Roofing Ridge Vent

House Doctor | Gary Dymski

December 28, 2000

Q. I RECENTLY HAD a ridge vent installed on my renovated home. During certain rain storms, water comes through the roof in my attic ceiling. This doesn't happen all the time when it rains, only when the rain comes from a certain direction with the wind blowing strongly.

Is there any way to prevent this leak without closing off the ridge vent? And if the ridge vent is closed, is the roof properly ventilated?

-Dora C.,

Bayside, Queens

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A. First, get on the phone to your roofing contractor and complain loudly and often. A ridge vent is a flexible vinyl or metal ventilation strip that is installed the length of the ridge (the pointed part) of the roof. It allows warm, moist air to escape from the attic, and like any other ventilation device installed on a roof, it should not leak.

According to Doug Plotke of Roof Services Inc. in Bay Shore, some companies that manufacture ridge vent material don't allow for wind-driven rain. On some ridge vent material, there is an interior lip that prevents rain from being blown back into the open area, Plotke said. There's a good chance the material your contractor used doesn't have this lip to protect against wind-driven rain.

"In our installations, we custom fit a sheet-metal flashing that serves as a protection against wind-driven rain," Plotke says. "I'm not willing to take a call from a customer when the wind is blowing 60 miles an hour and hear someone say their roof is leaking."

Plotke said your roofing contractor should be aware of the shortcomings of any ridge vent material that was installed. Apparently, it's common knowledge in the industry that wind-driven rain can be a problem on roofs with a ridge vent.

Do your best to convince your contractor to return to the job and make the necessary adjustments. If he refuses, call the New York City Consumer Affairs office: 212-487-4444; www.nyclink.org/ consumers.

Blocking or closing off the ridge vent is not the answer. Your roof and attic must be properly ventilated. Specific calculations based on the size of your roof and attic are made to determine proper ventilation, and the ridge vent figures into that calculation.

In the meantime, when it rains and it is windy, place some plastic sheeting and buckets on the floor to catch the water that is leaking.