RESIDENTIAL ROOF VENTILATION CONTRACTOR IN HUNTSVILLE, AL
Ventilation is a vital consideration when it comes to planning a building of any kind and purpose, and your roof is an important part of your home or business’s ventilation system. As a top roofing contractor in Huntsville, AL, we urge homeowners to check up on the airflow and ventilation of their homes. A roof isn’t just a slab of some material or other that you slap on top of a house to keep it dry. We at 2nd2None Roofing & Construction will design your roof’s ventilation with the utmost care. Just as our name says, we are second to none in the roofing business here in Huntsville, Alabama. Know what others are saying about our services!
Ventilation is simply airflow and its system of intake and exhaust. There are two ways to do this. One is mechanical, which requires an external power source. This is a bit inconvenient, so most of the time roofers will try to ventilate a roof through two natural physical effects: stack and wind. The stack effect is when hot air rises and then creates pressure at an attic’s high points. Hot air escapes (exhaust) and cool air is let in (intake). The wind effect is when the air blows against the outside of a roof to increase the volume of exhaust and intake. A well-ventilated roof takes advantage of both of these effects. 2nd2None’s team of expert roofers is here to ensure that your roof provides good ventilation for your home or business.
BENEFITS OF PROPER ROOF VENTILATION
Roofing ventilation has a number of different benefits. One is keeping the indoor temperatures of your home consistent throughout. A poorly ventilated roof will make some rooms significantly warmer or colder than other rooms on the property. A roof with good ventilation will keep your home comfortable all year round.
Another benefit of roofing ventilation is that it reduces your energy costs. Summer in Huntsville can make homes quite uncomfortable, and if your house doesn’t have a well-ventilated roof, you may find your electric bill skyrocketing because you kept using the air conditioner. With a well-ventilated roof, you will rarely ever need to turn on the air conditioner, since your roof is going to keep hot air out of your home anyway.
Roofing ventilation will lengthen the lifespan of your roof in a number of ways. During summer, the hot air that builds up in your attic might damage your roof from the inside out, namely the shingles.
During winter, icicles can form on the edges of your roof. This buildup of ice is called “ice dams,” and it can be quite damaging to your roof. This happens when various sources of heat, namely sunlight and the heat trapped in a poorly ventilated attic, melt the snow on your roof. The water will run to the edges of the roof, refreeze, and form the aforementioned icicles. This buildup can run through to the building materials of your home and damage your roof and even some walls. Proper roof ventilation averts this problem by keeping the air cool evenly throughout, making sure the heat escapes well before it has a chance to melt the snow on your roof. At 2nd2None, similar to roof repair or roof replacement, we carefully consider your ventilation needs and will build you a roof that can withstand various temperature extremes.
WHAT TYPES OF VENTS DO WE USE TO BUILD A VENTILATION SYSTEM?
Ridge Vents
Ridge vents are probably the most common type of vents used today, and they are important components in homes that do not use an electric ventilation system. They are installed along the roof’s peaks, where accumulated hot air in the attic rises and escapes through these vents. Ridge vents are usually made of the molded copolymer and are installed underneath shingles to make the roof look seamless. They look almost invisible to anyone who isn’t a roofer. Cool air then enters the roof through soffit vents, which are parallel to the eaves of the soffit. These vents are usually grilles that run along the soffit.
Gable-end vents
Gable-end vents are installed, as the name suggests, along the gable-end’s peak. Gable-end vents operate as intake and exhaust vents, considering the wind direction. To boot, their effectiveness depends on wind speed and direction; they’re more effective once the wind is of decent speed and coming from a direction perpendicular to the roof assembly’s gable ends. Gable-end vents are of restricted effectiveness once winds are light and/or returning from a direction parallel to the roof assembly’s gable ends.
Turbine Vents
Turbine vents are a type of rotary ventilator that uses wind power to remove hot air and moisture from a building. They are often used in industrial and commercial settings but can also be used in homes. This vent design attracts air from the ventilated area at a larger rate than a static vent once the wind is present. The quantity of air movement developed is a function of wind speed, as well as turbine size and efficiency. Turbine vents work by allowing wind to enter the vent through louvers, which turn a turbine inside the vent. The turbine turns a shaft, which drives a fan that pulls air out of the building. This airflow creates negative pressure inside the building, which draws in fresh air from outside. Turbine vents are an effective way to cool a building and improve indoor air quality. They are also relatively low maintenance and can last for many years with proper care.
Powered Vents
This type of vent is primarily roof-mounted exhaust fans that are used to exhaust air from a ventilated area. Powered vents will improve air movement and may be mounted close to the ridge. Powered vents are best used with intake vents situated at eaves or soffits.
These powered vents could also be controlled by a thermostat and/or humidistat switches that cause the vents to run solely above a planned temperature or relative humidity. Powered vents should also have a manual override.
Powered ventilation shouldn’t be utilized in combination with ridge vents or static vents placed close to a roof’s ridge. In several instances, the air volume being exhausted by the powered ventilation can lead to the air intake and, therefore, potential moisture infiltration through ridge vents or static vents.
Whatever the roof ventilation problems you might face, 2nd2None Roofing & Construction is there to help you solve it in a jiffy. Our team of experts has over 15 years of experience in the roofing industry, so you can be sure that they can deliver the quality service that is expected of the top roofing company in Huntsville, Alabama. We take pride in our work, and we care about the needs of our clients. We do our best to keep an open line of communication with our clients, and we even offer to negotiate with insurers on their behalf.