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  • A Roof Over Your Head: How Does Ventilation Protect the Roof?
  • From "Blueprint for Home Building"
    episode DBHB-106


    From winter cold to summer heat, your roof may have to withstand wide extremes of temperature. This constant exposure to the elements must be taken into account when designing your roof. Otherwise, it may have a short lifespan.

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    PHOTO

    Figure A
    How Does Ventilation Affect the Roof?

    One of the best ways to ensure a long life for your roof is to make sure that it's properly ventilated, which is important for a couple of reasons:

    1. From the standpoint of the interior of your home, every home builds moisture. If there's no place for the moisture to vent out in the attic, what it will do is retain on the surface of whatever insulation that you have there and cause more moisture damage in the long term.

    2. Excessive heat buildup in your attic can damage roofing shingles and tiles.

    For proper ventilation, traditionally off-ridge venting (figure A) has been used and you can identify that by the metal vents that are along the horizontal ridge of the roof, which is meant to have the air flow out of your attic space.

    By using off-ridge ventilation on your roof, you will be able to vent out damaging moisture from your home. It will also help prevent excessive heat build up in your attic that can damage roofing shingles and tiles.

    For the best results, talk to your roofing contractor and builder about the necessary ventilation for your roofing. Again, doing this ahead of time will save you time and money!

    In the next episode of Blueprint for Home Building host Jeff Wilson will discuss the many ways to cover the exterior of your home.


    GUESTS :

    John Broniek
    Buildings Programs Manager
    Ibacos
    Website: www.ibacos.com

    Rick Betts
    Owner
    Spartan Supply
    Website: www.spartansupply.com

    Robert Osborn Jr.
    2517 w 237th St., Suite D
    Torrance, CA 90505
    Phone: 310-326-5678
    E-mail: ozzyrobert@netscape.net

    Tom Black
    Executive Director
    Metal Roofing Alliance
    3309 56 NW, Suite 105
    Gig Harbor, WA
    E-mail: tlblack@ix.netcom.com

  • ALSO IN THIS EPISODE: