Hello,

I am new to the forum and looking for advice/help. Let me give a little background on my situation. I live in Seabrook, TX and we had Hurricane Ike damage to our roof. Please bear w/ me as I am not a roofing expert, so I'm trying to give as much info as I can...Our home was built in 1990, we are 2nd owner. House is 2-story brick w/ asphalt shingles and about 4 box vents on top. As far as I understand, I believe we have a hip roof that is kind of steep. I will try to provide pictures where some of you can confirm what type of roof I have. I know we have soffit vents all around the ledge of the roof too; I think they are metal grate covered. We have pipe jacks on top of the roof as well. We do not have turbines, and we do not have ridge vents, nor do we have a PAV. Being in Texas, there is no basement. The hot water heater is in the attic, and we have one a/c unit outside, and our heat is gas. I'm sorry, I do not know the measurements of the roof, or how much square footage is in the attic. Our home is 2088 square feet, though, if that helps at all.

Ok, so we have a Tx windstorm claim for damage to the roof, in which Windstorm only approved a repair job, even though the initial adjuster suggested a replacement. Most roofers want to do a replacement, as well anyway.

The roofer I decided to go with originally agreed to the repair job only, then the owner of the company came out and viewed my housing saying he could get a replacement approved, being that there are several fractured shingles on the different faces of the roof. He submitted an initial contract to me, where he had me put money down to get started, get the insurance approval for replacement once and for all, and stated in general what materials and things he proposes to do. I paid him the initial money to get started, but stated that I was concerned about what was stated in the contract if I was not 100% if I was ok with it, and might want some changes, & more specifics stated, and was not sure I wanted to go with ridge vents, which he suggested. I asked him that "Once I sign it, isn't that what I am agreeing to?" He told me, "Do not let that be a hindrance, as any contract can be modified. You can choose not to sign, but if so, I cannot go forward working on your job". And he stated that just as I have been run around by the roofing contractors for the past several months, so had he been burned by customers. So, I decided to go ahead and pay the initial good faith estimate, but have not agreed yet to a definite contract.

Ok, as I stated above, I was not sure about the ridge vents. He put on the contract to remove the box vents and put in ridge vents for free. I have read and re-read on the advantages and disadvantages of ridge vents. I am trying to find out if that is the right thing for my house. I asked him which type of ridge vents he wanted to put up and he said Cobra Ridge Vent II. I have read where some have recommended and some have not recommended this vent. I also have read how important it is to have baffles if you are getting a ridge vent, as the kind without baffles will allow wind-driven rain and other items in the attic. I live on the gulf coast: I do not want more wind-driven rain in my house for sure. Also, I have read that you need enough soffit vents for balance, and to make sure the type of roof you have and attic is appropriate for the ridge vents being installed. Well, he did not go in my attic, so how does he know for sure that the Cobra II would be appropriate? Also, I mentioned to him I know I would need enough soffit vents and he said that I had plenty. But that seems to be just by him looking at them. They are all around the house, but I don't know if they are clogged, or if they are appropriate to go w/ Cobra II. Also, it appears that the top ridge line of my roof is only a few feet long and the side ridges are very long. I don't know if he is going to put ridge vents all along the side ridges, or only at the top few feet. What is necessary for my style of house? Also, and most importantly, why would he offer the 'upgrade' to a ridge vent for free? If it was that much of an upgrade, and costly, it seems it would be an optional thing that I would expect to pay extra for. Are Cobra II ridge vents outdated, and he could be trying to get rid of extra stock? Is it just a selling point that looks like he is giving me a free upgrade, which may not be doing any better than what I have now? I have much conflicting info on whether box vents are good or bad, and whether they really should be blocked once you install a ridge vent as well.

He wants to remove and block off the roof where the box vents are, and install the cobra II ridge vent. But I am not really sure if that is the right thing to do. He did say that if I didn't want that, he would just put the box vents on and leave it too...

I am so confused! Would I be shooting myself in the foot by not taking the ridge vents? Does the Cobra II have a good enough baffle? Would it not be a good idea to use these ridge vents where I live? I certainly don't want to put a product up that will allow more damage once the next hurricane comes along.

Also, I sent him this excerpt from someone's comments on ridge vents, and told him this was one of my concerns:

"Roof ridge vents -- serious problems!

About two years ago we had a new roof installed and the turbine vents replaced with ridge vents.

They do seem to keep the attic a little cooler -- but during a really hard blowing wind drenching downpour, rain water comes in through them making for a leaky ceiling. God! I hope we never have a hurricane!

But the biggest problem is that I have recently discovered that bats are entering through the ridge vents and nesting in the attic. God! I hope those bats are not on the environmental endangered species list!

Has anyone else had problems with ridge vents?

I'm going to have the ridge vents sealed, and reinstall several turbine vents."
____

As you see, that's exactly what I do NOT want to happen to me.

He sent me back an article on the the positives of ridge vents, entitled "The Simple Mathematics of a Balanced Ridge Ventilation System..."

I have not gotten back to him yet...

Sorry so long...I've just been scouring the net for days and days trying to find the right information.

With that, does anyone have any feedback on what I should do? Shouldn't he have gone inside my attic to determine whether a ridge vent system would be ideal for my roof or not? Why is he offering it for 'free'?

Please let me know if/what further information you need to help.

I posted on another forum, but not getting any responses, so sorry if you're on that other forum on see the same thread...just trying to get some help!













Thanks in advance for any help. It is greatly appreciated.

To install ridge vent, 1st you must have a ridge. Or at least more than "a few" lin. ft. of it

So you're saying by looking at my type of roof that a ridge vent would not be sufficient given that the top of my roof ridge is not a significant length?

Anyone else agree with this by looking at the photos of my roof?

Agreed- not enough ridge for ridge vent

A quality ridge vent and installation will not leak.
IMO Cobra is not a quality ridge vent.

As with all parts of your roofing system, quality products and installation are of utmost importance.
I've seen many box vents let in rain, birds, squirrels, bats and bugs. Last tear off with box vents had a sheet metal pan in the attic under one vent. Others showed signs of water intrusion on insulation.

A power vent would be my first choice on your roof.
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I appreciate the feedback thus far...but I have read that power vents are not good in attics with a hot water heater. My hot water heater is in my attic. I have read that they could cause a very dangerous situation with that, not to mention other issues the PAV could cause.

I have read those who like and dislike PAVs, and I know some have had good experience with it, so I'm not trying to make anyone angry about that...but if it should not be installed in an attic with a hot water heater period, then that is not an option for me.

But you don't like box vents either? I haven't noticed leakage with those though, and I've been in the house 4 yrs.

We do have some leakage from the hurricane damage, and when it rains hard now, but we've found that is from where a pipe jack needs to be replaced, as the seal is cracked and broken.

I was wondering if I should just get the box vents replaced with new box vents then. Or do I ask for more box vents since I only have 4? But that would require roofers to cut brand new holes in roof....

Any more feedback? Anything I should be asking the roofer about what his idea is with the ridge vents, etc?

Thank you all for your help!

Brand new holes are no worse than old holes.
Never ran across a water heater in the attic. Is it gas?
If you go with box vents I prefer the slant back style.

Some info from air vents site:

Quote:

How much attic ventilation do I need for my attic? Air Vent recommends 1 square foot of attic ventilation for every 150 square feet of attic floor space divided evenly between intake vents at the roof’s edge or in the overhang or undereave and exhaust vents at or near the peak of the roof. Here's what the formula looks like for a 1200 square foot attic space: 1200 divided by 150 = 8 square feet of attic ventilation. Then divide that number by 2 to provide half the ventilation for intake and half for exhaust. Thus, 8 divided by 2 = 4 square feet of attic ventilation for intake and 4 square feet of attic ventilation for exhaust. The final step is to figure out how many vents would be needed to provide 4 square feet of attic ventilation. To do this let's start by converting the number to square inches by multiplying by 144. Thus, 4 x 144 = 576 square inches of attic ventilation for intake and 576 for exhaust. Air Vent ridge vents provide 18 square inches of Net Free Area per linear foot. To determine how many feet of ridge vent would be needed the formula looks like this: 576 divided by 18 = 32 feet of ridge vent. A typical 8" x 16" undereave vent provides 56 square inches of Net Free Area per vent. To determine how many undereave vents would be needed, the formula looks like this: 576 divided by 56 = 10.2 (which can be rounded up to 11).

Slant backs have 50 square inches per unit
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Thanks for the feedback.

Yes, the hot water heater in my attic is gas.

A little bit on the radical end of thinking, but Ownes Corning makes a Ridge Vent product that is also specified for applications on a Hip of a roof.

In your case, I would personally use 1-2 Solar Powered PAV's.

Make sure you know the exact square footages and cubic feet of attic interior, or at least the correct pitch of the roof.

The calculations for the sizing of the CFM required can be found on the www.AirVent.com website.

Over-powered Attic Ventilator Fans can suck conditioned air from the interior living quarters of the home, so sufficient NFVA needs to be determined from the Intake Vent Portals and possibly additional soffit vents may need to be added.

Ed
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Ed,

I appreciate your feedback on my thread. I have been reading many threads by you and it sounds like you are very knowledgeable.

You have no concerns about the issues with a power attic vent with a gas hot water heater in the attic?

Here's a comment I found on that, for example:

"Some of these attic fans are powerful enough to create a negative pressure in the house. If you have a gas water heater, this negative pressure can cause it to back-draft, putting poisonous combustion gasses into your house instead of up the flue.
The bottom line? Code-required attic ventilation levels are adequate. Putting in extra ventilation is probably a waste of money. Finally, powered attic vent fans are more likely to increase energy bills than to reduce them, and they can create dangerous conditions in your house. A little extra money to really seal the ceiling from the attic will go a long way toward providing comfort and lower bills."

Again, I appreciate the feedback, but I am not sure that a power attic vent/fan for my attic is the way to go. If it is out of the question for my attic because it has a gas hot water heater, than it is back to the other options I was given, I assume.

I do want more discussion about the ridge vents and why the roofer wanted to throw in that as an 'upgrade for free'. Are more of you in belief that Cobra II are inferior, and that my top ridge is not significant enough to have a ridge vent? Should the roofer have gone in the attic in the first place to determine I needed them? Would I need more soffit vents anyway?

Thanks again!

That is precisely why I stated that the CFM, Cubic Feet Per Minute, calculations needed to be right on target and even more importantly, that there was not only adequate "Minimum" Intake ventilation, but to calculate that precisely also.

Also, I would ask your HVAC Tech to be certain. They study from a different source, which is the ASHRAE organization and should be able to surmise the calculations for you, if they are competant.

Ed
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There is a hip vent product available.

http://www.midamericabuilding.com/_homeowner/roofing/roofing.php

If you choose this type of vent you need to choose your contractor carefully, I frequently see it installed incorrectly.
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If the ventilation is working efficiently as it is, then I would leave it. Though I would install new vents of the same design.

That is the other one that I considered when I did the Hip Vents on one job.

It seems like a decent product without the promotional claims.

Ed
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Cobra is a poor product imo. You are getting 'free' vent because you have such a small amount of ridge. Small enough that he may be able to use leftover pieces and not have to 'buy' any for your home.

so basically if he wants to remove all the box vents and block up the roof to put up the ridge vent, but there is only that one small ridge I have up there that he was planning to put the possibly inferior ridge vent on, then I might as well keep the venting the way it is? Especially if he was not planning on checking the attic or the soffit vents to see if things were going to be balanced, and if he was not going to add any type of venting on the slanted ridges..which I don't know if that's ok or not anyway, since I found some windstorm insurance thing online about how you're not supposed to put ridge vents on the slanted ridges, I think... And also, I need adequate intake air for my gas hot water heater in the attic as well...although I don't know if blocking off the box vent sections will affect that or not, since I will have pipe jacks up there, but I am just concerned either way since my house was built in 1990 and he did not check the attic to see if changes he wanted to make would be ok.