Thanks to a convenient hail storm, I'll be getting a new roof. And I'll be switching from cedar shakes to composition. They say that here in Oklahoma, I'll have to provide some additional venting besides the existing openings at each end of the house. The choices appear to be ridge vents or 2 or 3 non-powered turbines. Any experts here with a preference?
I'm no expert, but I'd go with the ridge vent. They're much prettier than turbines.
I had 3 ridge vents on my roof of the house I bought two yrs ago. The roof was only two yrs old and you could tell the dark areas around the vents due to poor ventilation ( hot air not circulating our of the attic). Every contractor I talked to said to install 3 turbines in place of the vents and the circulation problem would be fixed. I believe I paid around $40 a piece for them. They seem to be working great as it's only been a couple months since they were installed and the hot weather hasn't hit us yet..
I added ridge vents (also hail storm damage) last year. I have been happy with the results. Unlike turbines, they will not make any noise have not maintenance and are much less likely to get damaged.
That said, I have heard that in some areas with some roof construction they are recommended. I prefer a passive system that works (ridge vents) rather than any active system when possible.
It used to be a coin-toss, but the only turbines you can get any more are such cheap "Made in China" crap that I won't waste my money on them. Flimsy, recycled beer-can construction and plastic bushings don't belong on my roof. If you can find good quality turbines they will last as long as your roof with occasional lubrication, but plastic bushings wear out in a year or two any you will be replacing them constantly. Ridge vents last forever.
Pay me now or pay me later.
Peabody,
Many of us in this area have added ridge vents and so far I don't know of anybody who has had problems. These vents are located at the most logical point in you attic - at the highest and hottest part of the attic.
As others have said, they are 100% passive and should obviously last forever. And they look much better.
The cost is rather modest and the extra ventilation is well worth it in my opinion.
I'm not an expert, just another homeowner who recently got a "free" roof from a hailstorm and who did a lot of research before making a decision on the new roof.
Good luck, Gideon
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Peabody wrote: Thanks to a convenient hail storm, I'll be getting a new roof. And I'll be switching from cedar shakes to composition. They say that here in Oklahoma, I'll have to provide some additional venting besides the existing openings at each end of the house. The choices appear to be ridge vents or 2 or 3 non-powered turbines. Any experts here with a preference?
Look at Building Science Corporation web site. This is researched information. TB
Get both.
Turbines move a lot more air, but turbines don't work (very well) when the wind's not blowing.
Also dramatically increase the sq footage of your soffit vents. You can't have too many.
Here's the drill:
-------- The old roof *IS* coming off, I trust?
Not always a good idea. If you create a short circuit situation, you could reduce overall efficiency.
We build an 8x12 shed in the summer of 2001 and used a ridge vent experimentally instead of using regular vents as I had on a shed at my parents' place. I was impressed at how well the air circulated and very little heat built up (compared with the shed with square roof vents). I suspect that with a ridge vent, you have venting at the very top, while with regular vents you just can't get all the way up, so some heat can pool up there. Plus, venting occurs between more joists/trusses instead of just where the other vents are.
When we built our home (roof was done in February 2003), I used a ridge vent at the top to supplement the other vents (not enough ridge to provide the venting necessary). The ridge vent is slightly visible (a few people commented that it looked like the ridge shingles were lifting) but does a very nice job in keeping it vented all year round.
Remember, many homes do not have soffits and hence it is very difficult to increase the size of the soffit vents. :)
Personally, one of my biggest regrets when we had our shingles replaced last year is the fact that I didn't consider having the roof extended to create soffits. A venting system involving (unblocked) soffit vents plus ridge vents seems like the perfect passive venting arrangement.
Gideon
Get both.
Turbines move a lot more air, but turbines don't work (very well) when the wind's not blowing.
Also dramatically increase the sq footage of your soffit vents. You can't have too many.
Here's the drill:
-------- The old roof *IS* coming off, I trust?
On Mon, 09 May 2005 01:56:18 GMT, "John?] " scribbled this interesting note:
We only use lifetime warrantied turbines with bearings, not bushings. These are aluminum, available in different colors so as to match your choice of roof color, and so far as I know, still made in the US.
-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)
On Mon, 09 May 2005 02:00:33 GMT, "Gideon" scribbled this interesting note:
The house we own and live in had ridge vents installed when we bought the house. They are in the process of falling apart. Between the UV rays, heat, and additional hail, pieces are falling off. I just haven't gotten around to removing these things yet and throwing them in the trash.
-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)
John,
How old are the ridge vents which are falling apart?
Gideon
Ridge vents are MUCH better at increasing air flow and decreasing cooling costs than turbines.
But you can do both if you like.
It seems that just about all of the comments favor the ridge vent. Just had a couple of estimates for a roof replacement and both contractors were not too much in favor of putting in the ridge vent. Both questioned the benefit as compared to several roof vents (non-powered) along the top of the roof. One problem here is the potential of snow to get blown under the vent and into the attic Not too long ago the Handyman column of the Boston paper addressed how to contain the melting snow once it breeches the attic. So I guess that roof venting can be a matter of choice based on the contractor and/or location. MLD
John,
Good advise. I still prefer ridge vents, but I can't understand how folks will spend thousands on a new roof and install the cheapest turbine vents that can find. Glad to see you go with quality.
Gideon
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John Willis We only use lifetime warrantied turbines with bearings, not bushings. These are aluminum, available in different colors so as to match your choice of roof color, and so far as I know, still made in the US.
As I recall that was an issue with some of the early designs, but the current ones don't seem to have a problem.
So far no problems from mine, and I live in Ohio and get lots of snow and wind.
On Mon, 09 May 2005 16:17:38 GMT, "Gideon" scribbled this interesting note:
I have no real idea. Probably somewhere around fifteen years. At any rate, plastics will all degrade when exposed to UV radiation. Couple that with the other extremes of weather in North Texas, and I feel certain no plastic ridge vent made even today will perform much better. And any ridge vent with any kind of batting in it will stop up over time and be virtually worthless. I'm not certain how well the kind with baffles perform as I haven't fully evaluated them as of yet.
-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)
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