Did Your Insulation Contractor BLOCK Your Soffit Vents?

WEBVTT
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.359
Did your insulation contractor block your soffit vents?
00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:10.240
I was in an attic not too long ago where a homeowner had just spent thousands of dollars on new attic insulation.
00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:14.480
The insulation looked great, nice even coverage over the entire attic.
00:00:14.800 --> 00:00:19.839
But after the job was finished, their upstairs was still hot and their energy bill actually went up.
00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:24.320
When I climbed into the attic to take a look, I found the problem immediately.
00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:27.440
The insulation had been blown right into the soffits.
00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:32.079
So now the attic couldn't breathe properly, and that was completely avoidable.
00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:40.079
You see, the homeowner thought they had paid to solve their comfort and energy loss problem, but the insulation job had the opposite effect.
00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:45.600
The worst part is the homeowner had no idea because they failed to do this one thing.
00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:54.399
Today I'm going to share with you how to tell if this has happened in your own attic, why it matters, and how to fix it before it becomes a bigger problem.
00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:56.719
Your attic needs to breathe.
00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:01.520
You see, cool air comes in low through the soffit vents under the edge of your roof.
00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:04.560
Hot air exits through the ridge vent at the peak.
00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:06.000
That's the whole system.
00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:08.640
And it only works when both ends are open.
00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:17.680
When a contractor blows insulation into your attic without installing baffles, that insulation drifts into the eaves and buries the soffit vents.
00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:26.879
The intake is gone, the attic stops breathing, heat builds up, moisture builds up, and that insulation you paid for is now working against you.
00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:36.000
Most homeowners never find out this actually happened after the insulation was installed because you can't see it from inside the house and you can't see it from the yard.
00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.799
You only find out when you go up into the attic and look.
00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:44.719
Or damage shows up in the form of high-energy bills, degraded shingles, or mold on the roof deck.
00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:51.439
Before I show you how to find this problem for yourself, I want to make sure you understand what soffit vents actually do.
00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:58.799
Because once you see how the system is supposed to work, you'll immediately understand why blocking it causes so much damage.
00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:01.040
Your attic ventilation works like a chimney.
00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:03.439
Once you see it that way, it makes total sense.
00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:05.599
Those soffit vents are the intake.
00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:09.199
They sit under the overhang of your roof along the eaves.
00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:17.680
Outside air enters the soffit, travels up along the roof decking, picks up heat and exits through the ridge vent at the peak of your roof if you have one.
00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:21.919
Cool air in the bottom, hot air through the top, it's a continuous flow.
00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:24.319
Now here's the thing most homeowners don't realize.
00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:26.879
The soffit vents are not optional.
00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:28.719
They are the engine of the whole system.
00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:31.280
The ridge vent at the top is the exhaust.
00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:34.879
Without intake at the bottom, the exhaust has nothing to pull from.
00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:41.039
I've been in attics where a roofer installed a brand new ridge vent, and the homeowner thought they'd solved their hot attic problem.
00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:44.000
They hadn't, because the soffit vents were blocked.
00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:47.120
The attic was just as hot as before, if not hotter.
00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:49.199
That's what soffit vents do.
00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:51.039
They make the whole system work.
00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:54.240
And when they're blocked, they make the whole system fail.
00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:59.280
Real quick, I put together a free resource called the Attic and Air Seal Guide.
00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:07.520
It walks you through the whole inspection process step by step so you can find problems like this in your own attic before they get too expensive.
00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:08.800
Links in the description.
00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:12.800
So how does insulation end up blocking the soffits in the first place?
00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:15.280
And why do contractors allow this to happen?
00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:18.479
Because many of them skip installing baffles.
00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:26.800
Baffles, also called rafter vents, are the plastic or foam chutes that are supposed to be installed between each roof rafter.
00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:32.000
Their job is to keep an airpath from the soffit all the way up towards the ridge.
00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:38.080
They act as a dam, keeping the blown-in insulation from drifting into the eaves and blocking the vents.
00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:42.080
Without baffles, insulation will block the vents.
00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:44.159
Now why do contractors skip them?
00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:45.439
There's a few reasons.
00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:48.879
Baffles take time and sometimes are difficult to install.
00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:55.199
In a tight attic with low clearance near the eaves, you're crawling on your belly in insulation to install them.
00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:58.479
It's extremely hot, itchy, and uncomfortable.
00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:00.240
But honestly, that's no excuse.
00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:05.199
If you don't want to be hot, itchy, and uncomfortable, don't be an attic insulation contractor.
00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:06.240
But I digress.
00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:11.599
Once the insulation is blown in, it can be difficult to see whether the baffles were installed or not.
00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:15.360
And honestly, when I ask homeowners, did you have baffles installed?
00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:17.279
They look at me kind of baffled.
00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:21.360
Most homeowners can't see if they were installed because they don't really know what they are.
00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:25.519
Some insulation contractors just completely skip installing baffles.
00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:29.600
They just blow in the insulation, collect their check, and move on to the next job.
00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:34.959
This can be avoided by ensuring the estimate includes baffles when blowing in more insulation.
00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:36.879
Now here's where it gets serious.
00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:40.399
Because blocked soffit vents don't just make your attic hot.
00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:46.240
They set off a chain reaction that most homeowners never connect back to the original insulation job.
00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:49.360
When the soffit vents are blocked, the attic traps heat.
00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:55.360
On a 95-degree day, a properly ventilated attic is between 120 to 130 degrees.
00:04:55.519 --> 00:04:59.199
An attic that can't breathe may reach 150 degrees or higher.
00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:00.000
But guess what?
00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:01.920
That heat doesn't stay in the attic.
00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:05.600
It radiates down through your ceiling into your living space.
00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:11.360
Your AC can't keep up, so it runs even longer while your upstairs gets even hotter.
00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:16.560
This causes your equipment to wear out faster and your energy bill goes through the roof.
00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:18.639
But the heat is only part of the problem.
00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:23.040
Moisture is the other part, and moisture is what causes the real damage.
00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:28.079
In the summer, warm, humid outside air gets trapped in the attic and can't be exhausted.
00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:32.800
This could actually cause mold to grow in a dead air spaces of your home like closets.
00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:38.000
I just had a consultation with a couple in Florida that was experiencing this firsthand.
00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:49.040
The living space was 70 degrees and 56% relative humidity, but in the bedroom closet there was light mold growth and the humidity was 77% near the ceiling.
00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:53.839
Hot attic, cool living space equals potential moisture at the ceiling.
00:05:53.920 --> 00:06:02.000
Now in the winter it's a little different because warm moist air from your living space is rising through every gap in your ceiling into the attic.
00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:07.360
This can cause moisture to condense on the roof deck, which over time can cause mold to grow.
00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:12.560
I've been in attics where the homeowner had no idea there was a mold problem because they never went up there.
00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:16.399
By the time they found out that roof deck was completely covered in mold.
00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:20.560
Now all the insulation had to be removed to properly treat the mold in the attic.
00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:27.600
So what started out as a$2,000 attic insulation job turned into a$10,000 mold remediation job.
00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:32.319
That's two different mold problems that can occur from a poorly ventilated attic.
00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:35.360
And as I said earlier, it was completely avoidable.
00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.439
Baffles only cost a few dollars.
00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:41.759
The labor to install them only adds about an hour or two to the job.
00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:42.720
That's it.
00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:48.240
That's the difference between a job done right and a job that creates a new problem that you have to address.
00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:50.480
So how do you know if this has happened in your attic?
00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:55.199
Because most homeowners have no idea, but many times it's super easy to tell.
00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:58.319
Number one, get in your attic on a bright sunny day.
00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:04.399
Number two, make sure the attic is dark and look for daylight where the insulation meets the roof.
00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:05.839
That's usually all it takes.
00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:08.240
If you don't see daylight, that's a problem.
00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:12.959
Now you need to call the insulation contractor and ask them if they installed baffles.
00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:16.399
If they said yes, that doesn't mean they installed them properly.
00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:22.000
By the way, this is the type of thing we go over every week, so if you haven't subscribed yet, now's a good time.
00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:24.879
So what do you do if you find out if the soffits are blocked?
00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:27.199
And what does the fix actually look like?
00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:30.959
If your soffits are already blocked, here's the correct sequence to fix it.
00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:34.000
Step one, pull the insulation back from the eaves.
00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:38.639
You need to get back to the attic floor near the soffit so you can see what you're working with.
00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:46.079
In older homes, that underlying insulation may have been sitting there for years and is probably compacted under the new insulation.
00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:48.480
A small garden rake will help you move it out of the way.
00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:52.319
Step two, install baffles in every single rafter bay.
00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:56.240
They usually have a tab that allows you to staple them directly to the joists.
00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:59.839
Make sure it extends down past the top plate of the exterior wall.
00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.319
Step three, while you're back there, look at the soffit vent itself and make sure it's not clogged.
00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:11.120
I've seen attics where the soffit vent was painted over from the outside or where the screen behind it was completely clogged with debris.
00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:14.639
A blocked screen is just as bad as blocking it with insulation.
00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:20.720
Step four, once the baffles are in and the vents are clear, push the insulation back up to the baffle.
00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:22.000
Now move on to the next one.
00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:27.920
Because if your attic is a rectangle and it's 50 feet long on one side, you have 49 more bays to go.
00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:37.440
Now, to prevent this from ever happening to you again, you must ask the insulation contractor how they handle soft ad vents before they blow insulation in.
00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:43.440
If the answer is that they install baffles in every rafter bay before they install insulation, that's great.
00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:46.320
You may have a contractor who actually knows what they're doing.
00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:51.120
If they tell you the insulation won't reach the soft ad vents, you may want to find somebody else.
00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:59.120
At Crawl Space Ninja, we don't allow the ninjas to blow in a single bag of insulation until the baffles are installed in every single bay.
00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:04.559
Please let me know in the comments if this has ever happened to you and what you had to do to address it.
00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:14.559
Also, check out the video on the screen because if you have the baffles installed properly and the soffits are not blocked, you may have a different type of ventilation problem that I cover in this video.
00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:16.960
I'm Michael Church with Crawl Space Ninja.
00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:20.159
I hope you make it a happy and blessed day, and I'll see you later.