Posted on 01/25/2025 10:31:39 AM PST by House Atreides
Vented attics are a major contributing factor when it comes to the spread of wildfires, as embers that are in the air are drawn into the attic space, resulting in an attic fire. Many homes and buildings in California feature vented attics and this significantly exacerbated the intensity and spread of the 2025 wildfires. This isn't just a California problem, this is anywhere that is prone to wildfires. Unvented conditioned attic assemblies are significantly safer in wildfire zones, as they do not allow outside air or embers to enter the roof assembly. In this video, we discuss why vented attics increase your risk of a fire and how switching to an unvented conditioned attic assembly with a vapor diffusion port is cost effective and safer.
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
I never thought of that. Add in my attic fan and I might be asking for trouble.
Is there some code requirements that require venting? Or some advantage, maybe in cooling?
That is interesting, also the Saturday the
AM dial talk shows, l go over the pros and cons of sealing off your crawl space or ventilating your crawl space with subject matter experts on both sides of the issue. It doesn’t repeat often but it comes around maybe once or twice during certain times of the year when it’s an issue.
Vented attics are still far better in just about all other areas, as attics otherwise turn into greenhouses if they rid themselves of air as it heats up.
Heat destroys composition shingles. Not sure how prevalent they are in Cali. Sounds like an excuse to demonize a petroleum product, and shift blame from a lack of water, and bad forest practices.
Those issues are mostly regional. I spent over 30 years in the insulation and industry. Ventilation is vital in the Pacific Northwest. Not so much in the desert Southwest.
Ah, vented attics taking the “heat” off DEW
In the WA county they require attic venting fans that are on a timer. Also an all house fan that goes off on a timer as well since they think that old folks here don’t have enough sense to open a window in a house that’s basically hermetically sealed because of requirements.
If its not vented, humidity builds up and you get mold and other nasty stuff.
I did lots of fire safety training as part of a planning commission job. We were told horizontal, flammable surfaces we the number one correlation to having your house burn. Roof, decks, lawn furniture, landscape materials, etc. Anything an ember can land on and ignite.
A builder was telling me recently that codes require new houses to be so airtight some people get sick and he tells them when they move in to call him if that happens. Once the Certificate of Occupancy is in place the builder can bring more air into to house.
“””switching to an unvented conditioned attic assembly”””
Are they talking about putting an air conditioner in the attic?
This sounds like something the government would do since they don’t care about the electrical bill.
On that note, I would imagine metal roofs are a blessing if there’s a nearby fire.
No water and no fire crews worsened the LA fires too.
From what I read non-vented attics are more common in the north, but in the south the attics must be vented and you can’t make a vented attic into a non-vented one.
In our area (the south) people try plugging up the vents thinking they’ll save money. Then mold starts growing and they spend a fortune getting rid of it.
Roofers know better; they’re putting in ridge vents all the time now.
“From what I read non-vented attics are more common in the north, but in the south the attics must be vented and you can’t make a vented attic into a non-vented one.”
Actually, here in Texas, I visited a new house that had a sealed attic, sealed with spray-on foam. If the builder is smart, he’ll get out of the country once he’s secured his enough money.
Standard Liberal/Progressive/Socialist/Bolshevik/Maoist/Communist Operating Procedure.
“””In our area (the south) people try plugging up the vents thinking they’ll save money. Then mold starts growing and they spend a fortune getting rid of it.”””
Mold is not the only problem.
In Florida, when the outside temperature is 90 degrees, the temperature in my VENTED attic will be 125 degrees. Without attic vents the attic temps would be even worse and my air conditioning bill would be much higher.
Apparently having a blue roof (preferably metal) goes a long way toward preventing a structure from burning down.
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