Thursday, September 20, 2012

Roof Vents: Decision Time.

I know ... this isn't the most exciting topics.  But this unglamorous topic is staring me in the face.  It's decision time and I'm torn.  See our house?


The middle window above the front door is the second floor kids bathroom; our master bath is on the backside of the house.  Since we are getting a new roof, we decided it would be a good time to put in bathroom vents to eliminate moisture.  Neither bath have vents (which is typical for older homes) and we think it is a smart move to make especially since we're re-doing the roof.  Note: having done our research, there is a small minority that say it's ok to vent to the attic (not outside).  But the vast majority of people say you should vent to the outside through the roof (or gables).  

The issue is this: if we put a vent in the second floor kids bathroom, the only place they can put a roof vent (that'll be effective) is on the front side of the roof.  


And, I'm worried it'll look ugly.  A lot of times it is form over function with me.  I hate to say it, but it is true.  But, the roofing guy assures me it won't be one of those ugly pipe vents that stick out like a sore thumb.  And, it'll be a flat square top vent that should be disguised, like this:  


Is this more than you wanted to know about roof vents?  Yeah, me too.  Anyway, I am still convinced it'll stick out like a sore thumb.  

So yesterday, my husband and I drove around our neighborhood to see if any houses have this flat roof vent on the front side of their roof.  And, we found one.  


Sorry, for the crooked picture, I took it while driving, but do you see the little vent above the top middle window?  That is it.  It is pretty small, no?  Is it really noticeable?  What do you think?

61 comments:

  1. Its not noticeable.

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  2. Yes you can see it but who cares? I don't think it will matter.

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  3. oh dear, this is the stuff that keeps me up at night. sad, but true. i would drive myself crazy. honestly, no one will notice, but i'm afraid you will. i would zero in on it every time. our old baths vent to the attic. i'd say with such a nice big window do you really need a vent in children's bath? in the MB yes, but the kids i think could probably go without. maybe. i'm not helping am i? :) the new house is adorable though!!!!

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  4. And I thought this was going to be a "help us decide what color shingles" - ha! I love posts like this - these are posts I need to read to learn for future homes (I mean that). Ok, I think the neighbors vent looks like a cat sitting on the roof - but there vent looks black with much lighter shingles. It sounds like your contractor will be able to blend yours in more - or at least you can aim for maximum blending. And PS - I love your home. It's got such great curb appeal and so classic.

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  5. we had our bathrooms vented through the roof before we moved in. Actually the former owners took care of it. They were previously vented through the attic, but during the inspection, we noticed that the wood in there looked like it was getting water damage from it. We have the ugly white pipes sticking out of the roof on the back of the house. I don't know if this was done incorrectly or what, but the vents in our two bathrooms since then have stopped removing the moisture from the bathroom. They get extremely steamy and everything gets wet. We tried replacing them, but the same thing has happened with the new vents. The kind you are looking at using are at least more attractive. In the picture it is barely noticeable. If you have a good roof guy that you trust, you probably won't have any problems. Then again, I don't know how old your house is, but if it's gone this long and been okay without bathroom vents, maybe it's fine to leave it that way.

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  6. This is a tough call, Fran. In the photo of a neighbor's house it looks like a worker left one of his tools up there. I also strongly think it's one of those things only you will notice because you know its there. Don't sweat it. Your house is so charming that no one will ever notice it up there.

    www.chattafabulous.blogspot.com

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  7. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have noticed it if you had not pointed it out to me. That said, if it were mine I would probably see it every time I pulled in the driveway.

    So...it's probably better to go with function over aesthetics on something like this. Most likely no one else will ever notice it. In the end I think that all who see your home will only see its beauty!

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  8. Fran, form over function gets me MOST times. However, had you not pointed out the vent in the example I think I might have missed it. How close will the color of the vent be to the color of your shingles and/or can the vent be color matched to minimize the difference.

    Re not venting childrens bathroom, today they are young. "Tomorrow" (and it goes faster than you think) they will be teenagers who will be using that hot water for what seems like hours on end. Since bathroom is in the front of the house, shade will be drawn and I guarantee the paint on the window will fail.

    Denise

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  9. Hello! Such a beautiful home! I wonder if the vent was the same color as the new roof, if it wouldn't blend in and be less noticable? Also, if you need symmetry, I wonder if two "Faux" vents above each window to the side of it wouldn't balance it out? Just some thoughts.

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  10. Hi..so my hubby is an extremely well known roofing contractor in our area...let's just say he does things the "right" way! Ha...we have the exact same vent in the same spot on our house...they can be painted to match your roof. It's a must for ventilation...!! but trust me...I threw a fit when he installed it but now I don't even see it...hope that helps..! you have a beautiful and charming home!

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  11. oops...one more things..all vents can be painted, including the long ones..insist on it! And NEVER vent into the attic...unless you want to give future work to your contractor! :))

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  12. Boston builder here ... #1 Never vent into the attic - anyone who says it's ok is clueless. #2 Never put a vent on the front of the house - especially the roof. That picture you posted looks terrible. The duct from that bathroom can easily be run up into the attic and to the back roof. Run it up the rafters, then across to the back on the collar ties and then out the back roof. It's not that far. If you have any concerns about the length go to panasonic.com and pick out the right fan for the bath size and duct length - they have all the charts there. You could also run it out the side of the house - use hard pipe and pitch it down toward the outside.

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  13. I would have to agree with this anonymous person before me. Never put a vent on the front of the house, since it would look weird. Try putting it at the back or on the side. Don’t forget to securely seal it with caulk to avoid leaks getting into your house.

    Staci Severns

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  14. Vents belong somewhere in the back of the house along where the attic's deepest corner of shruggery should be. Accessory goes on the side. But put it where it can do its job.

    -Adam Ahmed

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  16. Definitely will go unnoticed. I say go for it!

    -Keystone Contracting Corp.

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  17. Roof vents is leaking and have no proper solution for this. so help me and other for this problem

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  18. I do not drop a lot of remarks, but i did a few searching and wound up here "Roof Vents: Decision Time.".
    And I actually do have a couple of questions for you if it's allright. Could it be only me or does it give the impression like a few of these remarks come across like left by brain dead individuals? :-P And, if you are writing at other online sites, I would like to keep up with everything fresh you have to post. Would you list of the complete urls of all your public pages like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?
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  19. It’s absolutely a smart decision to have a vent to allow good flow of air in your home. You don’t have to worry about how it’ll look in your roof because you can have different options to make it unnoticeable. How about soffit or eave vents? This type of ventilation is under the soffit and it is most suitable if your house has narrow eaves.

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  20. I don’t think that would be an eyesore in your roof. If you want, you can put a roof decoration on top of the vent. I’ve actually seen one of my neighbors with that idea. The vent is unnoticeable because of the owl decoration they put over the vent. It serves a dual-purpose: one is for aesthetic appeal and second is keeping birds from staying in the roof.

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  23. Accessory goes on the side. But put it where it can do its job.
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  24. Home Ventilation issue is genuine and Roof Ventilation introduces outdoor fresh air into indoors, meanwhile expels the indoor stale air to outdoor, which makes you feel the comfort of nature.

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  25. Thanks for posting this stuff! I've been thinking of getting a new roof from Calgary roofing but I didn't even think about a vent/fan. I'll be sure to ask them if this is a service they will provide :)

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  28. My husband and I are going through this same process right now. Being able to read this was super helpful for us to figure out what we wanted to do as well. Thanks!

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  29. It really doesn't look bad. We're going to get roof vents soon, even if we haven't decided a company. People hardly ever look at roofs, and honestly they probably won't even care. http://russlundinroofing.com/Roof%20Ventilation.aspx

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  31. I am renovating various portions of my home. I am re-doing my roof in the spring. What could I do to add better ventilation to my roof?

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