How to cool my attic?
I have a 112 year old house with no soffits. It's 97 outside (Texas) and it's 124 in my attic. That is after we installed a 14" roof vent and opened the hip roof dormer window, screened it in and added a fan to blow outside air into the attic for flow through ventilation. I need a solution please.
Related Discussions
How to get rid of mice?
We seem to have some unwelcome Mickeys and Minnies in our house. What is the best way to get rid of them?
How to remove popcorn ceiling with asbestos?
I want to remove my popcorn ceiling, but it has asbestos in it. How do I go about this safely?
How to caulk baseboard gaps?
How do I fill gaps at baseboard, should I caulk? If so, does anyone know how to caulk baseboards?
How to fix squeaky hardwood floors?
How do I fix squeaky hardwood floors?
How to cool off my west facing porch?
How do I keep my west facing back porch cool in summer. Have used bamboo blinds, doesn’t work. Have a ceiling fan , just blows around hot air.
Black birds in my attic!
I am wondering if anyone knows how to get rid of black birds that have made a nest in the attic?
Our house is 113 years old and also hip roofed and we can use our attic for sleeping but this is Maine. We have dormers front and back and some height in the center. Besides insulation we can get by with fans. Only one time was it literally too hot of our grand kids to sleep in our attic and that was the weekend of July 22,2011 when it was over 100º all weekend. They had to sleep on the first floor. It seems that with your hotter weather you might do well to have windows on the roof.
I see you have no soffits, but you do have the top flat piece that you could have the vents cut in the circumference of your home. It will act as a soffit, just a on the facia if you will. I hope that makes sense.
https://buymbs.com/p-4177-air-vent-continuous-soffit-vent-carton-of-50-8ft-pieces.aspx?vid=482&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Product_CPC&utm_campaign=482&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI263yv8_33AIVlVuGCh3uDQ5JEAQYByABEgJD0fD_BwE
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Air-Vent-3-5-in-L-Mill-Aluminum-Soffit-Vent/3017509
Hi Nancy. Put radiant barrier panels under the roof and the fan should be pulling air out of the attic. If you have no trees, plant poplars along with slower growing hard woods. Good luck!
Also, your local electrical co-op can come out and assess and give recommendations as to what would help with this. Most of the time it’s a free service if you use who you pay or who they recommend to use.
Is there room to install an attic fan in the roof?
https://atticfans.com/
My husband wants to have a west side dormer built with another window. That's where we could install an attic fan. That's not an immediate solution though.
You need an attic fan installed. You can get one that installs directly on the roof. They are thermostatically controlled to start at a preset temperature. I have mine set a 90 degrees. Also a few "turtle" roof vents would help.
https://www.google.com/search?q=turtle+roof+vent&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiNnfmou_jcAhVRHqwKHUBIA8MQsAR6BAgEEAE&biw=1536&bih=739
For that span of roof you need at least three or four "turtle" vents installed within 2' of the peak. Also consider the attic fan. 1500 cfm would be just right.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Flow-1500-CFM-Black-Power-Roof-Mount-Attic-Fan-with-Humidistat-Thermostat-ERV6BLHT/302778687
Do you have outside vents going around your house on these soffits? They may be needed. How about a solar attic fan? I bought on abut 10 years ago, probably under &200.00
If you cannot reach the soffits, or do not have them, then William would be right. Like you said, you need to get some fresh air in there. Good luck with your project. You would appreciate a solar attic fan which is easier to install. And besides, it uses no electric and you will not have to worry about the extra cost of having electric put into your attic.
I think you need another roof turbine or two, left uncovered all year. Before we added some more insulation, we had two box fans to blow the hot air out of our two attics. One blew into the garage, making it an oven, so we left the garage door open a few inches for more ventilation. The turbines help all year. We are in north Texas, so we share those high temps. We may hit 100 this week, and Autumn starts Saturday. But we did what was needed with some inside venting and grates, and outside with the turbines, and got a great rate from Reliant Energy. We never pay more than $200, even when it’s over 100*. Best wishes, Nancy. ☺️
We have a single story 1400 sq. ft west facing home in central OK, and every home for miles around have multiple whirlibird type attic vents on the roofs. We have two on our roof and soffit vents. Some houses have the whirlibird vents plus the thermostat vents. We share a hot windy climate with you and our home stays comfortable, but the attic is always hot. Hope you find a solution that works and soon! Best wishes.