Roofing aerator - durable, cheap and effective device
Frame-type roofs, regardless of type, are designed so that water vapor and drip moisture constantly accumulate inside the supporting structure. To remove this destructive moisture helps a simple but effective device called a roof aerator. The benefit from it is huge, because thanks to it, rotting of wooden roof structures is prevented and their dry condition is maintained. This and other advantages of this device will be discussed in this article.
Even in the case of flat roofs, the value of roofing aerators is very high. Despite their simplicity, they are able to prevent the expansion of soft roofing. They work in such a way as to remove moisture in a timely manner, not allowing it to accumulate and crystallize under the roof plane. If this happens, the bond existing between the supporting structure and the finish materials will be broken.
All this speaks in favor of the fact that the installation of a roof aerator should be carried out at the same time as the construction of the building. Do not wait for the time when the attic is covered with rot and mold! Moreover, it will be much more difficult to find them on a flat roof, and therefore it is more defenseless against such negative factors. But even in the worst case, installing such a protective device will not be difficult.
It is customary to think that it will restore the lost balance and give a soft roof a second wind. Is it really?
Soft roofing is indeed one of the most popular coatings widely used in industrial and civil engineering. Its structure traditionally includes several layers, generally forming a roofing pie. It includes a bearing reinforced concrete slab, on which a heater, vapor barrier and screed in the form of a cement-sand mortar are laid in a certain sequence. In most cases, rolled materials are used as a waterproofing carpet.
The service life of such a roof can be different. It is influenced by the quality of heat and waterproofing works, as well as works on the roofing device.
As practice and experts concluded, the main defect identified during the operation of the soft roof is the appearance and accumulation of a significant amount of moisture, which is concentrated in the insulation and screed. Roofing aerator for roofing is designed to reduce its content.
Naturally, the increased moisture content is not without consequences, namely:
Flat Bloating. A defect of such a plan is one of the most common and may occur due to:
heating of the roof in the summer, which is accompanied by changes in bitumen-polymer materials. Since there is a dependence of physical characteristics on temperature, its increase makes them more plastic. The adhesion in this case begins to depend not on adhesion, but is determined by the viscosity of the mastic;
steam formation in the subroof space. The structure of the soft roof includes a waterproofing carpet located at the top and a vapor barrier located at the bottom. The water between them under the influence of high temperatures heats up and turns into steam. He, in turn, creates excessive internal pressure;
As a result, stratification of the bitumen-polymer mass and the roofing carpet itself occurs.To eliminate bloating, it is imperative to make a high-quality gluing of the waterproofing carpet to the base of the roof. The second, and simpler option is to use a roof aerator.
Increased thermal conductivity. Moisture accumulated under waterproofing worsens the thermal insulation properties of the roof. Studies show that an increase in humidity of 1-2 percent makes thermal conductivity greater by 30-40 percent. This will be followed by an increase in heating costs. Due to waterlogging, not only precious heat is lost, but conditions are also created for the development of mold.
Destruction of screeds and waterproofing carpet. Leveling screed in most cases is done using cement-sand mortars. They are considered capillary-porous materials in which the pores are interconnected and filled with air. Moisture entering them can partially fill the pores with water. With decreasing air temperature, the water in the pores crystallizes and expands, that is, increases in volume. The pressure resulting from crystallization leads to the appearance of microcracks and the destruction of the leveling screed. Similar processes affect the waterproofing layer.
Thinking about which roof aerator will be the best in your case, first of all, it is worth figuring out where a source of high humidity can come from.
High humidity sources
Insulation can collect moisture from the external environment. The reason most often is damage or defects in the roofing sheet. Moisture can also penetrate from the inside of the roof structure as a result of damage to the vapor barrier. Climatic conditions that do not depend on the desires of a person also contribute to an increase in air humidity and wet insulation.
If the thermal insulation layer gains moisture more than the established norm, then it is very difficult to eliminate water entering through the roofing carpet without special drainage methods. The same can be said about the areas of the roof, which are subject to intense moisture. It is hardly possible to get the desired result in this situation.
Roof insulation repair
As a result, to replace the insulation, you will have to resort to a complete disassembly and repair of the roof. Not every homeowner can afford such an expensive business, because it is associated with high labor and material costs.
As one of the options, the removal of excess moisture contained in the roofing cake can be carried out by evaporation. Thus, you can avoid the subsequent expensive work associated with the replacement of insulation and waterproofing carpet. Drainage also helps to avoid leaks that inevitably occur after construction and repair work.
It is possible to drain the insulation using ventilation aerators. Roofing aerators work on a principle based on the difference in external and internal air pressure. As a result, thrust is created in the aerator tube, which occurs due to a decrease in pressure under the influence of external wind flows.
What is the function of aerators? They allow you to do the following:
Withdraw water vapor rising from the inside. This happens even before it can harm the roof structure.
Reduce the pressure that occurs in the roofing pie and causes bubbles to form on the surface of the finish.
Prevent the formation of condensation appearing on the lower layer of waterproofing. Subsequently, it begins to seep into the insulation layer, adversely affecting its properties.
The roofing aerator is a pipe with a diameter of 63 to 111 millimeters. An umbrella covers it from above, so atmospheric precipitation does not fall into the pipe. Basically, low-pressure polyethylene is the material for the manufacture of aerators.
Installation of a roof aerator
Installation of aerators, which are also called flyarches or roof fans, is carried out according to the following technology.
In the place where they plan to install the ventilation pipe, a window is cut out in the screed. It must pass through the roofing carpet to the location of the insulation.
If the insulation in this place is wet, then it must be replaced with a dry one, which in terms of its heat-conducting properties will meet the required standards.
Then, to securely fix the aerator on the roof, a special mastic is applied to the lower base of the pipe. To fix the aerator to the screed, six screws are used. They are evenly distributed around the circumference of the aerator skirt.
The base of the ventilation pipe must be protected from above with an additional waterproofing layer.
Roof vane
The need for ventilation is determined depending on the size and shape of the roof, on the humidity in the interior and on the condition of the vapor barrier of the roof.
If the building has a flat roof, which has a simple configuration and the rest of the parameters comply with standard standards, then the recommended location will be this - one aerator for every 100 square meters.
At the same time, it is necessary to provide that the aerators are not located at a distance of more than 12 meters from each other. When there is a pronounced valley and skate on the roof, aerators are installed on the border of the watershed in the valley and along the location of the skate.
When the building has a functional purpose, in which it will constantly have high humidity (we are talking about laundries, baths, saunas, pools, etc.), the design organizations should calculate the ventilation.
Roofing aerator for roofing can be installed on its own, but for this you need to have some experience in the construction work. Otherwise, it is better to leave this business to people with professional skills.
A little about the action of the roof aerator
From all of the above, it can be seen that the aerator itself does not remove moisture. It is a channel for good air exchange. Air, in turn, contributes to the rapid drainage of the internal cavities of frame roofs and maintains moisture within optimal limits. The function of the aerator is reduced to providing conditions for the natural passage of air, which occurs without any intervention.
It does not lose its effectiveness at any time of the year. Even during cloudy weather, the humidity of the air moving freely in space is lower than the humidity of the air, which is locked in the inner under-roof space. The roof aerator is a guarantee that external moisture will not penetrate under the roof. At the same time, it will help to leave the excess of moist air accumulated inside.
As you can see, it is very simple to solve the issue of natural ventilation of the space under the roof. It’s enough to have this simple device. In this case, the fact is confirmed that everything in nature is balanced and excess moisture will not be able to accumulate when accessing freely moving external air.
The roof aerator does not require maintenance, all you need to do is check once a year to see if the birds living on the roof have blocked it. In all other respects, the plastic aerator can be considered a fully autonomous device.
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