All things attic ventilation: Physics, field insights and fundamentals

Coffee Shop crew members spent the day learning about the relationship between attic ventilation and the roofing system. Registration and attendance were free – but the knowledge they gained was priceless.

Editor’s note: The following is a transcript of a conversation The Coffee Shop crew had after attending the 2025 Air Vent Attic Ventilation: Ask the Expert™ Seminar. 

Dani Sheehan: We just finished hearing from Paul Scelsi, marketing communications manager at Air Vent, a division of Gibraltar Building Accessories, who hosted the 27th annual Ask the Expert™ Seminar. It was Paul’s first time in Little Rock, Arkansas, and there were three contractors in attendance. Even though it was a small crowd, I still felt like there was really great engagement in the room. 

We learned so much! I had no idea there are five different types of exhaust vents, and that there are different reasons for using each one. Paul made it really engaging, walking us through all the different types of exhaust you need in a home’s attic for proper ventilation. He also talked about intake and emphasized one key takeaway: proper attic ventilation requires a balanced system of air intake and air outtake. 

During his presentation, he went through some installation tips and tricks that were honestly a little over my head – no pun intended – but it gave great insight into what roofing contractors do and how many variables they need to keep in mind on any given project. Paul also included some real-world stories and case studies from roofs that have been sent to him, showcasing poor ventilation and how contractors fixed the problem. 

What really stood out to me was that it seems like roofing contractors aren’t having this conversation at the kitchen table with homeowners. I thought that it was interesting, and an opportunity for growth and education for roofing contractors and homeowners who trust us to do the work. Which really highlights the importance of Air Vent’s seminar in disseminating some common misconceptions about attic ventilation and showing best practices to contractors out in the field. 

Emma Richardson: I really agree – it was a lot of information that’s really important to homeowners, and I think most of them don’t know about it. 

At the very end, Paul started going over some tips and tricks on how to get a homeowner on board if you’re trying to get them to rethink their ventilation. For me personally – and I imagine a lot of others feel this way – when there’s a topic like your car, your house, plumbing or electrical that you don’t know much about, your gut instinct is that someone’s going to try to sell you more than you need. I think homeowners lean into that fear when it comes to attic ventilation and their roof. 

There’s a huge opportunity for contractors to educate homeowners and help them feel more empowered during the process. Even for me, looking into buying a home for the first time, I feel more confident now. I have at least a general idea of what to look for – input and output ventilation. 

Before today, I would have looked at a hole in the roof and thought, ‘Stuff goes in, stuff goes out,’ without understanding there are two different systems involved: intake and output. That was huge for me. Also, venting directly into the attic, say a bathroom fan or a dryer vent, I imagined that was a bad idea, but if someone told me, ‘No, you could vent into the attic and it’ll get taken out through the vents,’ I probably would’ve believed them. It sounds logical enough, but now I have a better understanding to see why it’s problematic. 

There’s an opportunity for contractors to educate homeowners – or for homeowners to go directly to the source and find out more. It would help people feel empowered instead of being afraid someone’s going to upsell them on something they don’t understand and don’t need. I think that could help all parties involved. 

Dani Sheehan: Absolutely! To that point, I really loved Paul’s discussion where he talked about price. He understands that homeowners are concerned about how much their roof will cost them – it's a very big purchase and absolutely a concern. 

But he shared a lot of testimonials from roofing contractors who have shared the same sentiment – you can’t just show the homeowner the sticker price. You have to explain the value you’re providing by educating the homeowner on exactly what work is being done and why. When you talk about it as a system and show how it all works together, I think it’s a really good starting point to engage the homeowner – or from your perspective, if you’re the homeowner looking at a new house or needing a roof replacement – and have a conversation that goes beyond picking out the shingle colors. 

Emma Richardson: I completely agree. You actually reminded me – another thing I found really interesting was Paul’s discussion of the thermal effects of high pressure versus low pressure, and the Bernoulli effect. That’s not something I would have considered, and I thought it was fascinating how physics played into understanding the roof system. Again, a great opportunity for education. I thought it was pretty cool. 

Dani Sheehan: Yeah, I was so interested in the science behind attic ventilation and the roofing contractors in attendance were already familiar with its importance, but you could tell they were excited by this presentation as well. Brad Burchfield from Homesite Construction and Restoration, mentioned that he was having trouble explaining some of these technical details to insurance companies and even engineers. He said that Paul’s slides, especially when he covered thermal effect, gave him the knowledge and the language to go back and have this conversation and get everyone to the same level of understanding.  

Overall, we had such an incredible time and want to thank Paul and Air Vent for hosting this seminar each year. We may not be roofing contractors, but we both have a better understanding of our own homes. Look out for the seminar next year and we highly recommend you stop by if Paul’s coming to a city near you!