Cathedral ceiling ventilation

dpreznik

Dear friends,

I have a cathedral ceiling over a half of my house, and an attic over another half. The roof used to be ventilated through two roof vents on the opposite sides of the house. A year ago I decided to finish the attic, so now it is completely separated from the space over the cathedral ceiling. Thus I have only one roof vent functioning. Recently, I noticed that the cathedral ceiling got some damages, soft spots, nails sticking from the sheetrock etc. I suspect that dampness is accumulated over the cathedral ceiling because the ventilation is not enough. Now, my question is what to do. Should I open soffit vents? If yes, is it possible at all to do it with a cathedral ceiling? Should I also make a ridge vent? Or soffit vents would be enough? Or anything else?
I would appreciate advices.
Thanks,
Dmitriy Reznik

jmorgan

You will need a continous air space between the insulation and the roof deck. It must be open at the ridge and soffets. There can be no blocking to block the passage of air. Sounds like you have condensation.
Jim

dpreznik

Thank you Jim,
Here are two more questions.
When I cut openings in my soffit, I found that at the edges of the house there is no insulation, and between them there is enough insulation, but no vent channel to let the air through. Can anything be done in such a situation? Can any insulation be added where it is absent, and can vent channels be installed without taking the cathedral ceiling apart?
Sincerely,
Dmitriy Reznik