Ridge Vents & Roof Ventilation in East Hartford & Hartford

What are ridge vents? Most people have no idea and don’t know they’re related to keeping their house dry. A ridge or roof vent is a small vent at the peak of a roof that lets air slowly out of the attic. A roof that is well ventilated can make your life better and easier.

In the Connecticut summer a well-ventilated roof lets the hot attic air to escape and doesn’t make your air conditioning run as hard or often potentially saving you $ too.

In wintertime, well-ventilated roof when properly insulated keeps the roofing cold so snow doesn’t melt during the day and then re-freeze to the eaves. This is how ice dams occur.

Millstream Construction installs and fixes ridge vents and other kinds of roof venting too. Contact us for a FREE written quote for ridge vent installation in East Hartford, Avon, Hartford, and throughout Connecticut.

Kinds of Roof Venting

As you might guess there are a few kinds of roof vents and ways to get a properly ventilated roof. Here are just a few:

Types of Roof Vents

They’re usually not very noticeable but ridge vents are an opening on either side of a roofing ridge that lets air out as it comes up via the stack effect.

Installed along the roof peak, ridge vents are probably the most important vents in any “passive” (non-electric) roof ventilation system. Hot air that accumulates inside the attic rises by convection and escapes outside through ridge vents.

As hot air escapes, fresh outside air is drawn into the attic through soffit vents (see below).

On an asphalt shingle roof, ridge vents are usually covered by a layer of shingles. The warmest air in the attic rises naturally to the roof peak and escapes outside through the ridge vents.

Soffit vents may run continuously under eaves. Rectangular or circular vents may be installed in soffits where a continuous strip-type vent was omitted.

Soffit vents run parallel to the eaves along the soffit. These vents work with ridge and gable vents to promote good roof ventilation.

Installed along the eaves of the roof, these vents are usually in the form of grilles that run the length of each soffit.

By admitting outside air into the attic as warmer air leaves the attic through higher vents, soffit vents play a major role in effective roof ventilation.

If attic airflow is insufficient, your roofer may recommend a gable end vent such as the one shown.

Installed near the peak of a gable end, this screened vent can allow hot air to leave the attic or fresh air to enter, depending on prevailing breezes and temperature conditions.

Sometimes referred to as attic fans, PAVs come in several forms. Some are designed to be mounted on the roof, while others mount in the attic floor or the gable end. All PAVs contain an electrically powered fan (usually controlled by a thermostat) that exhausts hot air from the attic on hot summer days.

A PAV should not be necessary if a roof has properly sized and installed ridge and soffit vents. While a PAV will definitely exhaust hot air from the attic during hot weather, it consumes electricity, and can actually suck cooled air from the living space through leaks in the attic floor.

For this reason, many home energy experts recommend passive roof ventilation over active ventilation with a PAV.

Roof Vents Can Help Prolong the Life of Your Roof

Roofing that isn’t ventilated well can be upgraded with ridge, soffit or gable-end venting. These kinds of ventilation can all be installed on a roof or when you replace your roof. It’s up to you.

The experts at Millstream Construction can assist you in upgrading your home and we also fix or install roofing ventilation to improve your home.

We work in Greater Hartford & Glastonbury, including East Hartford, Avon, Hartford, and nearby. Call us at 1-860-850-2680 to get a free quote on any of your roofing needs.

Contact
Us!
Contact
Us!
Get started today
We Offer
easy financing
call today 1-860-748-3459
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.