Does My Roof Need Ventilation?

One of the most overlooked aspects of installing a new roof on homes today is the need for roof ventilation. Whether you deal with extreme heat or extreme cold for some or all of the year or whatever part of the country you live in, you need roof ventilation in your home.

Cold Climate Ventilation Needs
In cooler climates, where winters are long and cold, you need roof ventilation as a preventative tool for avoiding ice dams, which can cause a great deal of damage to your roof in the winter months. This damage includes moisture entering your home in addition to the structural damage ice dams can create.

Hot Climate Roof Ventilation Needs
In hot climates, roof ventilation is an essential tool for eliminating excessively stifling air that is often trapped in your home’s attic space. This super-heated air often forces your air conditioning to work harder than necessary shortening the life of your air-conditioning unit and generating much higher utility bills throughout the dog days of summer.

In humid climates, moisture is another problem that plagues homeowners – especially when roof ventilation is inadequate for the task. These are all things you need to keep in mind when building, buying, and updating your home.

Other Reasons to Invest in Roof Ventilation
Additionally, roof ventilation helps to reduce condensation and moisture that builds up on the underside of your roof’s sheathing. This helps to prevent mold and mildew from becoming problems that plague your family’s health and damage the structure of your home. Secondly, adequate roof ventilation can help your shingles last longer – saving you thousands of dollars in roof replacement costs.

Getting Proper Roof Ventilation
Since most homes in the United States are in climates that are either warm or cold – and in many cases both according to the season – it is a wise idea for all homeowners to consider innovative ways to improve roof ventilation when building or making energy efficient upgrades to the home. The key is to get the right amount of ventilation in your roof for the size and location of your home (specifically the climate in which you live) and to supplement the roof ventilation with other tools to help clear the heat and moisture from your attic spaces like insulation and an attic fan.

Combining the power of adequate roof ventilation with other tools like insulation and an attic fan can help you save countless dollars in roof replacements, roof repairs, air conditioner repairs, and utility bills year after year – enough to make your investment pay for itself in short order.