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Hi,
I am restoring a large house that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands.
I am British but I had my own construction company in VA for 15 yrs and I used Standing Seam on a lot of the houses I built.
This problem I am dealing with now leaves me with a couple of problems that requires help from those who know more than I.
Here in the BVI 85% of all houses were destoryed or took considerable damaged from Irma and then for good measure Hurricane Maria hit us 10 days later.
The country was leveled but what stood out after the storms were certain types of roofing materials did better than others. The winner was Standing Seam roofing.
Here unlike the States where I lived, Metal roofing is installed on 2x4 purlins spaced 16" o/c. in between the purlins on top of the roof decking is 1 1/2" rigid foam insulation.
Also we do not have any eaves overhang, soffit or ridge vents due to rain being capable of being pushed up the roof towards the ridge and Eaves are something that can catch the wind and rip the rafters right out of a concrete ring beam roof plate.
This house needs venting!! Some form of a soffit or in this case, lower vents near the eaves and then some form of vent up near the ridge. I want to install solar powered roof mounted venting fans. I also don't want the fans to suck, hence the lower vents.
This house is a colonial style house that could be dropped in to a plantation in Virginia and wouldn't look out of place. The owners are very concerned about what the vents will look like.
This house has 9 ac units as each room has it's own thermostat. All of the condensers are stored in the roof, which is now about 130 F.
Can anyone give me advice as to what type of vents would be suitable for lower eaves venting and the best solar powered ventilation fans I could use on a standing seam roof, or a method I haven't heard of that would look pleasing to the eye?
My roofing material doesn't turn up for 4 weeks so the vents can be installed during the whole roof installation.
I am a little lost on what would be best in this type of situation.
Thanks in advance.
5/24/2018
Thanks for planning on a metal roof. So, there are no overhangs at all for vents?
Isaiah Industries, Inc.
5/25/2018
That is correct.
There isn't any soffit. Just a fascia board attached to the wall and where the rafters were cut off at the plum cut of the birds-mouth.
Originally the house was designed with dormer windows but they got blown away by a different hurricane many years ago.
The roof had 4 turbine vents installed where the dormers once were. They were all set at the same height about 4' from the attic floor without a ridge vent.
I was told the AC has always been a problem. When I see how the roof was ventilated it became obvious to me the Freon was not working correctly due to the fact that the 13' tall roof had uncirculated air in the top 2/3 of it.
I need to find some type of lower vent that doesn't make the roof look like it is trying to contact Mars.
The client is very particular to say the least concerning this matter.
5/25/2018
Thanks. What is the pitch of the roof and what sort of roof is being installed? Concealed fastener standing seam? Exposed fastener corrugated? Something else? This will be tricky, as you know ... I assume you do not want to try to put vents in the eave fascia?
Isaiah Industries, Inc.
5/25/2018
I would recommend using Above Sheathing Ventilation Shims. Oak Ridge Labs has done extensive research on this subject with great results. Make sure you use a vented eave trim to allow intake.
5/25/2018