"Sometimes it's just about giving your attic some breathing room..."
Exactly this. Good attic ventilation is key—seen plenty of cases where homeowners spent big bucks on heated cables or extra barriers, but overlooked airflow. Also, make sure soffit vents aren't blocked by insulation...common oversight.
Good points on ventilation—I learned the hard way about blocked soffit vents after my first winter here. Cleared them out and noticed a big difference. Curious though, does anyone know if ridge vents alone are enough, or should I add gable vents too?
Ridge vents alone can work pretty well, but honestly, it depends on your attic setup and roof shape. If you've got a simple, straight roofline without a lot of complicated angles or dormers, ridge vents usually do the trick. But if your attic is more complex or you've got areas that don't get good airflow, adding gable vents can help balance things out.
One thing to watch out for though—sometimes mixing ridge vents with gable vents can actually mess up your airflow. Air might end up circulating between the ridge and gable vents instead of pulling fresh air from the soffits. I've seen this happen a couple times, and it can lead to moisture buildup or uneven cooling.
If you're noticing a big improvement after clearing your soffit vents, I'd probably hold off on adding gable vents right away. Maybe give it a winter and see how things go. If you still have issues, then consider adding them—but make sure they're positioned right and not competing with your ridge vent.
Good call on waiting it out a bit. Honestly, roofing ventilation feels like some kind of dark art sometimes... I swear every roofer I've talked to has a slightly different take. I cleared my soffit vents last year and noticed a huge difference too, so you're probably on the right track. I'd hold off on adding more vents until you see how winter treats you—no sense spending extra cash if you don't have to, right?
Roof ventilation definitely feels like voodoo sometimes... every roofer has their own secret recipe, haha. Clearing soffit vents is usually a solid first step—made a noticeable difference for me too. I'd say you're smart to hold off on more vents for now. Better to see how things shake out this winter before throwing cash at the roof again. Learned that lesson the hard way myself a few years back.
