If your attic is really hot...

ryanxo · 07-31-2012, 12:23 PM

Then you should check your undereave vents.

I went to check mine... required removing the vinyl temporarily and removing the current vent.

When i took off the vent that was there I discovered that a hole of about 1" x 6" had been cut.
It makes 0 sense to me for that small of a hole to be under the 4"x16".

Soo I took a sawz All and made that hole much bigger. Now it's about 3"x14".

When I looked up in the hole i saw that there were batts of insulation shoved in front of every one to block it so I took that out as well. Once I did that I could literally feel the air movement going up through the hole. It was awesome.

Now I need to call and complain to my insulation company as they were supposed to remove those batts and put in baffles before they blew in the new insulation. I want it fixed!

Thought this might be a helpful tip to anyone looking for help.

Trucon01 · 07-31-2012, 02:00 PM

Well said. I'm going to do that with mine in a few months, simply because my attic is too damn hot to work in

ryanxo · 07-31-2012, 02:09 PM

Mine is too. That's one of the reasons I was doing it from the outside.
The other being that I HATE insulation on me.

I just had to call back the insulation guys...they are coming back out tomorrow to fix it.

tylernt · 08-22-2012, 04:20 PM

Our attic was always really hot (typically 30°F above ambient or more in the summer), but I saw lots of soffit and ridge vents so I figured that was normal.

Upon selling the house, the buyer's inspector said all the soffit vents were clogged with insulation. Indeed, the installers had PACKED fiberglass insulation in EVERY rafter bay down into the soffits. In one instance, I pulled an accordioned 2ft length of batt out of the soffit, for pete's sake.

So... I got several hours of hot, sweaty, dirty, itchy work and the new owners get to enjoy lower A/C bills. Great.

Learn from my mistake -- check your attic ASAP!

bbo · 08-22-2012, 05:30 PM

I really need to get up and check mine ... if nothing more than peace of mind.

Hogan773 · 08-29-2012, 05:05 PM

I am getting air sealing and insulation to cut down on ice dams. I am also suspect on my 4x16 soffits....probably need to check them. I was thinking of even having someone cut in some of them to 8x16......just to add airflow.....but I guess first is to determine how big the current holes really are.

Wish I didn't have to get up on a very tall ladder for this, however. May have someone else do it. I imagine falling off my 25' ladder as I'm arching around trying to unscrew the soffit vent.

AlleyG · 10-09-2012, 02:30 PM

Instead of enlarging some to 8x16, just add more 4x16's. Then more rafter bays will be vented. The best soffit vent is a continuous one.

Al