insulation and ridge vent question
hertzo
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
Hello, I am putting a beadboard ceiling in my screen porch. I am considering insulating and venting the ceiling so that if i ever decide to inclose the porch i don’ have to tear down the ceiling to insulate it. my plan is to insulate with R 38 and vent with rafter mates from sophet to ridge. My question is can i leave the ridge unvented untill i decide to inclose the porch and at that point vent the ridge? Or do i have to vent the ridge from the begining. Thank you for any input.
Replies
Sure
You can leave it till later.
But, It woudn't hurt to do it now. It'll help keep the roof heat from transfering down as much which could help keep the porch cooler in the heat of summer.
I included vented soffit/ridge on a porch I built a couple of yrs ago for just that purpose. These folks may never enclose it, they're happy with just a screened porch.
You don't need radiant heat from above even on a screened porch.
From an efficiency standpoint, it doesn't make sense to wait until later. You would have to remove the cap at the minimum, If you don't want to try cutting right through existing shingles and sheathing, probably hitting nails, creating sparks and smoking a blade, you have to remove a couple of rows of shingles, get all the nails out, cut back the sheathing, reinstall and cut the shingles to the opening, place the ridge vent then cap it. Saving the old shingles and cap won't be easy and later shingles may show a color difference. I'd say, if you are going to do it, do it now, it will be easier and will keep you off the roof later.