Gable Vents

Gable Vents for Attic Ventilation

Gable vents are placed at the top of the gable on the end of the house. Typically a gable vent would be installed on both ends of the house in hopes of creating a draft through the attic by having both intake and exhaust vents.

While gable vents do increase ventilation they are not a preferred manner of attic ventilation as they do not offer an even airflow across the attic and their ability to move large amounts of air are limited.

Gable vents can be installed with a power fan behind them similar in theory to the power roof vent. Installing a power fan will greatly improve the amount of ventilation that the gable vent can offer but will still not be as effective as a ridge cap vent. Many experts recommend that you close off gable vents if your house also has soffit and ridge cap vents as they can interfere with the more efficient ridge cap vent.

Unlike other types of vents gable vents are often used for decorative purposes rather than (or in addition to) the function of ventilating the attic. There are a large number of shapes, sizes, materials, and colors available to create the visual appearance desired by the homeowner.

As with most types of vents it is important to have adequate soffit venting for the gable vents to be most effective.

Gable vents are obviously intended to be used with a gable roof.

See also: Roof Attic Ventilation - Ridge Vents - Soffit Vents - Roof Vents