Makes me wonder if it’s ever worth keeping gable vents open once you’ve installed a ridge/soffit system, or if that just invites more problems down the line.
That’s been bugging me too. I sealed my gable vents after adding a ridge vent, but honestly, I’m not convinced it made a huge difference in winter moisture. Has anyone actually seen a drop in attic frost or ice damming after closing off gables? Or is it just one of those “in theory” things that doesn’t always play out?
- I’ve wondered the same thing after reading a bunch of mixed advice.
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“I sealed my gable vents after adding a ridge vent, but honestly, I’m not convinced it made a huge difference in winter moisture.”
- Did the same here—closed off the gables once I had proper soffit and ridge vents. Didn’t see much change in attic frost either, but I did notice less draftiness up there on windy days.
- One thing I did notice: with both open, air seemed to short-circuit between gable and ridge, not really pulling from the soffits like it’s supposed to.
- My neighbor left his gables open and ended up with some weird snow drifting inside the attic during a blizzard... not sure if that’s common or just bad luck.
- For me, biggest improvement came from sealing attic bypasses and adding insulation—not so much from vent tweaks.
- Curious if anyone in humid climates has seen mold issues tied to leaving gables open? Wondering if that’s more of a regional thing or just depends on house design.
Yeah, I’ve seen the same thing with gable and ridge vents fighting each other—air just takes the path of least resistance and skips the soffits. I’ve worked on a few houses where folks left the gables open and, sure enough, you get snow blowing in or even rain if the wind’s right. Mold’s hit or miss, though. Around here (Midwest), it’s usually more about air leaks from the house than vent setup. Sealing up those attic bypasses and adding insulation always seems to do more than fiddling with vent combos, at least in my experience.
Sealing up those attic bypasses and adding insulation always seems to do more than fiddling with vent combos, at least in my experience.
I’ve been wondering about this. My inspector flagged some gaps around light fixtures and the attic hatch, but didn’t say much about the vents. If I seal those spots and beef up insulation, is it still worth closing off my gable vents? The ridge vent’s already there, but I’m not sure if mixing them is really that bad or just overblown online.
I’d focus on sealing those gaps first—air leaks are a bigger deal than most folks think. I left my gable vents open with a ridge vent for years and never had issues, but some swear it messes up airflow. Honestly, if your attic’s dry and temps seem reasonable, you’re probably fine. Just make sure you’ve got enough intake at the soffits, too.