contractor with nothing better to do. If not, POST.


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## Interloc (Apr 6, 2009)

Why according to you are conversations on here are a joke UNTIL you showed up high and mighty


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

tomstruble said:


> i bet grumpy has seen that once or twice


 Gutters full of ice, I see that 2-3 month out of every year.... and I have also seen a few damns or icicles where the ice extends from the gutters to the ground. 

Right now we have at least two dozen gutter cleaner jobs that never got done and can't get doen due to snow and ice.


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## Grumpy (Oct 29, 2008)

I've done similair jobs where we had to build out the over hang to provide an intake. We've also boxed out the kind of overhang that has exposed rafters. Now we'll just build a false fascia unless the customer likes the look of the overhang. The false fascia is faster, easier and cheaper, and provides the necessary intake.


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## Roofsafe (Oct 29, 2008)

This is one method I chose to use where there is no Soffet, this is even on a lawyers home, and he likes it.
http://www.roofingtalk.com/members/roofsafe-62/albums/roof-ventilation/101-001-1.jpg


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## jimsonburg (Aug 4, 2010)

Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to provide high Indoor air quality. Ventilation is used to remove unpleasant smells and excessive moisture, introduce outside air, to keep interior building air circulating, and to prevent stagnation of the interior air.


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## MGP Roofing (Mar 23, 2010)

Roofsafe, you need to repost your pic. 1x1 pixels is a bit hard to see!


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## Roofsafe (Oct 29, 2008)

Well, I haven't had good luck posting pics here, but here it is again
http://www.roofingtalk.com/members/roofsafe-62/albums/roof-ventilation/101-001-1.jpg


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## MGP Roofing (Mar 23, 2010)

Roofsafe, its still the same. I use FSViewer to resize mine to about 640x480 before I upload them, how do you do it?


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## roofermann (Jul 7, 2012)

michelclarke said:


> *Checking for Ventilation Problems*
> Ventilation can also be checked by using nothing more complicated than a wax candle, a match and your sense of vision. Turn the heater off, pull down any windows that exit outdoors and close doors leading to the outside. Now turn on a clothes dryer if you've got one and all the exhaust fans in your house. Return to the thermostat and turn the heater back on. Find the draft hood that will be located on the top of your furnace and hold the lit candle near it. If the flame of the candle is blowing in a direction opposite the furnace hood, you've got a ventilation problem that could mean potentially dangerous gases flowing back inside rather than outside.


 4 year old thread. lol.


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