Attic Insulation in Florida

[Macgregorsailor51]

I stepped outside to confirm. and though there seems to be no less than 3 styles of ridge vents some more noticeable than others......every house in my line of sight has both ridge and soffit vents... Accumulation of moisture? I cannot even imagine that ever being being an issue down here. As for "any penetration in the roof is a negative for hurricane protection" We all TTBOMK have ridge vents and roof jacks for plumbing and exhaust fans.. Those roof jacks look different than you see in None Hurricane areas but they are there.. Hummmm I am surprised our local builders and remodel guys are not helping out here , they should know all this stuff off the top of their heads...

Originally Posted by Tujuleez1

I have seen that on some of the houses we've looked at. What I haven't seen is a vent at the top, either in the upper part of the roof or a ridge vent. Without that, air won't flow properly. I have seen attics that sweat because of poor air flow.

What I'm hearing since being here is any penetration in the roof is a negative for hurricane protection. But there must be some acceptable means for allowing rising heat in the attic to escape up and out and thus move the air through the attic.

[SeaRay35]

Maybe some of the older houses do not have roof venting of some sorts but most that I have seen here do. Unlike in northern climates where the attics will sweat and actually freeze and drip in winter, without proper airflow, I don't think that is the case so much here. Plumbing vents are still penetrated through the roofs and collared differently then up north. I have never heard a penetration being a negative for hurricane protection, although theoretically it could be, and if that is the case I'm sure my insurance company would have said something or raised my rates.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by Tujuleez1

I have seen that on some of the houses we've looked at. What I haven't seen is a vent at the top, either in the upper part of the roof or a ridge vent. Without that, air won't flow properly. I have seen attics that sweat because of poor air flow.

What I'm hearing since being here is any penetration in the roof is a negative for hurricane protection. But there must be some acceptable means for allowing rising heat in the attic to escape up and out and thus move the air through the attic.

We have ridge vents.

[HarborRat]

Originally Posted by Tujuleez1

I have seen that on some of the houses we've looked at. What I haven't seen is a vent at the top, either in the upper part of the roof or a ridge vent. Without that, air won't flow properly. I have seen attics that sweat because of poor air flow.

What I'm hearing since being here is any penetration in the roof is a negative for hurricane protection. But there must be some acceptable means for allowing rising heat in the attic to escape up and out and thus move the air through the attic.

Most ridge vents here are shingled over so they are not noticeable. If you're looking for the typical ugly aluminum versions, you won't see many.

[Tujuleez1]

Ridge vents in the Chicago area are obvious, to me anyway. But that may be because I know what they look like from the ground. I never paid attention to roofs here (I used to visit my dad, who retired to North Palm Beach, every year) until I started getting home insurance quotes and learning about wind mitigation.

I'm going to start looking more closely when we take our walks. The tile roofs make it harder to spot small penetrations, like roof vents, than asphalt shingled roofs, but the ridge vent should be fairly easy to spot.

[SeaRay35]

You will not find "ridge vent" in tile roofs, but you will find venting.

[Byrnesdown]

I own TWO homes;one in Florida and the other in Charleston, both of which are subject to high temps during the summer months. After having done a bit of research, I found that the "blow-in" type to be highly satisfactory. I can honestly say that I reaped the cost back within a few years off a lower utility bill. You can either do-it-yourself through Lowes or contract a company. It's really a cinch.