Where To Locate Eyebrow Vents
curiouscat
Fri Aug 26, 2005 5:25 am
hi
I apologize ahead of time if regular homeowners shouldn't be asking long questions. However, I have searched all over to try to find the best place to put eyebrow vents in my roof. I want to do this since our attic gets to at least 110 in the summer, especially in the addition (circa 1975). ok, here is more info than you probably want. live in san jose, ca. house built in 1957 or so. Originally shingle roof, which had the cheapest possible comp (level C?) put over it about 17 or so years ago, according to our home inspector, who also says we have about 4 years left on our roof. House was originally a rectangle, about 26' x 44'. then, in 1975, someone added an addition perpendicular to the back of the house of about 16'x20'. Kind of L shaped, but the add-on was inset about 7' from one end, so not exactly "L" shaped. The common wall is the 16' wall. We have regular flat 8' ceilings with about 4.5 feet of vertical space above the orig. part and about 3ft of vertical attic space above the add-on. So, I figure about 1150sqft of attic floor above the orig, and about 320 above the ad-on. There are eave vents about every third eave. full screens in the add on, little circles in the original. And, the 44' long section has 5 little round vents at each end (gable vents?). Anyhow, hope your not sick of me yet. The addition seems to get hotter and colder, depending on the season. there is insulation above, which is a little thicker that the height of ceiling joists (or whatever they're called). I checked to see that the insulation was away from the vents and got way, way too hot. Hence, my desire to try to install vents. Plus, maybe it will reduce our A/C costs. It's been so hot this year. I bought 5 eyebrow vents (hate the look of those twirly things) at a roofing supply place, but just wonder - Where do I put them? Their screen is about 3.5"x18". I know from reading they should be as close to the ridge line as possible, but then what? First, I wonder about the 320 sqft addition. Should I space two evenly along the least visible side of the addition? this part has no gable vents on the one gable end. and, inside the attic where it joins the original house is very hard to pass between the two due to the original roof that is now "inside" the attic, and the fact that the ad-on enclosed the back of the chimney, so it's in the attic too. So, I figure it gets no heat escaping. Or, do I put 2 in, directly opposite each other? I dont really get that logic. Do I put them in the same 24" rafter channel (or whatever it's called) as one of the eave vents, or should i try to avoid that. there are three eave vents on each side. Some say I only need one, but can more than one vent hurt? Seems like 2 vents would match the number of eave vents better. Hopefully I havent read too much on the web to be annoying to those of you who are experts. The 44' lenghth of the house is along the streen, and the addition sticks out into our back yard. Thanks for any advice you might have.
I am unemployed, so trying to do a lot of this stuff myself.
thanks for reading!
I apologize ahead of time if regular homeowners shouldn't be asking long questions. However, I have searched all over to try to find the best place to put eyebrow vents in my roof. I want to do this since our attic gets to at least 110 in the summer, especially in the addition (circa 1975). ok, here is more info than you probably want. live in san jose, ca. house built in 1957 or so. Originally shingle roof, which had the cheapest possible comp (level C?) put over it about 17 or so years ago, according to our home inspector, who also says we have about 4 years left on our roof. House was originally a rectangle, about 26' x 44'. then, in 1975, someone added an addition perpendicular to the back of the house of about 16'x20'. Kind of L shaped, but the add-on was inset about 7' from one end, so not exactly "L" shaped. The common wall is the 16' wall. We have regular flat 8' ceilings with about 4.5 feet of vertical space above the orig. part and about 3ft of vertical attic space above the add-on. So, I figure about 1150sqft of attic floor above the orig, and about 320 above the ad-on. There are eave vents about every third eave. full screens in the add on, little circles in the original. And, the 44' long section has 5 little round vents at each end (gable vents?). Anyhow, hope your not sick of me yet. The addition seems to get hotter and colder, depending on the season. there is insulation above, which is a little thicker that the height of ceiling joists (or whatever they're called). I checked to see that the insulation was away from the vents and got way, way too hot. Hence, my desire to try to install vents. Plus, maybe it will reduce our A/C costs. It's been so hot this year. I bought 5 eyebrow vents (hate the look of those twirly things) at a roofing supply place, but just wonder - Where do I put them? Their screen is about 3.5"x18". I know from reading they should be as close to the ridge line as possible, but then what? First, I wonder about the 320 sqft addition. Should I space two evenly along the least visible side of the addition? this part has no gable vents on the one gable end. and, inside the attic where it joins the original house is very hard to pass between the two due to the original roof that is now "inside" the attic, and the fact that the ad-on enclosed the back of the chimney, so it's in the attic too. So, I figure it gets no heat escaping. Or, do I put 2 in, directly opposite each other? I dont really get that logic. Do I put them in the same 24" rafter channel (or whatever it's called) as one of the eave vents, or should i try to avoid that. there are three eave vents on each side. Some say I only need one, but can more than one vent hurt? Seems like 2 vents would match the number of eave vents better. Hopefully I havent read too much on the web to be annoying to those of you who are experts. The 44' lenghth of the house is along the streen, and the addition sticks out into our back yard. Thanks for any advice you might have.
I am unemployed, so trying to do a lot of this stuff myself.
thanks for reading!
QRFL
Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:01 pm
yea i know about the heat i am here in san diego...
spread those vents evenly across the roof , i am not exacly sure i caught the size of your atticc floor, if you know hoew to use a skillsaw without getting hurt why dont you install a nice ridge vent and get continuos air flow along the peak of the roof...
http://www.airvent.com/homeowner/products/ridgeVents-shingleVent.shtml
check this vent out before you cut any holes.. and let us know what you think
spread those vents evenly across the roof , i am not exacly sure i caught the size of your atticc floor, if you know hoew to use a skillsaw without getting hurt why dont you install a nice ridge vent and get continuos air flow along the peak of the roof...
http://www.airvent.com/homeowner/products/ridgeVents-shingleVent.shtml
check this vent out before you cut any holes.. and let us know what you think
