Best Ridge Vent for a Metal Roof
etting
| Posted in General Questions on
For Classic Rib (exposed fastener) steel panels on a simple 4:12 gable roof with a 14″ universal steel ridge cap that simply covers the ridge, what ridge vent product do you recommend to keep bugs, etc. from getting in? The following seem to be the best options I’ve found, but I can’t find enough reviews on them to give me any guidance. (I tried to make these links, but the forum interface wouldn’t accept them.) In order of lowest to highest cost (on a tight budget).
SV2 Vent Foam
Marco Industries, Flex-O-Vent Ridge Vent
Marco Industries, LP2 Weather-Tite R-Panel Ridge Vent (or whatever panel profile fits; they make many.
ProfileVent
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
I'll bump this post to see if anyone has a recommendation. Have you contacted the roofing manufacturer?
Thank you, Steve. A lot of participants in this forum install metal roofing, so I'm hoping one or more will share what he/she uses. Contacting the roofing manufacturer might be helpful, but they might have relationships that compromise their impartiality. I'm leaning toward the Flex-O-Vent, but still don't have much to go on.
Jeff,
Sorry, I somehow missed this thread.
Before we get into various brands - The first thing I do before installing the roof panels is cover the ridge with 1/4" hardware cloth (galvanized metal mesh). This provides peace of mind as a last defence against rodents.
I haven't found a lot of difference in the various mesh closure strips, so you can't go far wrong with either of the options you have suggested. What clogs them around here are the needles from deciduous trees, and they all seem equally susceptible to that.
One design that seems better than the standard ridge cap supplied by Westman or Westform is this one, which elevates the intake up off the roof panels. I haven't used it but it might be worth a look:
http://www.idealroofing.ca/english_canada/pdf/accessories/RidgeVent.pdf
Thank you, Malcolm.
Interesting elevated ridge cap. I'm surprised its net free vent area is only 8.6 sqin/ft. ProfileVent claims 17 sqin/ft. and Flex-O-Vent claims 23, but the latter is for the freestanding product, so I wonder how much it's reduced once it's compressed, as it will be compressed much more than a mesh that's cut to fit a profile. I'll call them to see what they say.
Great suggestion re the hardware cloth. I'll install it unless I can be sure that none of Arizona creatures will climb up there. We have many fewer tree-dwellers than you do there in BC.
"We have less tree-dwellers"
Thank God for small mercies
Yes, but we have rattlesnakes; I'd trade for squirrels anytime.