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One of the hacks of cutting your electricity bills is investing in a quality ridge vent. For most houses, this is an important part that protects your house attic to cool down. This means that your AC shall have a lighter task to handle and hence save you on the bills. The attic region of your roof accumulates lots of heat, without an opening to allow this heat to escape, you shall end up with a dumb warm attic. Installing a ridge vent should be done with care since it happens This is how to install rolled ridge vent once you buy it.
Before we see how to install rolled ridge vent, let's first get a hint of what we're going to achieve. By installing a ridge vent, you shall not only cool down your attic area but also your house in general.
Shingles usually detach due to high temperatures in your attic area, by cooling it down, you shall have extended the life of your roof. Avoiding that warm humid environment that leads to the formation of mold can only be done by installing a ridge vent.
For a rolled ridge vent to function properly, it has to get full access to cool air. The cool air comes in through the vents forcing the warm humid air out. For an effective circulation, your intake vents have to take in equal air as the one expelled by the outlet vents. In order to prepare for the fix, you have to prepare your tools and materials. This is what you shall need:
Tools shall include a hammer, a chalk line, a circular saw, a flat pry bar, fall-arresting equipment, and a hook blade. Materials include a ridge vent, 1.5-inch roofing nails, 8d nails, shingle caps, shingle pieces, and polyurethane caulk.
After being set with the tools, ensure you wear protective clothing, a ladder's possibly obvious.
The first step is removing the cup shingles on the ridge of your roof. To do this effectively, slide a flat pry bar below the cup shingle near the nail area and pry. After the nail partially comes out, you can use a claw hammer to completely get it out. Do this carefully to avoid any further destruction of surrounding shingles.
The next thing is to mark the area that shall be letting out air from your attic area. After marking the area, about half an inch on your select side, use the circular saw to cut the sheathing. Cut along the ridge but do not extend to the edges. It is advisable that you leave out about 3 inches of space towards both edges.
However, you can leave space as instructed in your ridge vent manual. When cutting, ensure you cut out the sheathing only, avoid going deep as you might cut the ridge board and the trusses.
In case you have exposed decking after removing the shingle cups, you have to cover them. To do this, install new shingles and nail them down. For the case of places where shingles we're trimmed to give space, nail their edges to fasten them before installing the Dodge vent.
After cutting the sheathing, it is now time to fix the ridge vent. Place a single ridge vent at a time and let the subsequent one be attached to the preceding one. After placing each, you should nail it as you move to the next one.
When you come to the end, the final piece of ridge vent might be too long, cut it using a hacksaw to the exact length. Depending on your preference, cup the ends or seal them.
Most homeowners prefer that the ridge vent should be uniform with their roof. To achieve this, you can install shingle caps over your ridge vent. Place them over your ridge vent and fasten with the nails recommended by your manufacturer.
As you realize, installing a rolled ridge vent is an involving task. Before installing your ridge vent, you have to be sure that your roof is safe and can be readjusted. If you have the skills, installing your ridge vent by yourself can be interesting, though you shall need someone else to help you out.
A professional home repair service on the other hand is highly recommended. Instead of trying, such service providers shall help you install it accurately. They have all the tools and a long time experience to precisely install a ridge vent on your roof and maintain the look. Though costly, it shall help you avoid costly errors like the wrong installation. Therefore, going for a professional should be your first option, especially for non-technical guys.
Roofs vary when it comes to the cost of installing a ridge vent on them. Depending on your location and extra labor needed, the cost might increase. For instance, if you have a complex roof design with multiple elevations, installing a ridge vent shall be done on all elevations separately, therefore, raising the price.
If you plan on installing your ridge vent on your own, it shall cut out the costs by almost half. The length of your roof and any other repairs that might need to be done before installing a ridge vent shall raise the price. Ensure you consider these when estimating your custom installation price.
Installing a ridge vent should be done with care and precision. If done poorly, you might end up with a leaking roof instead of that cool attic you expect. If you have to do it yourself, wear protective clothing, and always be sure of the dimensions and your measurements before cutting. It is however good if you hire a professional roof repair service to get it done for you.
