Getting in a muddle regarding ventilation- am i making things worse?

[trwils]

Hey all

I am trying to fix a tonne of stuff on a 1970's house i recently got a financial interest in, but i do wonder if i am making things worse with the decisions i make!

I was in the loft recently, and i noticed a touch of condensation (i did feel some air movement in the attic but not a lot)

On the roof i have one 'box' vent, but it is used for the gas fire flue so i dont know if it also vents the roof

I contacted a local roofer who put some soffit vents in front and back of the house... i got him off mybuilder and he has hundreds of positive reviews so seemed a safe bet.

After he had gone i was confused about the exit point for attic air so emailed him asking if the vent on the roof will be both acting as a flue vent and roof vent and he said 'yes it is still a vent'

Is this right, can they vent both a gas fire and attic? i dont understand how?.

If there isnt sufficient exit points for the air will the new back and front soffit vents cause issues? in high wind for example or am i over thinking it?

I have spent thousands in the last 6 months and had variable quality tradesmen so i am short of confidence at the moment and worried that the 'fixes' i am spending money on will be making things worse

Thanks.

 

[Tigercubrider]

Not a gas guy so unqualified opinion but I cannot understand how a gas fire vent could benefit a loft?
surely the gas vent should lead to the fire? If providing air in, it would need to be in the room with the fire?

 

[trwils]

Not a gas guy so unqualified opinion but I cannot understand how a gas fire vent could benefit a loft?
surely the gas vent should lead to the fire? If providing air in, it would need to be in the room with the fire?

Thats what i thought, that the metal flue would be fitted to the vent and lead to the gas fire so it couldnt act as an attic vent as well

There is definitely no other box on the roof, and no gable vent- i am just concerned that having these soffit vents added might actually make the issue worse for example during storms (air and moisture pulled in and no way to escape) but i could be talking rubbish.

 

[Tigercubrider]

My soffits have vents on all three sides (semi) and it’s fine
i don’t understand that with no direct connection of the flue, surely the fire is pumping CO into the loft?
Unless it feeds a ceiling vent?

 

[trwils]

My soffits have vents on all three sides (semi) and it’s fine
i don’t understand that with no direct connection of the flue, surely the fire is pumping CO into the loft?
Unless it feeds a ceiling vent?

I probably explained myself poorly.

There is a vent on top of the roof, it is connected to the metal flue which runs all the way down to my gas fire (now removed but that is besides the point).

The roofer was suggesting that somehow the vent on the roof would act as both a vent for the flue and a vent for the attic, but i couldnt see how that would possibly work. Since the box on the roof is connected to the flue.

I get the impression that even without high up ventilation, front and back soffits are unlikely to do harm, even if they dont help? in the case of a storm i imagine air taken in the windy side would vent through the vents at the leeward side? I wont have upward pressure causing problems for the roof?

I am probably over thinking it all

 

[Tigercubrider]

Ah!
makes sense. I don’t see that the flue has any ventilation use for the loft.
soffit vents are small and should be fine. Millions of houses have them

 

[trwils]

Ah!
makes sense. I don’t see that the flue has any ventilation use for the loft.
soffit vents are small and should be fine. Millions of houses have them

Thanks, yeh he only put 4 vents in (they are rectangular, and about 20cm by 20cm with a grille and an insect mesh behind the grille)

I guess the idea that somehow air intake from 4 tiny vents with the wind restriction of the grille and insect mesh would somehow create massive upwards pressure is a bit silly.

In reality i suspect it is too few vents to make much difference either way to airflow?

 

[pcaouolte]

It doesn't seem as if you have made anything worse. Time will tell if the ventilation in the loft is sufficient to prevent the condensation that you were seeing.

 

[Tigercubrider]

White UPVC Vented Soffit Board

White UPVC Pre-Vented Soffit Board Protect the rafters in your roof space with our White UPVC Vented Soffit Board. For continuous airflow, this low maintenance roofline product provides outstanding ventilation and exceptional aesthetics. Suitable for

www.plasticbuildingsupplies.com

this is what my stuff looks like, maybe about 25% is hole v 75% plastic

 

[trwils]

It doesn't seem as if you have made anything worse. Time will tell if the ventilation in the loft is sufficient to prevent the condensation that you were seeing.

Thanks, i dont know why i am stressing over things so much lately, i think its because i had so many problems with a dodgy tradesman when i started refurbing (he smashed a water pipe with a hammer and didnt tell me, i discovered it after he left)

If i need a ridge vent installing, i will do- but i have spent 10k in 5 months so it will have to wait a bit.

 

[trwils]

White UPVC Vented Soffit Board

White UPVC Pre-Vented Soffit Board Protect the rafters in your roof space with our White UPVC Vented Soffit Board. For continuous airflow, this low maintenance roofline product provides outstanding ventilation and exceptional aesthetics. Suitable for

www.plasticbuildingsupplies.com

this is what my stuff looks like, maybe about 25% is hole v 75% plastic

he put 4 of these in, although this one it seems they are not flush and slightly bent and not fully screwed in (i will silicone it)

not overly impressed at the gaps and bending or am i being too fussy?