Installing Vents on shed? What kind? How?

Erin Reichelt

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So, I have a wood shed I use as my tack room for my horse stuff. I love the tack room but in this California weather it turns into a hot box during the summer.

I would like to put some kind of vents in it but I really don't want to install anything on the roof. I'm just a house wife and wouldn't have a clue how to cut through the shingles and so on.

So, I was thinking about a side vent or even a solar vent. I checked into solar vent's and though they sound great, there way to pricey for just a little shed.

I did find solar boat vents and they seem to be easy to install. But, the reviews on them being used for shed vents are not as great as I had hoped. Some people say they work, some say there not worth the money and don't circulate the air enough.

Here's pictures of my shed:

I installed a solar light if your wondering what the panel is for.
TackRoom044.jpg


The roof slops up and traps the heat. This would be nice in the winter but very stuffy and hot right now.
TackRoom051.jpg


Currently I keep the door and windows wide open all the time (24/7) for ventilation, not a good thing when it comes to letting dust in or for locking up the tack room.

So what kind of ventilation would you install on this shed? How hard would it be for me to install it and what tools would I need to get the job done?

There are also two sky lights on the roof I would have to work around if I did want to install on the roof. Here's a picture when they were delivering it.

tackRoom018.jpg


Thanks in advance for your help :) If I could install some kind of vent that I could close for winter that would be great, kinda like the one on my horse trailer that you turn the handle and it closes the lid....hmm...well, I don't know. Any ideas?
 
what about putting in two small windows in the back wall to get cross ventalation with your existing frt windows? then yu can just close them as well. the shed size without insulation is gonna get hotin your climate without AC. could just cut in some vents to and put covers over them in winter but your winters arent even cold are they?
 
what about putting in two small windows in the back wall to get cross ventalation with your existing frt windows? then yu can just close them as well. the shed size without insulation is gonna get hotin your climate without AC. could just cut in some vents to and put covers over them in winter but your winters arent even cold are they?

Actualy it does get a little chilly in the winter Larry. Not as cold as michigan but it will get down there. I second larry's Idea about cutting in some vents but I'd just pick up a couple of Vents from the Borg like the ones used in household HCAC systems. You can even get the ones that have shutters so you could close em in the winter. Get the largest they make. Or put in more then one on each side. Put oneor two on the bottom on the side facing the direction where the prevailing winds come from and oneor two on the oppisite wall up high so you get the cross ventilation. Also heat rises. I'd also put in some insulation on the walls and the celling, especuilly the ceiling but the walls need it two.
 
Once I had the shed and realized even with the windows open theres no air circulation, I thought about putting in windows on the back like you suggested. But, again, I'm not that talented to do that sort of construction so I would have to find someone to hire. Plus, I thought down the road I might put in a feed door if I ever moved the shed and put it against the horses stall. So, I decided not to do anything drastic until I figure out where I want the shed and if I want to put any feed doors on it.

Our winters are really mild but for us, going from 105 to 40's is cold! lol :) When the water hose is frozen solid and spits out ice chunks we spoiled Californian's in the valley tend to think it's cold. lol I just wanted to be able to close the vents from rain and moisture if needed but it's not totally necessary with our weather.

I guess I could just get some of those slotted vents they use on the front of garages. Put one on both sides of the shed at the peek of the roof for now. I would just put a screen behind them so the flys or wasps don't come in. I'm sure that would help some.

I guess that would be the easiest way to get some ventalation...but there not that great, the one's on our garage help some but not much. I guess no mater what you do it's going to get hot and stuffy with out A/C. lol I just can't have it getting too humid in there or my tack can rot and mildew.
 
Actualy it does get a little chilly in the winter Larry. Not as cold as michigan but it will get down there. I second larry's Idea about cutting in some vents but I'd just pick up a couple of Vents from the Borg like the ones used in household HCAC systems. You can even get the ones that have shutters so you could close em in the winter. Get the largest they make. Or put in more then one on each side. Put oneor two on the bottom on the side facing the direction where the prevailing winds come from and oneor two on the oppisite wall up high so you get the cross ventilation. Also heat rises. I'd also put in some insulation on the walls and the celling, especuilly the ceiling but the walls need it two.

I like this idea:thumb: I didn't think about putting vents on the bottom for cross circulation! I have seen them before but didn't put two and two together. I was just thinking about the top and letting the hot air out but this is a great idea! I could put some on the bottom of the back wall and some on the top of the side wall peaks.

Ok, this sounds like it would help alot. After I get my picnic table finished I will start looking into vents with shutters. If this goes well I can put some on the garage's back wall too. :thumb:

Thankx for the ideas:)
 
Erin,
You should also get some insulation up. It will make a differance. The roof on that shed is Black so it absorbes the heat from the sun. You can buy the pink stuff from the borg. Just staple it up between the studs with the foil side out.

Is there an insulation that I can get that looks "finished" or nice? Insulation is a great idea I just don't want fuzzy pink ceilings:eek:
 
You can get the Staro foam Insulation with the foil on one side in 4ft x 8 ft sheet. You would have to cut it to fit in betweeen the beam and studs. It still isn't finished. It would be better than nothing but If it were me I'd get the pink fiberglass with the foil on the outside and if you wanted it finished put some thin Plywood or paneling over it. You could drywall it and paint as another option. I don't think the foam has as good a R Value as the pink stuff.
 
Yeah, If I put insulation up I would want to put plywood up and finish the ceiling. I think the look of a pink fuzzy ceiling would drive me crazy. :bonkers: I like the look of the wood, even if it's plywood:D.

The garage needs to be insulated too so I think that project will have to be planed for next summer. Once we get started insulating we should just get it all done.

But, I can get the vents installed and that wouldn't be a big project or costly. I have to try to plan out and finish one project at a time and researching what the next one is going to cost us so I can let hubby know in advance. :thumb:
 
Yeah, If I put insulation up I would want to put plywood up and finish the ceiling. I think the look of a pink fuzzy ceiling would drive me crazy. :bonkers: I like the look of the wood, even if it's plywood:D.

The garage needs to be insulated too so I think that project will have to be planed for next summer. Once we get started insulating we should just get it all done.

But, I can get the vents installed and that wouldn't be a big project or costly. I have to try to plan out and finish one project at a time and researching what the next one is going to cost us so I can let hubby know in advance. :thumb:

It's a pity that your solar panels are at the ridge of the roof, or you could easily have a low profile ridge vent across it and then with some low wall entry vents the heat would naturally rise and take out the moisture and heat, much more effective than just cross venting. We all have that 20/20 hindsight, right?;)
 
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Norman, I agree the ridge vent would be a great idea, but the solar panel is the little rectangular thing attached to the side of the shed, a bit above the shovel and rake in the first pic, so it's not in the way. You're right about effective a ridge vent is, and it's a bummer the manufacturer didn't include one.
 
Erin, you have gotten great advice on this issue. A couple of vents on each side and as you said screen behind to keep out the critters. One thing though, in your pictures, your collar is hanging right side up (collar cap on the hangar) this is the wrong way to hang your collar. You don't want that cap to take the shape of the hangar. So collars should always be hung upside down as the bottom of the collar doesn't touch the horse so if it is a little out of shape it isn't a big deal. That looks like an expensive collar (haven't seen cheap new ones yet!) and don't want your driving experience ruined by a sore necked horse. Beautiful tack shed!!!! What kind of horse(s) do you have?
 
I think I know what your talking about with the ridge vent. I have seen those before in different sizes, they use the same idea in open air barns I think. Yeah, I wish this shed had one.

I'm glad I found this forum. You guys are great to bounce idea's off! I was originally going to order some of the little round solar vents and just stick one up on either side of the shed at the peak and hope that did the trick. Doesn't sound like such a good idea now, especially if I didn't put any vents at the back or towards the bottom of the shed to get some cross flow.

When I ordered the shed I should have had them put vents in but I didn't think about it. I did have them put a second window, sky lights and a wider 4' door. I thought the two windows would be fine for ventilation but I was wrong. I think just getting some big vents on the back wall would help alot with the cross flow at least. Then I can find a vent to put on the side at the roof peak.
 
Hey Ned, thanks!!!!!! :thumb::thumb::thumb::D
Paint, maybe a Paint draft or Paint draft cross. Since I saw only a single collar and set of hames, assume Erin doesn't have a team. With dial up, I look quick at some of the big pictures and move on before the whole thing loads. For some reason all pictures start loading and move slowly, not like I can preview the first photo while the second is loading. Oh well, nice looking horse Erin, thanks Ned! (how do you get the different sized letters?)
 
Erin, you have gotten great advice on this issue. A couple of vents on each side and as you said screen behind to keep out the critters. One thing though, in your pictures, your collar is hanging right side up (collar cap on the hangar) this is the wrong way to hang your collar. You don't want that cap to take the shape of the hangar. So collars should always be hung upside down as the bottom of the collar doesn't touch the horse so if it is a little out of shape it isn't a big deal. That looks like an expensive collar (haven't seen cheap new ones yet!) and don't want your driving experience ruined by a sore necked horse. Beautiful tack shed!!!! What kind of horse(s) do you have?

Hello Jonathan, thank you for that advice!:) I will turn it around, thanks for the tip:) Yeah, collars are pricey. This one I had custom made in brown to match the harness, it's adjustable. I'm glad you told me the right way to hang it, what a shame to have the cap mold to the hanger. This one's never been used, I ordered two of them. One the size I needed for my boy and this one's for when he out grows the other.

There's not many driving people around here so I don't have a mentor to give me tips. Thanks for the tip:thumb: You can see my horse in the Introductions area under "clueless from California". Yeah, I figured out there is a ton I can learn about working with wood, finishing and building from this forum :)
 
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