Roofing Advice Needed

I own a colonial style home that is 11 years old and has the original roof. The roof gets direct sun all day long. There is no shade. I had a roofer over yesterday for a small problem and he noticed while up in the attic that the soffits (not sure if that is the correct term) were stuffed with insullation. He said that is very bad because it does not allow the roof to breath and the roof will end up baking. He also said that it can produce ice damming. He said that the insullation should be removed and baffles installed to allow the air to circulate. Is this true or is he just giving me a line to get me to spend money? My house was built by a builder and not an individual so I would believe this is how they did all the houses in the development. Please give me your opinions! You can post here or email me at wwfd362@gmail.com. Thanks for your help!

What he said is indeed true.
Ventilation is one of the most important parts of your roof.
It would be a good idea to get this fixed, depending upon your house this may be easy, or not…

Search this site for the many posts on ventilation. Then install the baffles and fix this problem ASAP!

Search this site for the many posts on ventilation. Then install the baffles and fix this problem ASAP!

Search this site for the many posts on ventilation. Then install the baffles and fix this problem ASAP!

stutterer :smiley:

dang shinglehitter.

probably a southerner did it.

gweedo

What Axiom said…

Air flow is a VERY vital part of yoru overall attic envelope. You need to allow the air to circulate or you can actually void the warranty on your shingles (what sort of ‘topside’ ventilation do you have? Ridge vents? Gable vents? Turbines? Box vents? The more efficient out of all these options is going to be ridge vents, but only when you’ve got proper IN flow).

So, no - this guy might be correct about the need for any blockage to be cleared out, provided you actually DO have blockage. Without photos or making an onsite inspection of some sort, we are all speculating.

Thanks for responding RHR. There are Gable Vents right now. I plan on having this work done as soon as the roofer is available. Hopefully before the snow flies!

Well, there are some here who will argue that if you’ve got properly flowing intake (again, I suggest you look to see if they actually are clogged from the inside; not saying he’s lying but why not take a look for yourself or ask a friend or family member to double check)…

So IF you have good intake, some here would argue that a set of gable vents will derail the effectiveness of a ridge vent. I won’t go into too much detail about it, but if you were to do a search through the ‘construction & technique’ threads, you’ll find the info.