My " attic" is all dense pack on the inside. It sits on 3/4 plywood with only a house wrap material under it. Duralast white membrane, heat welded where necessary. My one and only vent goes outside at the upper wall, Roof vents like any hole in a roof is just asking for problems also. Yes it must have access to inside the home air. Rather than an ugly access door I hung a picture over. My air valve has been in place for three years, works well. As I am sure you know, the mechanical 'vents' are actually one-way air valves that stop a vacuum when water flows through the trap (air admittance valves), and eventually they fail.
#ARE AIR ADMITTANCE VALVES LEGAL IN MASSACHUSETTS FREE#
Here in the 'Live Free or Die' state, (and maybe it is just the towns I have houses in here), they are illegal. Quote:"While you can use mechanical vents at fixtures."ĭepends where you live. I do approve of top pitch ridge venting, as is done in a Morton Bldg., barn, or whatever. I be leave keeping out the cold is the best way to build and insulate. I passed inspection with the county and have somewhere close to an R-70.
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Way too many people think there is only one way to build. There is no room for any air to get in, that's what we all want. My " attic" so to speak is dense packed cellulose 18" of the stuff. If you build correctly there is no need for vented soffits. What you say is not always true, remember hot air gos up cold air comes down. ! I blocked off the fan with insulation, which helped some. The last house I remodeled ,built in the mid modern 60" era, had a large attic fan with louvers that automatically closed when you turned off the fan.Not only was a lot of cold air coming down from the attic, but when you ran the double sided fireplace.and the fan.well lets just say it was a bad experience. I assure you that I do not have any of the above in my new build. In the summer an attic exhaust fan helps lower the temperature to that outside.
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Ridge and soffit vents are put in for a reason. Well, that is, if you don't want ice dams, condensation, and a few other maladies. In the winter, a cold attic is exactly what you want. For unfinished living space (or totally unfinished) in the attic, you want the temperature in those areas the same as the outside temperature.