Gable vents

[Cb-man]

OK I'm trying to get my ducks in a row for finishing my pole barn this year.
It is an older no name 30x32. no overhanges eave or ridge vent.
originally i thought about building eave venting and adding a ridge vent.
but the barn is assembled using nails and removing the nails in the ridge cap will be a pain.

So i am thinking of adding a gable vent and a powered vent at one end.
So my first question is how do you seal the gable vents to the barn?
i have found some closure strips that say they conform to any barn siding.
will that work? I just dont want it leaking in on to the insulation and ceiling.

With a powered gable fan when would i program the thermostate to go on and off to prevent condensation build up?

In the farmtek magazine i found a powered exhaust fan and a powered vent shudder. would that be a good idea to use and wire to the thermostat so it opens when the fan comes on OR just use an always open vent?

Thanks alot guys this site is a great source of info!

 

[spotco2]

Cut the hole in the metal and use J Channel trim around the opening to cover the edges of the hole. This will give you a finished opening.

Then I would just build a box to mount the fan in and install it in the hole.

 

[dirttracker18]

You could by a humistat that resides in the attic portion to activate the power vent when needed.

Or

You could add the thermostat upstairs to activate the fan.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

If you can do the eave vents, you could do a cupola (or 2). More work and expense but IMO look and work better than gable vents.

 

[Cb-man]

Thanks for the replies! this is an older barn. i'm just going for funtionality not looks.
I just want to make sure the roof doesnt sweat when the nights get cold and the sun is up in the day time.

So the mostly likely time to get condesation would be spring and fall when it gets cool at night and then the sun heats up the roof during the day correct?

So the attic space would cool off at night cooling the metal and heat during the day causing the sweating....
At what temps then would i want to set the thermostat to kick the fan on?
or would i be better off with a humidastat?


Spotco - with J channel you just cut out the metal and install the J channel around the opening? do you chaulk where the J channel meets the barn siding? and i assume you 45 the J channel at the corners

 

[spotco2]

Spotco - with J channel you just cut out the metal and install the J channel around the opening? do you chaulk where the J channel meets the barn siding? and i assume you 45 the J channel at the corners

No reason to caulk it. Just slip it in behind the existing metal and nail or screw it in place.

You can 45 the corners but don't really have to.

On the top piece we usually do a little creative cutting leaving it a couple of inches longer than the opening. Then cut the front off to the correct length and a slit where the horizontal part turns back up to go behind the existing metal. This will leave you about a 1" tab sticking out that you can fold down over the vertical pieces after they are installed. This keeps any water from running out of the top horizontal piece and down behind the verticals.

I've also seen it done where there is only a slit at the back and the front is left in place and the ends are not bent over. It basically does the same thing.

I've also seen it done where it was just cut even on the corners and honestly don't know if there was ever a problem with water or not.

A couple of notches only takes a minute and gives me a little peace of mind though.

I would suggest you look into vents that have working louvers so you can close them if you want to (blowing rain storm, cold wind, etc). You might not always want them open.

 

[Cb-man]

Thanks for the advice Spotco2

I know nothing about trim work. what you said makes sense.
So on the top J channel you actually cut the front lip off that turns up?
Makes sense so water and shed off instead of being stuck in the channel.
and trimming and folding the sides down is a good idea to seal it up.

So you cut a square in the siding frame it in with wood to mount the fan or vent.
install J channel. The installed J channel frame should fit the vent or fan nice and snug. do you caulk around the vent at all?

Farmtek sells a powered vent that I could wire to a switch and shut off when bad weather is coming.

Im trying to figure out when I would set the fan to run to reduce moisture and condensation build up.

 

[spotco2]

Sorry for the delay, but here's a couple of pics that might help explain what I was talking about.

 

[Cb-man]

Thanks Man! im guessing you can pick that J channel up at the hardware near the siding? I will give that a try when the weather improves

 

[spotco2]

Your welcome.

Yeah, it shouldn't be hard to find. It ill be in long sticks and it's cheap. Don't buy exactly the length you need. Give yourself a few inches on each cut piece to play with. That stuff ain't easy to stretch when it's 1/2" to short.

 

[Cb-man]

haha things never seem to want to grow back when they are cut too short....

Just a question looking at your pictures it appears the j channel is against the inside of the barn. Wouldnt you want the J channel flush against the outside of the barn?