Purchased a new home with a gable roof. Half the ridge vent is blocked with old shingles, soffit vents covered with insulation, mold and fire wood.

[MgTech]

Hi all, I'm new here but I've been trying to find a bit of information about our new home.

It's a ranch-style home, with a gable roof, with an attached garage, new metal roof ( before we purchased it).

I crawled into the attic today and can see debris along the ridge vent line on the attic insulation floor ( like those helicopter things from trees, etc). It starts over the garage and goes back.

Halfway back, I noticed the vent was blocked with shingles, that look new, So I kept going. Imagine a sideways T, that's the layout of the house. The open ridge vent is over the garage, but as soon as it hits the house portion, its blocked all the way back with shingles. When I get back to the very back, I see black mold ( possibly, it's black, and looks like mold) and the chipboard is peeling apart and looks like it came out of a fire. I mean, It's peeling off the sheet, and is "curling" off with that very distinct browned/crispy/crumbles in your fingers look and feel.

I started looking around and noticed all but one small spot of the soffit vent is blocked with insulation, in the entire attic space. This was around 9-10PM at night and It felt like fire up there. When I opened the " trap door" into the attic, the air gushes around you into the attic, Which, I thought was weird.

I'm certain this isn't right. What really gets me is that the back portion of the house, for new wood to look like that( they replaced the wood for the roof as well), as well as the mold in the very back area already.

To top it all off, both the bathroom vents, just vent into the insulation, I mean, What?

Did it really get so hot up there, to start charing the wood? is that possible?

Should I go in and pull back the insulation around all the soffit vents, What should I do about the entire back half of the house that doesn't have any venting( where the mold and chared wood is). I did notice, When i pulled back the insulation and exposed the soffit vent ( The purpose of going into the attic was to install a camera system) i felt cool air whoosh into my face as soon as I pulled the insulation back near the garage.

My gut and a little research tells me I could go up on the roof( or from inside the attic) and cut out the shingles blocking the ridge vent( the metal cap is across the whole roof) to vent that portion of the home as well. I also feel like I should go up there, and pull back all the insulation from the soffit from every hole, then of course, Do something about the bathroom vents just venting up there. I'm also not sure if it matters, but the sewer(septic) vent, also vents into the attic. Looks like it has a pressure valve on it.


Anyway, I'm sure this isn't right. I'm just looking to make it right, and make my home safe, and efficient. I'm not a professional, meaning I have no experience in the concept. I am, However, not new to the idea of doing the work correctly. My main issue is knowing exactly what I'm needing to do to get proper airflow.

 

[Jeff Handy]

You can get a long skinny shrub rake to clean out the soffits covered with insulation.

Or rig up a pvc pipe extension with an elbow head, to attach to a shop vac, to reach over and down to suck them clean.

That rush of air from the attic entrance shows how much it is starved for intake air.

Exposing the ridge might call for a roofing pro, or talented friend or neighbor who knows what they are doing.

The black curly sheathing is probably moldy.

You can spray it heavily with Concrobium mold killer, Google it.

 

[oldognewtrick]

I would suggest getting a roofer to remove the ridge cap, cut the decking the proper amount and replace the cap. To much or to little air gap will be an issue and doing work on a metal roof is not for inexperienced DIYers. The ridge cap will need to be a vented cap. This will allow for air exhaust and help stop insects from entering.

 

[Jeff Handy]

If there are any conventional roof vents in the shingled area, it is not that hard to convert one to a powered roof ventilator.
They are low amperage, so usually ok to tap into the existing attic light circuit.

Also, with that Tee shape, you might have dead air spots with poor circulation, even after you clean out the soffit vents.

A good quality box fan can be left running up there year round, for pennies a day.
It keeps the air moving and cuts down on condensation.

 

[geochurchi]

Hi, if this is a new, to you house, was it inspected by a home inspector? also mold is nothing to mess with, a few years ago it cos me over 6K to have mine remediated , do you also have gable end vents?
Geo