3 Reasons Why Your Home’s Roof Should Be Well Vented

How’s the roof on your house doing? If you’re like the vast majority of homeowners, you probably don’t know. Residential roofs are durable enough that, once they are built or replaced, you can more or less forget about them for a couple of decades.

Unless they are not properly vented. Roof vents allow air to circulate through your attic. There are many different types of vents, from small box vents, to turbine vents and power vents. Vents can be added to the surface of the roof, the soffits of your roof or the roof’s gables.

But, regardless of the type, or where they are located, they all do the same thing. Venting your attic is one of the most underestimated and beneficial aspects of your roofing system because of all the advantages it offers.

A Longer Lasting Roof

Yes, you can more or less “set and forget” your roof for about 20 years, but you can extend that lifespan by venting your attic. The air that roof vents circulate through your attic removes moisture and helps prevent mold and mildew from attacking your roof’s support structure.

Lower Energy Costs

By lowering the extremely high temperatures that occur in your attic in the summer, and eliminating water vapour that can reduce the performance of your insulation in the winter, roofing ventilation helps reduce your heating and air conditioning costs year-round. And it helps your insulation last longer too.

Reduced Chance of Ice Damns

Without the proper ventilation, ice damns can form around the edges of your roof in winter. When the air isn’t circulated in winter, the temperatures in your attic can go up enough to melt the snow and ice that are on your roof. The water rolls toward your eavestroughs where it freezes again because of the lower temperatures on the roof’s edge. The resulting ice build-up can lift your roofing shingles, let water in underneath and cause a leak. The heavy weight can also damage your eavestroughs.

So if it’s time to replace your home’s roof, or you’re waiting for your new home to be built before moving in, make sure the roofing company installs enough vents to properly circulate the air in your attic.