Vent along ridge line leaking?

[sgfeltman]

We are looking at buying a 10 year old used double-wide, we knew they had a problem with a leaking roof. When my husband climbed up on the roof to inspect, the shingles seemed in good shape. Along the ridge of the roof there is a vent almost the length of the house. There are shingles on top of the vent but they do not touch the other shingles, there is about a 1 inch gap. We think that with the KS wind, it has been blowing rain into this vent causing the leak. How can we fix this problem? If we take the vent out will be have problems with condensation instead? Is there a way to keep the rain from getting in but keep the vent functional? The soffets have some vents but there are no other vents in the roof area.

[JD]

I think these are eave vents. You can see them online or at a big home store to see what you are working with. They are supposed to be nailed down at the eave to keep them from lifting which is what it sounds like they are doing. A picture would help a lot.

Unless you can see a way to anchor them down, repairs would require removing a few courses of shingles and pull/reset of the sheathing, while reinstalling (new, they're cheap) eave vents. Also, you may have ridge vents which would be barely noticeable under the ridge cap.

If you have vaulted/cathedral ceilings, a lack of ventilation would be a major concern. With flat ceilings, you can usually get enough ventilation with gable vents (possibly powered).

[sgfeltman]

The ceiling is vaulted so that would be a problem. I can see if my husband can take a picture. I drove around and looked at some homes made by the same manufacturer and saw some with the same thing. I may stop by and see if they have the same leaking problems...it may be something else we can't see. Thanks JD

[HouseMedic]

It sounds like a ridge vent. Some are like a plastic 3M pad type material that gets covered by cap shingles and the 1" gap is how they are suppose to be. If you do have a lot of cross winds it can cause the rain to enter at this point. There are types of ridge vents that are a slightly different style that help prevent the wind from blowing under the shingles. From this site in the upper right hand diagram you can see a bent piece at the bottom that is suppose to channel the wind in an upward direction. http://www.airvent.com/homeowner/produc ... ents.shtml
Hope this helps a little.

Ron

[DaleM]

Get rid of the ridge vent. Pull it and cap the ridge with shingles. Then cut in some standard aluminum roof vents, approx. 4 on each side of the ridge about 18" down from the ridge peak. These type are less prone to leaking in high winds.