Having good attic and roof ventilation offers homeowners and businesses plenty of benefits. Good ventilation lowers cooling bills, extends roofing material life, and reduces the chances for winter ice dams to form. These benefits both save you money and decrease the risk of roof rot. If you suspect that your home doesn’t have enough attic ventilation, rest assured. Roof and soffit vents are easy to install and the job can be done in just a few hours. So if you’d like to save money and protect your home from potential repairs, then it’s a good time to explore better attic ventilation. But how can you tell that your ventilation isn’t good? Here are a few ways to find out.
#1: Your House Gets Really Hot in the Summer
If your HVAC is on overdrive but somehow excess heat still seems to seep in your home, your attic can be partially to blame. When it’s hot, good attic ventilation can reduce heat buildup which cuts cooling costs and prolongs your roof’s life. Note: You should also rule out problems with your windows, siding, and doors, which also account for significant breaches of outdoor temperatures. There can be multiple factors working together that make your home not as energy-efficient as it can be.
#2: Your Ceiling is Very Hot in the Summer
Since improper ventilation doesn’t allow your roof to cool down in the summer, the heat will get trapped in the attic and make your ceiling hot. Touch your ceiling on a hot, sunny day. If it’s hot to the touch, then your attic is basically a solar oven that’s cooking your shingles and making your air conditioner work double time.
#3: Your Attic is Humid in the Winter
In the winter, good ventilation allows the warm, moist air that seeps up from your living space to escape. This keeps your attic dry and cool, which is actually good for your roof in the winter. If the air isn’t moving, then your attic will feel humid, and you may even see some frost accumulating inside. When this frost melts, it can lead to mildew problems and wood rot.
#4: You don’t see any attic vents on the roof or in the eaves.
If you can’t see any vents through a basic visual inspection, you may need to add some. Some vents are harder to identify though, like ridge vents, which are more subtle than other types. If you need help identifying your vents and knowing if you need more, just ask us for a professional roofing inspection.
#5: Ice dams are a part of your life.
If your roof is accustomed to develop thick ridges of ice on the eaves, then this is a common sign of poor attic ventilation. Ice dams happen when warm air from the home’s interior gets trapped in the attic. Snow on the roof then melts but then refreezes on the cold eaves. Ice dams can put extra strain on your roof, damage your shingles, and weigh down your gutters, forcing you to do repairs that were actually preventable.
Trust Your Roof Replacement to Noble Roofing
Whether you’re looking for better form or function, or simply feel that a new roof is in order, trust Noble Roofing, the preferred choice for roof replacement in Centreville VA and surrounding cities. Give us call at (703) 404-0505 to speak with our roofing experts. You can also request a free estimate through our online request form today.
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