Your attic may presently have a fixed ladder a pull down ladder or no ladder at all.
Does my attic need to be vented.
The easy answer is yes your attic should absolutely be vented.
During winter the primary cause of attic moisture issues stem from warm moist air infiltrating into the attic space from the inhabited areas and condensing on cold surfaces.
Calculate or enter the square footage of the attic or area to be vented.
My question is this.
Yes using spray foam we have added your attic to the conditioned space.
Here s the answer to the question posed in my article title.
However in a traditionally insulated attic insulation on the ceiling the attic is vented.
In other words the entire vent opening doesn t count as vented space.
In a properly designed passive system air enters through the soffit.
To get down to brass tacks the question becomes less about should you and more about how much you need.
Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents.
Attics or roofs can be designed and constructed to be either vented or unvented in any hygro thermal zone map 1.
When we seal the attic with spray foam it s as tight as a butter tub.
The ventilation that controls moisture from condensation and regulates the temperature in your attic relies on air circulation.
Intake vents located at the lowest part of the roof under the eaves allow cool.
Does the furnace and evaporator coils need to be vented like this or can i close up this hole and help reduce air loss into the attic.
Each home is unique carrying challenges and structural requirements to match.
The model building codes allow both vented and unvented roof assemblies.
But when it comes down to it it can get a little complicated.
Generally speaking you need a ratio of 1 300 where for every 300 square feet of ceiling space you need 1 square foot of attic ventilation.
Let owens corning roofing help you calculate exactly how much ventilation you will need for a healthy and balanced attic with our 4 step ventilation calculator.
The choice of venting or not venting is a design and construction choice not a requirement determined by the physics or by the building code.
Our thermostat is nearby this half closet.
When done correctly attic venting can reduce the potential for condensation in winter and summer.