Ventilation, from the Latin root word “ventus” meaning air, is the act of using natural air currents to cool or dry (or both) a certain location or object. And for roofing systems, ventilation is an important part of roof maintenance.
In today’s post, your roofing and siding contractor explains just how critical roof ventilation really is.
What Ventilation Consists Of
At its simplest, ventilation promotes good airflow. To do that, anything that must be ventilated should be exposed to where there are natural air currents or failing that, use a simple mechanism to pull air from the outside and introduce it to the interior.
Roof vents form part of this mechanism. Intake and exhaust vents pull fresh air and push out warm, moist air, respectively, cooling the roof and evaporating excess humidity. In winter, it does the opposite, thus moderating the roof’s temperature no matter the season.
Apart from regulating your roof temperature, here are a couple of other benefits of ventilating your roof.
Preventing Rot and Mold Growth
Moisture is one of the biggest enemies of a roof, especially if you’ve used wood in any component of your roofing structure. In fact, moisture is also siding’s worst enemy, which has called for premature siding installation in a lot of cases. The reason that this happens is that water vapor creates conditions conducive for mold growth, and can weaken wooden supports because of rot. Ventilating your roof can minimize this problem.
Lengthens Asphalt Shingle Life
Warm, moist air trapped inside the roof can literally “cook” the underside of your shingles from beneath, which manifests in the form of shingle curling and blistering. This will displace the shingles’ protective asphalt granules, which exposes your roof even further from the sun. This will create more heat, and thus more trapped hot air, accelerating the process of shingle degradation.
A1 Siding & Roofing is the area’s top expert on vinyl siding and roofing services. Learn what we can do for you by calling us at (603) 627-7339 or filling out our contact form. We serve residents of Manchester and nearby areas.