Not Sure If I Should Close The Attic Window For The Winter

Hey all,

Not sure what I should do here. My attic is accessed by a window in a small gable at the front of my house. The roof has vents that run the length of my single story, 1920's farm house. There are no soffitt vents under the eves. There is a screen on this window in the gable, and a hinged glass window that can be closed from the outside. The window has been open since I bought the house. I had the attic insulated last year, and we left this window open to allow the attic to breathe. I have been considering closing this window up for the winter to conserve heat. But having read through various forums now, I'm not sure that would be the best thing to do. Opinions?

Not sure about window. The problem you mostly are conerned about is ice dams which are caused when heat leaks from the top of the outside wall and melts the snow, then the water runs down a few inches on the roof and re-freezes stopping normal run off and the water backs up under the shingles. The soffet vents allow air flow so any heat loss from that wall moves up the attic and cause no harm,
This is a problem with any well insulated house. You might think, it didn't happen last year so you are good but you never know.
Can we talk you into soffet vents.

I ahve been known to be persuaded with facts and peer reviewed evidence. Would the soffett vents be able to be punched in with a hole saw or something to effect?

Sometimes. Do you have rafter overhang? Is it closed with plywood or something? If you punch holes will air be able to get to the attic above the insulation?

Considering that a well ventilated attic has a temperature about the same as that outdoors in winter, it doesn't make a lot of sense to close it up to conserve heat. I'm assuming that it's an unheated and unused space, and that you're in an area where it gets cold...below freezing....in winter.
But you can also look at it from the perspective of if you do close it up. Warm moist air get up there and condenses on the underside of the roof, which is a cold surface. Depending on how much insulation you have and how tight the ceilings are, will impact how much heat and moisture will make it into your attic. Any condensation can promote mold and rot.
Given that you're probably not going to want to climb up there in the middle of winter to check for condensation, I'd opt for leaving it open some.

I have a similar venting method in our 100 year old house. Each end of the attic has a window that I open in the spring and close in the fall. Our attic is not heated and below the floor is poured in insulation and nothing in the rafters. I don’t think there are any soffit vents and nothing in the ridge or in the roof. The windows are fairly large and when the house was sided the windows were framed out and covered over with soffit vent material. There is a staircase that leads up there from the second floor and the back of the door someone has added a thick 4” of insulation.

I had the same questions about opening or closing or redoing some modern system of venting maybe even with a power fan for summer. I looked around and the timbers that support the roof and the plank sheeting all looked as good as the day it was put together with cut nails so I had to assume what was up there has somehow been working. To me that area stays pretty close to the outside temp in the winter and gets pretty warm in the summer. The upstairs rooms stay nice and warm and the utility bill for heat is not that high. So I’m one to not mess with something that’s working.

The question is am I saving any heat by closing the windows and I would say maybe. The attic is a buffer zone and the amount of insulation in the floor has to be letting some amount of heat pass thru it. I also have the stairs and the door that loose heat from the house. We also have lots of cold high speed wind in the winter and blocking that from the attic can’t hurt. The house and the air outside in the winter is so dry to start with I doubt winter moisture is problem and I’m sure in a 100 year old house there is enough unintended venting going on I don’t need to add more.

So I open in the spring and close in the fall.

If I were to do anything I would be looking at better insulation in the attic stairs and door for winter and maybe a fan with a temp switch for the summer.