It’s wild how much trial and error goes into these old houses. You’re right, sometimes the “rules” just don’t line up with what actually works in practice.
That’s the truth. I used to think following the “book” was the safest bet, but my 1920s place keeps proving me wrong. When I first moved in, I figured more insulation = warmer house, right? Turns out, I basically turned my attic into a giant cooler—ice on the nails, damp insulation, the whole mess. Had to crawl around up there (not my favorite weekend activity) and pull back insulation near the eaves, then jam in some baffles. It’s not pretty but it works.
Funny thing is, my neighbor’s house is almost identical but he swears by those old-school roof vents and barely any insulation. His attic’s bone dry, mine’s finally getting there. Sometimes I wonder if these houses are just stubborn and want to do things their own way...
I’ve run into the same thing managing a bunch of these older homes—what works in one attic just doesn’t always work next door. Had a place where adding more insulation actually made the moisture problem worse, even though the “manual” said otherwise. Ended up focusing more on airflow than R-value, and that finally did the trick. Sometimes you just have to experiment a bit and see what your house wants.
That’s a classic scenario with older homes—sometimes the “by the book” approach just doesn’t play out in real life. Did you notice if the attic had any blocked soffit vents or maybe a ridge vent that wasn’t actually venting? I’ve seen insulation get stuffed right up to the eaves, basically choking off airflow. Even stuff like bathroom fans dumping humid air into the attic can throw things off. Curious if you had to add any extra vents or just clear out what was already there? Sometimes it’s a balancing act between too much and too little airflow, especially in these quirky old houses.
You nailed it—old houses are a whole different animal when it comes to attic airflow. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve crawled up there and found insulation jammed right into the soffits, or worse, someone’s “quick fix” with plastic bags or cardboard blocking vents. Drives me nuts. And yeah, bathroom fans venting straight into the attic? That’s a recipe for mold, but people still do it.
I’m actually not convinced that just adding more vents is always the answer. Sometimes folks go overboard and end up with too much airflow, which can pull conditioned air out of the house and mess with energy bills. What I usually push for is clearing out what’s already there—making sure soffits are open, baffles are in place, and ridge vents aren’t just decorative. Had one place where the roofer installed a ridge vent but left the sheathing uncut underneath... zero airflow.
It’s all about balance, like you said. Every old house seems to have its own weird quirks, so I try to look at the whole system before making changes. Sometimes less is more, honestly.
Totally agree on the “less is more” part—sometimes people think more vents = better, but it’s not always that simple. I’ve seen a few places where someone just kept adding gable vents, and it actually threw off the airflow pattern and made things worse. Ever run into situations where you had to seal up extra vents because they were causing issues? Curious how you decide when enough is enough, especially in those older houses with weird layouts.
