# Ridge Vent on a Shed



## jokiddjr (Jun 11, 2007)

The shed is 10 x16' with a 5/12 gable roof with 3-tab asphalt shingles. There will be no attic area or insulation. I have continuous soffit vents installed on both sides and have shingled up to the slot in the ridge.

I was about to install the Shingle Vent II ridge vent and called the mfgr about an install question. They informed me that they don’t recommend ridge vent installations on sheds or buildings w/o an attic. The say the sheds air flow does not move up to the ridge and might be susceptible to air/water coming in at the ridge.

Of course the person at Lowes recommended this for my shed and the documentation that comes with the ridge vent mention nothing of an attic. Several web howto's for shed building that I've used all include a ridge vent.

From what I’ve read, ridge and soffit vents are supposed to be the best combination for ventilation. Is this only true for roofs over attics?

Has anyone heard of this before? Should I just install gable vents to go along w/soffit vents?

I already have the ridge vents and the roof is prepped for install so the hard work is done.

TIA

Dave


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

It makes sense to me to install the ridge vent. The purpose is to keep the sheathing and roof from extreme heat, which shortens their life. Unless the shed is in constant shade, put it in.
Ron


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

If the shed is a detached and unheated space, there is no "Technical" reason to vent it.

But, many people want to relieve the excessive heat, so it is done frequently.

I have used this detail before and also reconfigured it to fold over the top edge of the shed framing.

http://www.dciproducts.com/html/offpeak.htm

Ed


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## jokiddjr (Jun 11, 2007)

Ed, Thanks for the details on the smart vent - I wish I would have seen that earlier.

However, it looks like the vent install is required before I put the shingles up, which I have already done. At this point, unless neither is a useful option, I wonder if a ridge vent or gable vent will help with the summer heat.

If it turns out the vent has little use on the shed, I'll just fill in the slot with scrap plywood and take the $36 worth of ridge vent back to Lowes.

The summers are hot here in N.C. and there is little shade right now from newly planted birch trees. I could just crack the windows in the summer, but since heat rises, this might not be the best option.

So far one reply (Ron) saying the ridge vent would be useful and I'm leaning that way.


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## Butters (Mar 3, 2008)

We put ridge and soffit vents on my parents detached garage last year. There were no vents before. We are in Kentucky and had a very hot summer last year. The new venting made a very noticeable difference. That garage does not have a finished ceiling either.


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## LawnGuyLandSparky (Nov 18, 2007)

Put the darn ridge vent in. Consider the entire shed is one giant attic space...


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