The quality of the roof in modern suburban housing largely determines its comfort and safety.
Roof ventilation is an essential element of its proper structure.
The importance of proper ventilation
Often, the owners buy high-quality materials, investing serious funds in the repair of the roof, but they ignore the advice of specialists. As a result, ventilation for the roof is equipped in an abbreviated form.
From an amateurish point of view, it is not entirely clear why ventilation should be organized, and how moisture generally appears in a dry house under a newly renovated or erected roof.
Let us analyze what happens if there is no ventilation of the roof.
In a residential building there is warm air, which rises with water vapor, i.e. in the attic or attic, and going directly under the roof. If snow falls on the roof, it melts and causes its leakage due to backwater melt water. An unorganized gutter causes the facade to become wet. Water flowing down the ramp freezes, reaching cold spots above the cornice, forming icicles. This means that the roof ventilation was not performed correctly.
When the roof temperature is below zero, all moisture contained in the air of the under-roof space turns into condensate on its inner surface. With a significant difference in the external and internal temperatures of the water will be greater. And, as you know, an increase of 5% in the humidity of the insulation leads to an increase in thermal conductivity twice or more.
Forced ventilation of the roof through the walls of the building leads to their premature destruction.
And also to create conditions for the development of mold.
Ventilation of a soft roof is also necessary, since summer overheating of it together with exposure to ultraviolet light reduces its service life and makes the attic room uncomfortable.
Modern ventilation systems
New ventilation systems provide for the use of the natural property of warm air moving up.
The basic principle: cold air enters through vents from below, and exits from above.
More effective if air moves throughout the under-roof interior.
Roof ventilation is performed for such purposes:
• removal of residual water vapor penetrating upward from the interior;
• equalization of temperature on the roof surface, which eliminates the formation of ice on the eaves overhangs, as a result of melting snow;
• reduce the influx of heat that forms under the roof cladding under solar radiation.
Modern ventilation systems
Air inlets (vents) are closed with perforated decorative plastic or metal strips.
Roof ventilation involves the use of different types of air outlets: point and continuous. Point (aerators) during installation are placed in separate sections of the ridge or roof. They are mushroom-shaped, equipped with a built-in fan and integrated with the overall ventilation system of the house. Continuous are installed along the entire length of the building ridge, which provides better ventilation. As a rule, from above they are covered with roofing material and do not spoil the view of the building.
Roof ventilation is a necessary and most profitable investment in building a house.