I had my house re-roofed recently. The roofing guy was great, and, he put 2 new turbines on the house without even charging me (he said). Alright…fantastic job, even the color was a fantastic complement to the house. Color of turbine matched the roof, not just the usual galvanized steel look. Whoo-hoo!
Then, just as he was leaving, he said “You really need another turbine up there…bye!”
Uh…OK. Why, I thought to myself, didn’t he tell me before he started work? He gave me 2 for free…he could have changed the price quote to accommodate another one…he could have told me earlier…etc…I worked the evening shift the night before, and, I was groggy as he was saying this, and I thought he’ll offer to do it later, yada, yada…but, he didn’t.
That’s where I am now. I need another turbine. I was going to do it myself, but, I looked it up on youtube and I wasn’t impressed with the vids I saw; further, they didn’t even address the question of *where *to install them.
So, I don’t know if I should call that roofer back, another roofer, or call an A/C contractor, or a general contractor. The reason I haven’t started just calling is because anybody can install them…I just don’t want to pay a premium to somebody who doesn’t normally do it, and them charge me double or triple the going rate because it’s not their normal function.
Can somebody tell me who is the go-to contractor for that kind of work?
Did he say why you need another turbine up there? And are you dissatisfied with the existing state of your roof ventilation? If not, then there’s probably no need to bother.
You should call and ask him why he thinks you need another and why he didn’t inform you before finishing the job. Also ask for a quote to put one in, although he sounds kind of sketchy.
I’m trying to imagine a couple of 600’ towers with wind turbines on top …
Okay, the OP means roof vents, and you probably do need more. Your insulation layer is on the ceiling and that leave a big space between your ceiling and rafters which tends to get very hot and stays hot. This is a problem for your typical 3-tab roof shingle since the asphalt doesn’t like to have a big temperature difference between the top and bottom. So your attic space needs to have holes near the bottom and holes near the top. Hot air escapes out the top and cooler air comes in at the bottom. This will cool the bottom of the shingles so that the temperature difference is much lower, which will prolong the useful life of the shingles.
Call around to different roofing companies and get quotes … there’s absolutly no excuse for the first roofer to not install some extra vents if he had the roofing material tore off.
All this is correct, but it does not help determine if the OP’s venting is in fact inadequate. For many roofs, soffets and a ridge vent is all you need. If it’s a very large attic, then turbines or gable vents may be a good idea also. But we don’t know what the OP’s situation is.
If I were you I’d call in a couple of roofers for free estimates. Tell them what your other roofer said about needing another turbine, and see what they have to offer as explanation. If they don’t agree, call a third.
It costs you nothing but a few phone calls and some of your time, and you may get an explanation.
And likely a better assessment of the situation than persons on the Internet, who can’t actually see your roof, nor the turbines!
Two turbines sounds like plenty for a 2000 sqft home. What you probably actually need is more soffit vents. With modern aluminum soffit it is common practice now to vent the soffit for the entire run. A couple of soffit vents is probably not enough. Roof turbines can actually create too much negative pressure in the attic space which can pull moisture laden air through the vapour barrier; a very bad thing in cold climates. Luckily it is much easier and less problematic to retrofit soffit vents than roof vents. You can get soffit vents easily at places like home depot.
That being said it is not a huge deal to retrofit a turbine on an asphalt shingled roof as long as the shingles are still pliable.