I’ve wondered about mixing roof and gable fans too. Some folks swear it helps, but I’ve heard it can actually short-circuit airflow if you’re not careful—like, the fans just pull from each other instead of the soffits. My last place had a gable fan and it barely touched the corners, especially with a weird L-shaped attic. And yeah, flashing is always nerve-wracking... I’ve redone mine twice and still get anxious every big rain. Anyone else notice that some roof types just seem more forgiving than others? My neighbor with metal roofing never seems to stress about leaks.
- Mixing roof and gable fans can definitely backfire if the airflow isn’t mapped out right. I’ve seen setups where the roof fan just pulls air from the gable vent, not the soffits, so you lose the cooling effect in the attic corners.
- L-shaped or chopped-up attics are tough—air just doesn’t circulate evenly. Sometimes you need more than one fan, but placement is everything.
- Flashing anxiety is real. I’ve inspected a lot of homes where leaks start at the flashing, especially on older asphalt shingle roofs. Metal roofs do seem less prone to those issues, probably because there are fewer seams and the panels overlap more tightly.
- Curious if anyone’s tried ridge vents with a roof fan? I’ve seen mixed results—sometimes it helps, sometimes it actually pulls air in through the ridge instead of out.
- For what it’s worth, I’ve noticed low-slope roofs seem to have more flashing problems than steeper ones. Maybe water just sits longer?
- Anyone running both fans and noticing higher energy bills, or is that just me overthinking it?
I tried running both a roof fan and a gable fan last summer, thinking more air movement = cooler attic. Ended up just pulling hot air from one spot to another, and yeah, my electric bill crept up. If you don’t have good soffit vents, it’s basically a hamster wheel. Flashing on my low-slope roof has leaked twice—water just hangs out up there. I’m not convinced fans are a magic fix unless everything else is dialed in first.
I’ve been down this road with attic fans, and honestly, I get where you’re coming from. When I first put in a gable fan, I figured it’d be a game-changer for summer heat. But without enough soffit vents, it just seemed to suck air from wherever it could—sometimes even pulling AC air up from the house, which definitely wasn’t the plan. My electric bill didn’t thank me either.
Have you checked how many soffit vents you actually have open and clear? Sometimes insulation or old paint can block them up without you realizing. I ended up crawling around in my attic with a flashlight and found half my vents were basically useless. Once I cleared those out and added a couple more, the airflow improved a ton—even before messing with the fans again.
About your flashing leaks—low-slope roofs are tricky. I had to redo mine with a peel-and-stick membrane under the flashing, since water just sat there after storms. Not perfect, but it helped.
Curious if you’ve tried passive venting alone? Or maybe ridge vents? Sometimes less is more if the intake and exhaust are balanced right.
I’ve run into similar issues with attic fans drawing conditioned air instead of just venting heat. In my experience, passive venting with a good ridge vent and clear soffits actually did more for attic temps than the powered gable fan ever did. If you’re set on a fan, I’d lean roof-mounted over gable, but only if you’ve got plenty of intake—otherwise, it’s just moving the problem around. I’d double-check for any blocked soffits and maybe try passive first before cutting more holes in the roof. Less moving parts, less risk of leaks, and usually quieter too.
