[stephensandlin]

Hello,

I have a 1928 bungalow in Houston, Texas (read: hot and humid). I'm in the process of replacing my ductwork, and wanted to improve the ventilation in the attic while up there. It's getting extremely hot in the attic, and I'd like to prolong the roof's life, while getting rid of some of the hot air that is zapping my nice cold air inside.

This is a rectagular, Southward-facing, A-frame attic. Originally, there were gable vents at the front and back (South and North) of the house. 12 years ago, a previous owner renovated the home. They took out the front vent, and replaced it with a piece of glass. When they replaced the roof, they also put in a ridge vent. There are no other roof vents. There are also no soffit vents, or air intakes entering at the bottom of the roof. In fact there are no soffits, as the rafters are exposed. As for insulation, the remodeler blew in insulation, and it has settled in to a height just above the joists.

My initial thought was to add several soffit intakes along what I guess you might call the fascia (the 1x6's in between the rafters). Although I'm not sure "fascia" is the right term, since it's moved up and in, towards the attic. Then stick some of the styrofoam baffles on the inside to hold the insulation back.

My questions:

1 Would I be better off just replacing the front glass with a vent, to get some cross-flow in the attic?

2 After adding soffit vents, is the rear gable vent going to hinder the proper airflow of whatever soffit & ridge system I am able to create?

3 Is there some sort of regional climate issue that I'm not aware... do soffit & ridge sytems not do well with hot and humid climates? I've seen some ridge vents in my neighborhood, but not mant soffits... are they hidden?


Thanks in advance... all advice is welcome!

This is what the overhang looks like... exposed rafters, no vent

This is the front gable... glass, no vent

This is the back gable... just a screened vent

 

[kennzz05]

any way to make that window an opening window that you could open in summer and close in winter

 

[stephensandlin]

kennzz05,
that's actually a really good idea... I have easy access from the porch, so it wouldn't be hard to work with. I would just need to make it look good

 

[nomad4137]

You need to shoot this over to the Roofing Forum.
Ventilation is most frequently discussed & best understood by those guys.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Where are you located? What to do can vary by region
How hot is it in the attic now? How much insulation - inches?
Do you run an AC during the summer?
I would make that window a removeable piece of glass w/frame
Then put a screen in, remove the glass for the summer
Or just change it back to a screened openiong all year long

Soffit vents can be hard to see, some may be hidden in the soffit board & look like there isn't any

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