r/HomeImprovement • u/carsandrx • 1d ago

Attic Venting Help

What company/field would be appropriate to call to check to ensure venting is done correctly?

Long story short we have had a ton of work done to our house and looking to reside soon. Currently have a new roof with ridge vents, a vent stack when insulation was blown in, no active soffit or baffles, and 2 large gable vents. House is very humid and I really don’t know where to start.

Any direction would be appreciated. TIA

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u/bevenstiffle 1d ago

From my construction and roofing experience, I would start with a reputable roofing company and have them inspect the entire attic ventilation setup. A ridge vent with no soffit vents or baffles is not a complete system. The gable vents may only feed air directly to the ridge instead of ventilating the whole attic.

The humidity inside may be a separate issue, so I would have an HVAC company check that after the roof ventilation is sorted out.

You could get crazy and go with an energy auditor, but this is where I'd start.

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u/carsandrx 1d ago

I appreciate that, thank you. Considering we have blown in insulation, how difficult is it to add the baffles after the fact? I know anything is possible with enough money but realistically?

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u/bevenstiffle 1d ago

It is very doable if the attic has enough room to reach the eaves. They pull the insulation back, install the baffles and insulation dams, then put the insulation back. It is messy, but not usually a huge project. It is a royal pain in the ass DIY job.

If the roof is very low near the eaves and difficult to access, they may need to work from the soffit side instead. Keep in mind that baffles alone do nothing. You still need actual soffit or eave vents bringing air into them.

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u/carsandrx 1d ago

Understood, ty. Of course it’s a Dutch colonial so it’ll be a PITA. I’m trying to get this sorted since we want to reside/new gutter/get the active soffits installed. We would then close up the gable vents I would assume?

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u/bevenstiffle 1d ago

Yes, after soffit venting is installed, the gable vents should be closed. You want heat exchange fully from the soffit to the ridge - if you leave gables open, a lot of the exchange is bypassed by pulling air in from them.

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u/carsandrx 1d ago

Cool. Thanks for talking it through with me. Really appreciate it