The winter in New England can be very hard hitting and most of the times, that is how it is. In only one winter season, we can have more then a foot of snow accumulated on the top of a roof. Well, if it happens, we might face another problem – ICE DAM. That is right. To know more about Ice dam, go to Ice Dam on Roofing – Do you know how it starts?
How to prevent? As we said on our article, one way is to make sure that your roof has enough ventilation by installing ridge vents and soffit vents on the roof. Ridge and soffit vents, installed under roofing, can prevent water caused by ice dams from leaking into your home.
Ridge vents basically have the some look and will match the roofing color of your house, but soffit vents you can actually find three types:
1 – Round vents that can vary from 2 ¼” up to 4” wide in diameter;
2 - Rectangular vents that are 5” x 8’ long; and
3 – Strip aluminum vents that are 2 ½” x 8’ long.
In this particular project roofing replacement project, all the soffit vents were proximally 16” wide and we used the Strip Aluminum Vents with James Hardie Panels (2 feet x 8 feet sheets) as our soffit (see picture). We decided to run on the entire roofing soffit’s lengths so that we can have the best ventilation possible. However, there is one thing we added to the scope of work… Any guess?
It is fiber glass screen! These kind of aluminum vents offer no protection to keep the bugs out, so we install a 6” wide screen behind it. The screen is really simple to install, it does not cost a lot of money, and it will protect the soffit vents and your home from bugs.
At the end, the air will be flowing as it needs to keep your roof from the freeze-thaw process that cause ice dam and the bugs will need to find another home!
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