Ceiling vents are they a good idea? Well it depends on what you want them for and how they are to be installed. If you are going to punch holes in your ceiling and fix ceiling vents you want to make sure that they are ducted through the roof to the outside atmosphere.
Why is that you say? When you fix ceiling vents and leave them open to the nasties of the roofspace you are asking for probable health problems – Sick Building Syndrome commonly termed as SBS. There can be many nasties in the roofspace – condensation problems or leaking roofs can leave the bulk insulation water damaged this can lead to mould problems. Many people have condensation problems and don’t realise they have them. Probably one of the worst nasties of the roofspace is the fiberglass insulation itself, the fibres break down and become airborne and can easily pass through the ceiling vents and give anyone that has asthma a hell of a time, not to mention all the other lung infections that can be gained from mould and insulation fibres. This is just a scratch on the surface for nasties in the roofspace then you have the dusts from the breaking down of the building materials in the roof as well as those little furry fiends that romp around the roof (rodents) etc, etc.
SO THERE ARE MANY NASTIES IN THE ROOFSPACE, WHEN COMBINED ARE REAL GOOD REASONS FOR DUCTING CEILING VENTS THROUGH THE ROOF – NOT TO THE ROOF
Condensation problems, mould and mildew, building material dusts, insulation fibres, rodents and possums, etc. Furthermore cooking, showers and all household activities rise up and add to the balance. So you can see the roofspace can become a melting pot for Sick Building Syndrome problems – constantly breathing in the effects of this melting pot from ceiling vents is not an option. Some moulds have toxic mycotoxins the spores from these are airborne and cannot be seen by the naked eye and in some circumstances have been known to be fatal. If you have an older tastic fan remove one bulb and just see what has collected around the fitting, imagine how much of this muck and other toxic nasties have entered through here and escaped into the habitable area and you can’t see it. Imagine what will enter the home through a series of ceiling vents.
CEILING VENTS MAY BE A GOOD IDEA FOR WHATEVER PURPOSE YOU ARE INSTALLING THEM FOR, HOWEVER THEY MUST BE DUCTED THROUGH THE ROOF NOT TO THE ROOF
If you are going to buy ceiling vents don’t buy the type that are available at the general hardware outlets, most of the ceiling vents from these outlets have no outlet connections for ducting through the roof so they are not really suitable for an inhabitable dwelling. Look online you will see any number of ceiling vents that have specific connections for ducting – just google ducted ceiling vents those companies will direct you to a list of sales outlets in your area.
All ceiling vents should have to be ducted to the outside atmosphere as well as all bathroom and kitchen fans or any protusion through the ceiling. Don’t even consider old fans that have a cover that supposedly stop the draft these collect all the nasties on top and when the fan starts up the nasties drop through, they may be cheap but health is not when you may already suffer respiratory problems.
So seal up that ceiling only use ceiling vents and fans that can be ducted to the outside atmosphere. Then to clean that roofspace up you need effective roof ventilation. We can supply 150mil ceiling vents that are open/closeable – with a roof ducting kit that is very easy to install.
Universal Tile Ventilators have the best roof ventilation and ducting systems in the world for tiled and corrugated colorbond roofs.