Complete newbie roofing question

[Kevin Hawerchuk]

Hi, I just discovered this newsgroup. I've lived in apartments all of my life, until I recently purchased a mobile home. (12ft by 40ft). It's in a trailer park and I will be living there on a year round basis. It's in Niagara Falls, Canada. As I have no experience in home repairs, I hired a handyman to fix the place up for me. He added a peak roof to the existing roof which was in bad shape. Now, I've been reading the posts about the turbine vents. Very interesting. My handyman has been misleading me, unfortunately. He is trying to tell me that the soffits that run along side the trailer, allow enough air to enter the roof to circulate and ventilate the roof, WITHOUT roof vents. This didn't make sense to me and I told him I do want a turbine roof vent installed. Now I'm wondering if he didn't do a complete cockup job on the roof. He did not install actual intake vents. The soffits are perforated though. He added insulation to the roof, but I'm not sure if he left the soffit area clear so that the air can flow to the ridge. My questions are these: are perforated soffits good enough for air intake? Will one 14" turbine be sufficient to exhaust the air for a roof

12 feet wide, 40 feet long? Any advice for a total home repair newbie would greatly be appreciated! Kevin

[Edwin Pawlowski]

No turbine needed. If the soffits are properly done, you are all set, especially in your mild - cool climate.

[tbasc]

Mr. Pawlowski is, IMHO, correct. TB

[Joseph Meehan]

I would avoid turbine vents, even to the point of removing them if I had them.

With few exceptions non-mechanical vents work as well or better than any powered vent, including turbine vents. All powered vents, especially turbine vents have reliability issues. In addition all powered vents can cause noise and vibration. Generally you want soffit vents as well as a higher vent, but specific situation and local codes will dictate what you need. You may want to add gable vents or some sort of other passive vents near the peak.

[tinacci336]

Sonds to me lke you got all you need so stop bitchin. That size place doesn't need vents. Jack