# On a related 'it's hot' issue



## Dabbler (Jul 1, 2021)

My house doesn't do very well in really hot weather.  So I decided to add some more soffit vents - I already added a lot of roof venting on the last reshingle job, and it didn't help at all...

So I cut a 1' X 3' vent hole in the side of my house without vents - the top of the wall was blocked with a  2X10 fir beam, and the only place air could have circulated was stopped up with mineral wool and thick construction paper.  Reaching in, ther is also a 2X4 blocking very roof joist. Sigh.

So I go to the side of the house with 2 undersized vents, and make them bigger - and then I noticed- they completely sealed the eave from the attic using plywood!  The house has had no ventilation since it was built in '57 - what morons!

I'll cut the holes for all the new vents, and wait for a cooler day to go into the attic and sort it out.  THere is no way to fix it from the eave side - there are at least 2 layers I've cut through, and still I can't get into the attic.  _big sigh_.


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## DPittman (Jul 1, 2021)

Possibly the house could have had gable vents originally but then got sided over somewhere along the way?  My house of the same age doesn't have eave vents either but it has always had the gable vents.


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## cuslog (Jul 1, 2021)

Last Summer I insulated / drywalled / heated / power upgraded the 2 car garage at the '75 vintage house we purchased a few months previous. At the same time, I added gable vents to the garage (didn't want to cut into shingles on top). Vents were the biggest I could find: 12" x 18" IIRC. I don't remember the exact temp that day but it was nowhere near what we've had the past few days. I remember being amazed at how hot it was up there above the insulation when I cut through the siding / plywood, creating a hole for air to move through from one gable to the other.


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## DPittman (Jul 1, 2021)

cuslog said:


> Last Summer I insulated / drywalled / heated / power upgraded the 2 car garage at the '75 vintage house we purchased a few months previous. At the same time, I added gable vents to the garage (didn't want to cut into shingles on top). Vents were the biggest I could find: 12" x 18" IIRC. I don't remember the exact temp that day but it was nowhere near what we've had the past few days. I remember being amazed at how hot it was up there above the insulation when I cut through the siding / plywood, creating a hole for air to move through from one gable to the other.


Yup I've got dark brown tin on my roof and Temps in the attic get scary.  I've added a fan to the vents and that has helped but good lord at 35 degrees outside it must get at least 20 degrees hotter up there.  I learned long ago not to store Christmas candles in the attic.


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## cuslog (Jul 1, 2021)

And all that heat warms the insulation too - and then it radiates down into your living space.
I believe that attic insulation is one of the best ROI there is in home upgrades.


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## DPittman (Jul 1, 2021)

cuslog said:


> And all that heat warms the insulation too - and then it radiates down into your living space.
> I believe that attic insulation is one of the best ROI there is in home upgrades.


I agree but am embarrassed to admit I only have 2×4 width (R7??) Worth of insulation in my old home.


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## DPittman (Jul 1, 2021)

DPittman said:


> I agree but am embarrassed to admit I only have 2×4 width (R7??) Worth of insulation in my old home.


Ok now I feel I must try to explain why I would still have such a stupid thing as we all know it would pay for itself if I would just add a decent amount of insulation.....
Ok well mostly because the attic has a plywood floor and is used extensively for storage.  The loss of head room  (even if I put in a new "subfloor") would make storage impractical.  
Someday if  live long enough it might get done.


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## Dabbler (Jul 1, 2021)

DPittman said:


> could have had gable vents



I have a cottage roof, so no gables.  the blocking is orioginal with the house, as it was inaccessible until I remove the original soffits. 



DPittman said:


> I only have 2×4 width (R7??) Worth of insulation





cuslog said:


> And all that heat warms the insulation too



My house has R4 mineral bats covered in waxed paper in my walls.  Someone blew in 12" of shredded fibreglass into the attic, but that doesn't help:  with no venting it gets well over 125 F in the attic.  Yes, the ceilings are _warm_...

-- plastic melts in my attic on a really hot day.....

This is why I was 'upgrading' the soffit vents.  After installing 6 (blind) vents, I have to go up into the attic (on a cooler day) and sort it out from above...


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## Dabbler (Jul 1, 2021)

When built my house had R4 in the walls and 4" of wood shavings in the ceiling - somewhere around R3.  The problem with blown in fibreglas, is that it packs with time.  After 25+ years it all packed down to about 6".  I measured it 27 years ago when I moved in (12"), and remeasured it last year (6.5" average).  Yet another urgent project to do!


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