thanks for the info. our attic gets frost on the north gable wall every winter. right now all it has for vents are gable vents with 2 square roof vents.

Geez, now I don't know what to do. I could post something from the internet to show why roof ventilation is important in northern climates, but people in here are going to interpret that as PROOF that I get my knowledge off Google! What to do?

Joe Caption: Where I live, you cannot harm a house by having too much attic ventilation. You can only harm it by not having enough. Where you live, attic ventilation is a comfort, not a necessity.

Chris D:
ANY frost in your attic during the winter means you need more or better attic ventilation. You don't necessarily need a soffit and ridge vent combination. My personal experience has been that people with ridge vents will complain that they have snow blowing into their attic from their ridge vents. Apartment blocks don't have shingle roof, so I don't have any personal experience with ridge vents, so I can't say for sure if that's a problem or not.

But, if you have any frost in your attic in winter, you need either more or better attic ventilation. You may only need to add a gable vent on the gable wall that's frosting up.

Also, keep in mind that the tiny bit of melt water that might result from that frost melting might be harmlessly absorbed into the wood it's forming on. Pull back the insulation between the ceiling joists under that gable wall and see if there's any mold or mildew growing on the joists there, or if you see any black mildew on the vapour barrier over the ceiling drywall. If you see a dark discolouration from mildew or if the wood is soft enough to remove with your fingernail, then do something soon.... either continuous soffits and a ridge vent or a gable vent on that gable.

Oh yeah, for those that were wondering, everything I just finished telling Chris D. I just got off the internet 10 minutes ago. Were it not for my using the internet to get all the info I give out, I'd be so dumb that people would have to water me to keep me alive.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nestor,

The thing is Nestor, that you are reading something into others posts, then offering corrections to issues that aren't even there.

Back a ways in this thread even you said you reread over all the posts. From that you got on this kick that Joe and I thought that attic ventilation was only important during hot temperatures. Now you are saying that we (or at least Joe) claims that too much ventilation can harm your attic. I too have just reread this thread. Where exactly are those things mentioned - other than in your own posts.

That's why you are feeling the negative feedback here - not so much being wrong on some of your facts but rather you are going to lengths to 'correct' some of us for your misinterpretation of our posts. It's not so much being right or wrong - nobody here is beyond giving some incorrect advice, but I personally found it annoying to get called out for something that I never said or even implied. That's really it.

Like many of us here, you've got some good advice to give. Much like an epic novel sometimes but that's your style.

Sorry, Jaybee. Won't happen again.

Joe wrote:
"You have been suggesting completly wrong info that is going to cause major damage to someones home, your info is based on what you "think" happens, and it's wrong, so please stop.
Hate to be so hard but it had to be said."

Joe: Can you tell everyone what I've been suggesting that is completely wrong and that may cause major damage to some's home? After all, if someone's read what I wrote, and it made sense to them, they'd be wanting to know what it is that they don't understand that could potentially cause major damage to their house.