I've done worse. (Only half the dining room so far... we were moving stuff around to accommodate a new china cabinet, and it seemed silly to not do it while the space was empty.)

OK handy people - I have finished the kitchen, front window, pergo flooring in the dining area, replaced 6 doors, skim coated the entire downstairs and the painting has commenced. (Pics to folow if I can figure out the camera) My question is that I'm thinking of installing a vent fan in the attic. The one that goes out the roof. I'm fine indoors, but cutting a hole in my roof scares the hell outta me. Any help, suggestions tips and so on?

Why a roof fan? Is this to ventilate the attic to reduce cooling costs? Or is this to vent a bathroom, or kitchen stove, etc.?

Attic ventilation - Its been a big help to a lot of neighbors while saving money and all too - so I'm thinkin about it.

Are you sure a roof fan is your only/the best option?

In many cases, putting in soffit vents and a ridge vent for passive air circulation is more than enough and then you don't have the electricity charges later. The hot air rises and goes out the ridge and is replaced by cool air drawn into the soffits. The beauty of a ridge vent is that even though you are cutting a long slot at the peak of the roof, there is very little water to deal with at the peak. So you just nail or screw the ridge vent down. You don't need to worry about flashing around the opening. Some are even low profile so you don't notice them.

http://www.pondroofing.com/images/se...nt_airflow.gifhttp://www.pondroofing.com/images/se...ridge_vent.jpghttp://www.pondroofing.com/images/se...ffit_vent4.jpg

If you check out building science's web site, they have a lot of detailed information on the best way to ventilate an attic. They believe in soffit vents and ridge vents. I don't know where you live, but they have lots of different models for the best way to build houses in various locations. Here's an example for a house in Charlotte, N.C.

Another option is to put gable vents in the attic walls at the ends of the house. You don't really have to worry about water there either. You can put one in each end, and get cross breezes, or you can put a fan in as well.

I don't know your house layout, or your location, but for my house, a powered roof fan would be the last option. They are ugly, consume electricity, and you have to worry about flashing around them so they don't leak.

Don't forget that you need to put a vent somewhere else to let air into your attic to replace any air you try to blow out. If you don't, you can suck air from inside your home, and this is often replaced by air back drafting down your chimney. Carbon monoxide is a concern then.

I don't know about ridge vents, but the one really important thing with gable vents is to make sure you put window screening on the inside, no matter how narrow the slat openings are. Birds can and will get in, despite manufacturer's claims. But we found our gable vents to be very effective, once we screened them. :)

Absolutely. We have the heavy gauge wire screens protecting our gable vents. squirrels were chewing through them, and birds were building nests, but the wire screen stopped that.

Another great Cellar thread!!!!

I have talked a ton of projects myself(Here are some). Partly cause I am hard-headed and not to mention lack of extra funds to pay someone else to do the work. On the Handyman scale, I would put myself around 4.5......teetering on a 5.

I do have a hoard of tools and could do it for a living. I choose not to because I have other people that depend on me( 2 kids and a wife). If I was a single guy, I think I would be in some kind of construction trade. Im not knocking the construction trade, but it can get cut-throat

Wow - thanks glatt - I'm in the Philly suburbs, in a townhome (middle unit).I have soffit vents and ridge vents - The air just doesn't seem to move and its like 200 degrees up there - It is at least 20 degrees more than my neighbor who has a fan also. He says he saves about $200 a year since he got it - I have heard similar things from other neighbors as well.

Middle unit of a town home, huh? I guess that rules out gable vents.

Have you inspected the soffit vents? Are they blocked with insulation? If they are clear, then I guess a roof fan really is your best bet.

To be honest, this is the kind of thing I avoid. I've never cut a hole in my roof and flashed around it. I know they have those sticky rubber membranes for flashing around things like this, but I understand metal flashing is even better. Only problem with metal flashing is you need a metal break to bend it, and I'm not sure you can rent one. I'd probably use the sticky rubber membrane to seal things up, and then patch in the shingles.

Maybe somebody else will have better advice.

Couldn't you put a fan on the inside of the attic, pointed out through your existing vents? Like glatt, I too would be terrified to have anyone but a professional cut a hole in my roof.

I've installed fan vents, soooo easy. Just drill a hole for your SawzAll, cut the hole and drop it in, caulk and go.
The new, super-light, turbine (or rotary) vents are AWESOME for problem areas! They don't rust and don't need a lot of wind to work, the new bearing systems are slick.
I used to put them in in five min. and they save serious ducats.

Great now we all agree that cutting a whole in your roof is scary baaaaddd. OK, I'll go back into the attic and check all the soffits for good air flow. It would be great to have the vent fan, but because of money I can't pay for it to be done. There must be a way to get the air moving - thats what I think the real issue is. It is so stagnant up there its unreal. I feel like throwing a box fan up there just to move the air around. Do they even make fans for this type of installation? Could I set it on a timer somehow? If I could get the air to move that has got to help - no? The upstairs of my house is also at least 5 to 7 degrees warmer than the first floor - thats what I'm also trying to rectify. The return vents are fine - I already checked them.

**Oops - I posted this before I saw rk's post.**

I know you have done this and I haven't, but I would never trust caulk alone to keep a hole in my roof water tight. Flashing is needed.

Edit: Flashing around a fan, depending on the shape of the fan, will be much like flashing around a skylight.

OK, rk - So I go to Lowes, Buy the vent fan....and what else? I must need electrical and stuff and so on. Can you give me an idea so I can get a grasp of the overall scope in order to budget time and whatnot.

You can pm so this is not a total hijack. Speaking of which - does this move me up or down on the scale?