- Air leaks in the attic are sneaky—most folks focus on insulation R-value and forget about the gaps around light fixtures, plumbing stacks, and attic hatches.
- Seen plenty of homes where new insulation just trapped humid air, making mold worse. It's not always about more layers, but better prep.
- Radiant barriers can help, but only if airflow's dialed in first. Otherwise, you're just shifting heat around.
- Flashing's a pain, no argument there. Even after 15 years doing inspections, I still see “professional” installs where water finds its way in after a single storm.
- Weatherstripping makes a difference, but only if you catch all the spots—one missed seam and you’re back to square one.
Curious—when you patched your leaks, did you use canned foam or stick with caulk and weatherstripping? I’ve found foam works best for big gaps, but it can get messy fast if you’re not careful. Also, what kind of attic ventilation are you running? Ridge vent, gable vents, or just soffit vents? Sometimes folks overdo it and end up short-circuiting airflow.
Had a client last spring who thought adding another turbine vent would help. Instead, it pulled conditioned air right out of their living space because the attic floor still leaked like a sieve. Fixing the air barrier did more than all the gadgets combined.
Noticed any issues with condensation or frost in winter? That’s usually the first sign something’s off with attic airflow or sealing.
Funny you mention canned foam—last time I used it, I ended up with more on my hands than in the gap. That stuff expands like it’s got a mind of its own. For the bigger holes (like around the plumbing stack), I’ll go with foam, but for all those weird little cracks by the attic hatch or electrical boxes, caulk and weatherstripping seem easier to control. Plus, if you mess up with caulk, it’s not as much of a nightmare to clean up.
Ventilation’s been a bit of a learning curve for me. My place came with gable vents and soffits, but no ridge vent. Thought about adding one, but after poking around online and talking to a couple folks, I started worrying about mixing too many vent types and messing up the airflow pattern. Ended up just making sure the soffits were clear (found a bird nest in one... not ideal) and sealing up the attic floor as best I could. Haven’t had any frost issues since, but before I did all that, I’d get these little ice crystals on the nails in winter. Looked cool until I realized it meant warm air was sneaking up there.
I hear you on the insulation trapping moisture. One neighbor went nuts with blown-in cellulose without checking for leaks first—now he’s got mold spots and regrets. Seems like everyone gets hung up on R-value numbers and forgets about air movement.
Flashing is my nemesis. Even after watching a dozen YouTube videos, I still end up second-guessing myself every time I patch something around the chimney. Water always finds that one spot you missed.
Curious if anyone’s tried those smart attic fans? Part of me thinks they’re just another thing to break, but maybe they help in some climates. Around here (Midwest), just keeping things sealed and letting passive vents do their thing seems to work best—unless I’m missing something obvious...
I get the hesitation with mixing vent types, but honestly, I’ve seen plenty of attics with both gable and ridge vents that work just fine—if the soffits are clear and there’s enough intake. Sometimes folks overthink the “airflow pattern” thing and end up under-ventilating. As for smart attic fans, I’m not sold. They’re one more thing to fail during a storm, and if your passive setup is working, I’d stick with it. Water intrusion from bad flashing is a bigger headache in my book—seen more rot from that than from vent issues.
Mixing vent types gets debated a lot, but I’ve also seen plenty of homes where gable and ridge vents coexist without any obvious problems—especially if the soffit intake is solid. Still, I wonder if folks are really checking for negative pressure or just assuming the air’s moving the way it should. Ever actually measured attic temps or humidity with both vent types in play? I’ve run across a few jobs where the ridge vent was pulling air from the gables instead of the soffits, which kind of defeats the purpose.
On the smart attic fan front, I get what you’re saying about one more thing to break. I’ve had a few clients swear by them for heat relief in older houses, but when the power goes out during a summer storm...well, you’re back to square one. Curious if anyone’s tried those solar-powered fans—do they hold up long-term, or just another gadget?
And yeah, flashing leaks are brutal. I’d take a minor ventilation issue over rotten decking any day. Anyone here ever try those peel-and-stick flashings on tricky valleys or is that overkill?
I’ve run across a few jobs where the ridge vent was pulling air from the gables instead of the soffits, which kind of defeats the purpose.
That’s the thing that always bugged me about mixing vent types. I know a lot of folks say it works fine, but when I finally put a humidity/temp sensor up in my attic, the numbers were all over the place depending on wind direction. Sometimes it would be cooler up there, then on still days it felt like a sauna. I ended up blocking off the gables and just relying on ridge and soffit, and it actually evened things out for me—at least in my climate (humid summers, brutal winters).
On those solar fans: I put one in last year just to see if it’d help. It’s not magic, but it does kick on even on cloudy days, and I haven’t had any issues yet. The plastic housing seems a little flimsy, though… I’m not convinced it’ll last more than a few years in direct sun.
For flashing, I tried the peel-and-stick stuff on a weird dormer valley after a windstorm tore things up. Overkill? Maybe. But I haven’t seen a drip since, so I guess sometimes overkill pays off.
