How Much Attic Ventilation Is Needed

In other words the entire vent opening doesn t count as vented space.

How much attic ventilation is needed.

So we would need at least six metal vents in addition to the lower soffit ventilation to meet minimum ventilation requirements. A normal metal pot vent produces only 50 squares inches of free net area. Two square feet equals 288 square inches. Ventilation of attic spaces is required by most building codes as well as by roofing material manufacturers and the national roofing contractors association nrca.

Generally speaking you need a ratio of 1 300 where for every 300 square feet of ceiling space you need 1 square foot of attic ventilation. In order to facilitate this exchange of warm and cool air the general rule of. To determine the static ventilator net free area nfa needed for your attic space determine the area of the attic in square feet. Ft you divide that by 150 to get 10 sq.

Taking advantage of this natural process referred to as passive ventilation is the most common way to vent an attic. Ventilation can be accomplished using various products and techniques. Divide that area by 150 to determine the square feet of attic ventilation needed. The rule of thumb on the amount of vent space needed is approximately 1 sq.

This shortcut conveniently calculates the 2015 international residential building code minimum irc section r806 roof ventilation 1 which states in part 1 square foot of net free area for every 150 square feet of attic floor space with the attic defined as length x width floor of the attic. Before we explore how to ventilate an attic space it is prudent to understand how much ventilation is needed. So if your attic is 1 500 sq. The calculations before indicated that we needed 2 square feet of ridge or upper roof ventilation.

Near ridge of the roof. In no case should the amount of exhaust ventilation exceed the amount of intake ventilation. Always have a balanced ventilation system. That said air resistance and interference such as vent grates reduces the area of true ventilation.

Most building codes require a ratio of 1 150 ventilation space to attic floor space. Federal housing authority recommends a minimum of at least 1 square foot of attic ventilation evenly split between intake and exhaust for every 300 square feet of attic floor space. And this guideline you ll need a minimum of.