Even without soffit vents a ridge vent is much more effective than gable vents paulcp thinks hammer is right.
Gable roof ridge vent.
You will also discover that this product can work by itself to release moisture from the house which is especially useful during the winter months.
By having the gable vent you get some sort of turbulence up there that interrupts that flow.
Installation first requires a wood frame made of 2x4s installed from the attic between two studs.
I ve read that adding a vent fan to the gable with ridge vent is bad b c it may reverse the natural flow of hot air plus draw in rain.
I added a attic fan 1500cfm onto the gable but i have the airflow coming in from the outside instead of pushing air out.
I have ranch house that has ridge vent soffit vents and two gables.
Houses with gable roofs may also have vents located on the side of the house as high as possible within the peak of the gable.
Gable vents will alter the air flow around the ridge vent and especially when wind is parallel to the ridge at right angles to the gable can actually reverse air flow through the ridge vent pulling rain or snow into the attic.
How do you pick the right attic vent.
And the answer is you should block it off because it does interrupt that flow of air from the soffit under the sheathing and out the ridge.
Roof ridge vents do work well when there are soffit vents or box vents that help to draw air into the attic.
So if you can have a soffit vent and a ridge vent that s the best situation.
The whole point to a ridge vent is that it takes air from all along the bottom of the roof line and exits it out the top kind of like a toilet.
A few screws and some shingles will easily attach the ridge vents to the roof.
That means you have a lower risk of mold or mildew development.
The problem with gables is they short circuit the air flow paulcp writes.
Gable vents are a type of louvered vent that can act as an intake or exhaust vent depending on which way the wind is blowing.
You merely have to climb up to the roof and place the ridge vent.
Gable mount attic fans quickly remove a larger volume of hot and or humid air from your attic compared to static ventilation which helps save money on your heating and cooling costs.
Rather than being installed on the roof gable vents are installed on the exterior side wall of the home near the roof ridge.
It will run the entire length of the gable roof peak.