I get why folks focus on sealing, but in my experience, even a well-sealed attic can get stifling if the fan setup isn’t right for the space. Have you considered how your roof pitch or vent placement might affect things? Sometimes the “two small fans” idea just doesn’t cut it if your attic’s got weird airflow paths. Curious if you’ve checked temps after running both setups?
Sometimes the “two small fans” idea just doesn’t cut it if your attic’s got weird airflow paths.
Totally get this. My last place had a super low-pitch roof and even with two gable fans, the corners were like little heat pockets. I ended up wishing I’d gone with a bigger roof-mounted fan instead. Sealing is great, but if the air’s not moving right, you’re basically baking insulation up there. Anyone else notice weird temp swings depending on the vent placement?
Yeah, I’ve seen that happen a bunch—especially with low-slope roofs or those weird attic layouts where air just doesn’t want to move. Had one job out in the burbs where we swapped two gable fans for a big roof-mounted one, and the temp difference was wild. Still, sometimes folks go all-in on fans and forget about intake vents, which can mess things up too. It’s a balancing act—sometimes takes a bit of trial and error to get it dialed in.
Funny how often people forget about intake vents—like, you can have the biggest fan in the world, but if there’s nowhere for air to come in, it’s just spinning its wheels. I’ve seen a few setups where folks went all-out on roof fans and still had hot attics because the soffits were blocked or undersized. Personally, I lean toward roof-mounted fans for most layouts, but only if the intake’s sorted. Otherwise, you’re just moving hot air around... not out.
I’ve been wondering about this too, since our attic gets crazy hot in the summer. We’ve got gable vents but I’m not sure if they’re enough. Is there a way to tell if the soffits are actually letting in enough air, or do you just have to guess?