Vented eaves on a bump-out shed roof
Hi all,
The vented aluminum eaves save time over the constructed eaves, but I have a question about ventilation and heat loss. The structure is a bump-out on the back of my house. Its shed roof butts up to the west wall of the house. There would seem to be an air path from the eaves, through the rafters of the shed roof, to the west wall of the main structure, then up to the roof of the main structure. I am concerned about the air flow in the wall. Should I avoid the aluminum prefab eaves and build my own out of plywood or bead-board and install minimal vents? The shed roof rafters are only 2x4s over a 6′ span, so near the low end there is not much room for insulation, just R-13, minus a little head room for air circulation.
Thanks,
Scott
Replies
Generally you should have a vent at the peak of the shed, where it butts into the wall. There are special vents made for this purpose.
I'm a little late for such a vent since I have already applied the rubber membrane roofing, though there is space at the corners for air.
Which corners are you referring to? This is a shed roof and you are using monolithic roofing techniques/materials? Is your wall enclosed as Mr. H hinted at in his message to me? Is your siding on the wall? Need more details to help guide you w/ some options.
You vent at the juncture of the shed roof and the wall. I just did a similar roof/wall intersection on my new house and installed a vent at the wall. I don't think you should vent up the wall.
You could in theory vent up the wall by using vent chutes with insulation behind them. But it would require opening up the wall from one side or the other.
Corporation: n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. --Ambrose Bierce
Of course you can ... even beyond theory ... as you pointed out. Didn't say or imply that you couldn't ... just that it is unecessary and not a conventional approach.
Yeah, just thought it should be mentioned for completeness.
Corporation: n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. --Ambrose Bierce