Hip Vents for 12/12 pitch roof - any suggestions

woodworker2000 · 09-26-2006, 08:52 AM

I am in the planning stages of finishing out my attic and am considering getting hip vents installed instead of dealing with funky framing in the corners of the attic space. The roof currently has a ridge vent (approx 16' long) which proved insufficient to vent the attic (even with continuous vented soffits around the perimeter) so I had a powered vent fan installed last year which does a tremendous job of keeping the temperature at a reasonable level during the summer.

Any suggestions about what I should look for/insist on when getting hip vents installed? I will not do this myself but want to be somewhat informed when talking to roofing contractors about this. I have to admit that I am a little leary about cutting into the roof decking so I want to be certain I select a qualified roofer to perform this job. I do not want the problems of water penetrating the vent. The pitch on the roof is pretty steep (12/12) so I have a little comfort in that. My house is 4 years old and the shingles are asphalt .

I've done some searching on the web and came across a thread on Mid-America's HipMaster hip vents that some roofing contractors seem to like and I read through the instalation instructions on Mid-America's web site but other than that, I don't know much more.

Any suggestions/tips/words of caution? I live in Raleigh, NC....any contractor recommendations or suggestions on how to begin my search? Thanks.

woodworker2000 · 10-03-2006, 04:21 PM

anyone???

woodworker2000 · 10-23-2006, 09:59 AM

Bump for assistance. Anyone?

AaronB · 10-23-2006, 01:42 PM

i HAVE USED mID-aMERICA'S HIP VENT, AND ALL ARE SUCCESSFUL.

Remove the fan if youre going with ridge vent and hip vent.

woodworker2000 · 10-26-2006, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AaronB

i HAVE USED mID-aMERICA'S HIP VENT, AND ALL ARE SUCCESSFUL.

Remove the fan if youre going with ridge vent and hip vent.

The MidAmerica hip vent system seems to be well thought of on this board and other boards. The trouble now is trying to find someone who will install it for me (Raleigh, NC).

Why do I need to remove the fan? Wouldn't it work in to force hot air out (active venting versus passive venting by the ridge vent)? Right now, I have an unfinished attic with just a ridge vent and the fan. I had the fan installed because it was so HOT in the attic during the summer (125-130 degrees F). I'm not expert but based on my personal experience I just don't think using just a ridge vent is sufficient to adequately vent a large (800sq ft +) attic....even though I have continuous venting around the soffit.

Thanks.

AaronB · 10-26-2006, 11:31 AM

I say remove the ridge vent and hip vent if youre using the fan to meet mfg. specs. They write them like this because their research has shown that the fan will suck air in through vents, as air takes the path of least resistance, and exhaust it through the fan. This leads to less than optimum turnover in the attic because you get good turnover at the top, but poor turnover at the bottom of the space.

If you want to save on air conditioning as well as force air through the attic, I would suggest a whole house fan. This will suck air through windows, doors, etc in the warm months, creating a breeze that does a tremendous job of cooling the house, as well as push air throughtthe attic and out of the vents.

Kinda like killing a flock of birds with one stone.