Ok, lets say ridge vent sides is one of the entry points on a home for bats...
Lets hear how you guys address it!

I myself have always foamed and one way doored them but there has got to be a better perminite fix...

Are you guys pulling the vent off and screening under it and re-applying the vent?
Or what?

I see wcs sells b3x exclusion strips... Anyone use these yet?

Nic,

I have a fair number of these entry points in my extended service area up north. We have done it from the inside where possible to avoid taking it off the top, however only where they aren't going to stay right on the wire we install.

Conversely we have removed the entire ridge vent, installed the best materials we can to allow ventilation and ultimately keep the bats out. This latter option has the best chance for success we've found in our time as inside the attic space even with great light, you are working between rafters and such and these make you cut more often and piece in the exclusion versus doing it with one long piece on the outside and re-applying.

Somewhere I have good pics, but lately I'm lucky if I can find my car keys!

Many of my ridge vents in this area were done before codes really existed or caught up to these builders so I see some funky stuff that often is already blocking the bats but isn't allowing any air flow out of the attic space. Usually these are cases where the folks are being overwhelmed by guano/urine odor and you go into the attic and realize there are no vents or flowing air leaving the space so the only way to go is down into the living quarters!

Ahhh that fresh mountain air!



I think many of the guys have posted about using cobra vent and other materials of the like, David (Warrior) and Ron S and Eric A.... Hopefully they will chime in as these are the minority jobs for me versus the norm.

Hope all is well and warming up I heard from family it has been a long winter!

Justin

(Checked out those strips, I see lots of that air conditioner filter material used by other companies that don't use any adhesive or sealant to keep it in place and the first good mountain wind it is all in the parking lot as the metal roof lifts enough to let it pop out. That material will work but would hesitate to not seal it though they say it will lock and is made to lock in place due to its wedge like shape.)

Thank you for taking the time to type all that!
I agree, id be hesitant not running a bead of solar seal along that stuff

You bet Nic, hope any of that was helpful.

(Took typing in hs, at 60wpm doesn't take me too long to post! Lol!)

The issue with ridge vents are 1)construction related, 2)manufacture related, and 3) installation related. The fix to be applied will coincide with with issue or issues you encounter.

When the problem is construction related (slate shingles with aluminum ridge vent) you will have to fill the voids with some sort of sealant (foam, caulk, cut pieces of cobra vent, etc.) at a minimum.

When the problem is manufacture related (plastic ridge vent rated for 12/12 slope) you need to replace the ridge vent at a minimum.

When the problem is installation related (2 inch nails used when 3 inch nails were required) you will need to add attachments to hold the vent in place at a minimum.

In most cases, ridge vent problems are not just one of the above issues, but multiple aspects of several issues. The more issues, the more work that needs done to fix it. If you've got a problem with cobra vent leaving gaps over 40 year 3 tab shingles for whatever reason, filling the gaps with a sealant won't fix the problem long term. At a minimum, an adhesive should be used to "glue" the bottom of the the cobra vent to the shingles as well as fill the gaps. Most foam is not rated as an adhesive, so some other product such as liquid nails, or DOW 790 series will be better.

Another solution that can be guaranteed to not allow access to the structure for any animal would be to pull the ridge vent and install 1/4" wire cloth over the opening, fasten it to the roof structure, then install a ridge vent system over the wire. As Justin pointed out, you may have to still use some sort of sealant or adhesive to hold the vent in place or prevent access to under the vent where they could sit on the wire.

The most important aspect of this is no matter what method you use, make sure that you are not effecting airflow from the attic. In other words, figure out how the attic is being ventilated first, then choose the necessary method required to fix the problem.

Now there's a post! Nice info Eric!

Good stuff Eric!
Thank you!

What I see a lot is a ridge vent over a really steep roof and it looks like maybe the vent lifts over time creating gaps every few feet on down the ridge.
Not sure if thats due to the plastic ridge vent being used in those situations or not but they sure proove to be entry points.

Yes, it's a combination of plastic one piece vents not rated for steep pitches and inadequate fasteners. Plastic came out when there were still ranch style 6/12 roofs being built then along comes the contemporary 10/12 and 12/12 and the plastic is flexed to much. The standard fasteners that worked with mild flex on the 6 don't hold when you spring load the cap on the steeper pitches.

Thanks warrior thats what i was kind of figuring but i am no good with the roofer lingo on the whole 12 12 thing

A foot drop for every foot, or pretty darned steep!

Did I get that right David?

Guess i get it now lol

The more roofs I'm on the more I like lifts!

Amen!

Correct, expressed in inches over feet. Example 6/12 slope drops 6 inches vertical for every 12 inches horizontal, the bottom number is always 12.
In the trade this is often referred to as pitch though it is technically incorrect as pitch is an even older descriptive terminology where things were referred to as half, quarter, etc pitch.

If you stayed awake in geometry class and had an accountant for a father this knowledge can be used from the ground to measure a job. I regularly use the pythagoream theory to get lengths of gable rakes and other triangular areas of homes I work on. As long as I can get the span (horizontal length) and the slope I can easily calculate the vertical. This also is handy when measuring for ladder work.

Math and I never got along, unfortunately. Sounds like it would be handy and a practical use of math that of course as a teenager I had no ability to see the future need!

BTW, is any of this still taught in our schools?

It used to drive me nuts when I was framing houses all the youngsters who didn't know this or how to use a framing square.
I promise you this. If you give me a set of correct prints on a perfect square foundation I can stand in the yard and cut each and every stick of lumber and number it for you so it can go together like a paint by numbers kit using nothing more than a saw, framing square and pencil.

I actually did that once on a small shed we built in an afternoon. The kid who was with me was floored that I had both the rafters and stairs cut and ready before he even got to the job to start framing the floor.

In my high school they had a design and draft class (80's to 90's timewise). The guys who took this were interested in being architects or contractors, had a few buddies who in high school were building houses or working on crews already thanks to that skill. Many times had wished for that kind of pertinent education or training but don't think it was ever promoted well versus main stream courses.

Same could be said for my buddies who took vocational training avenue in high school and can do all of your electric, or plumbing or automotive etc..... I didn't care at all about those things till I I did!

Though they teach the same formulas you are speaking of, I don't believe it would be more than 1 day or 1 week of overall math course and they wouldn't tie it in to a house so it might stick for later use!

Colleges are changing in this regard to allow more adaptation of courses rather than saying you must take these 50 courses to be this, they give more room to specialize or learn more pertinent coursework, I think high schools could use this as well, every kid is different and we all learn somewhat differently as well, know extremely smart people who were considered dumb as a box of rocks yet they could build a car from the ground up, or your house, or were great graphic artists, yet they couldn't sit in a classroom and regurgitate the same old stuff...

Think the mentality is changing, but then again, most folks seem concerned about where we are in relation to other developing nations in terms of standardized testing, not making sure each kid learns the best way they can...

(sorry way way off topic Nic!)

Justin