1917 Bungalow – ridge vent, no intake, no soffits
Looking for direction on correcting the attic ventilation on a 1917 Bungalow.
Roof was just replaced before a change of hands. Ridge vent was added (I assume there was never a ridge vent until this last, most recent tear-off).
There are pressure issues in the house in high winds. Doors open or slam etc.
There are no gable vents (there are sealed gable windows), no soffits to vent etc. See photos for roof/wall intersections (soffit) details.
There are two options I can see being feasible but the latter may not be practical. The first is a lower 1/3rd type of roof intake vent like the DCI Smart Vent (this would be a pain on a new roof with new adhesive and take a significant amount of shingles off temporarily). The second might be some sort of Fascia vent and baffle situation but I am not sure I actually have the room to work.
Am I missing any options?
Currently the house is being remediated for vermiculite in the attic. I would like to take care of the venting issue before I air seal and insulate.
The house has stood for well over 100 years without any venting at all. I am treading carefully, trying to update and make comfortable without ruining a house that already “worked”.
Thanks in advance.
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Replies
Code requirements for attic venting are based on having a leaky ceiling plane with lots of moisture entering the attic. If you do a great job of air sealing after the vermiculite is gone, you shouldn't have any issues. I have an addition with some soffit vents and a gable end louver that's free of any moisture issues as I made the ceiling plane as sealed as I could.
If I was insistent on having some intake venting would there be any creative solutions other than the DCI Smart Vent or similar?