The Manufactured Housing Forums

Ive been living in my new skyline for about 2 months now.This home has r-33 insulation in the ceiling and r-19 in the walls and floor.As far as attic ventilation it just has a ridge vent and 10" soffits.the problem i have is when i take a temp reading 1 foot off the floor i get 68 deg and I get 78 deg 1 foot from the ceiling and i belieave this to be causing my a/c to come on and off more than it should.I think the attic is building up to much heat and is radiating threw the ceiling.In order for the ridge vent to work the soffits must be clear,the innsulation is blown in celleuse and could have filled the soffits up during transportation.I dont know because there is not a attic access.Maybe this type of ventilation is just not enough and i need to install a type of exuast fan.Any comments on this would be very helpfull and apprieciated.

Evem though the house is insulated with cellulose, the last foot nearest the eaves should be insulated with fiberglass batts to prevent glogging of the soffit. If your home was built in the north, your air conditioning registers are in the floor and your return air is drawn underneath your passage doors. This adds to your situation because the cold air is both added and removed at floor level and doesn't have much opportunity to mix. I'm sure you do have some heat build up in the attic, but unless you have a 5/12 or steeper roof there isn't much air in the attic to heat. Cathedral ceilings further reduce the attic space and the mixing of cool air and warm air. My suggestion would be to use a ceiling fan and leave your interior doors open unless you need to close them for privacy. The addition of a thermostatically operated electric vent for your attic probably would help, and these are available in solar powered models so you don't have to wire them in to your electrical system.

The colder air is heavier than the warm..it is natural for the air by the floor to be cooler...This is what cieling fans are for..to mix the air to a nearly even temperature..

Thanx,My roof has a 5/12 pitch and I got the 8 foot flat ceilings.On top of this my shingles are black.I do have 3 ceiling fans and I keep my doors open all the time even at night.Yes rmurry cold air falls and hot air rises but a 10 degree split in seven feet is not acceptable! Here is a example of the living conditions,At 1 foot from ceiling temp is 78 ,at thermostat height the temp is 76,at bed height or couch height temp is 70 and 68 by the floor.The a/c system is working fine,it is oversized by a little more than a 1/2 ton but it is not short cycling because of the heat gain threw the ceiling.I,ve been doing heating and air work for 5 years and have never seen temps like this,When i take return temp in front of the furnace i get 76,when i take a temp reading at a supply register I get 48 degrees and this is after the air has traveled threw the ductwork under the house on a 90 degree day.Hell the system may be a ton oversized.First thing that needs to be done is to get this heat out of the attic,Then the a/c system needs to be sized correctly because it will short cycle and not remove humidity.The humidity is not a problem right now do to the heat gain adding extra load to the a/c.Mr rmurry should I go ahead and start to correct these issues myself,or should I get the factory involved?I am very happy with the rest of the house and only have one other problem. When i walk into the master bathroom the floor pops in one spot.Im gonna give the dealer a chance to take care of this but he has sent a guy over twice with the problem not solved.Anyways thanx to the both of you for the repplies,if you can offer anymore help on how I can handle this it would be appreaciated.

The roof should have some ventalation...but some manufacturers are not very good at this...some only have vented soffits and no roof vents...or roof vents and no soffit vents...larger roof vents can do nothing but help...you are right about correct sizing of the a/c...you might want to talk to your dealer about this..actually there is a regulation about this...check your data plate..there is a MAXIMUM size for the a/c unit listed on it..If your a/c is more than the next 1/2 ton up...the dealer might well be responsible..Good roof ventilation will pay for itself...properly sized a/c will do even more..

Of course...you could buy one of those new mattress that are about 4 1/2 ft high..the ones you need a ladder to get in bed with...at least you will only have cold feet in the morning..smile..

If i cut a hole in the ceiling,will the ceiling joist support my weight of 150 pounds?The roof has a 20 pound snow load capacity if this helps in determining strenght.I would like to get up there and check the soffits and possibly and gabble end vents.

no, I would not try to get up in the attic. The bottom chord of the roof truss is not designed for that much weight. How long is your vented ridge cap? I know that on many Skylines it is only about 30' long. If so, that would be a big part of the problem. If you want to check the soffits, I would loosen the fascia and remove one or 2 pieces of soffit at a time. If your soffits are blocked by cellulose, a broom handle will clear an air path easily from the soffit.

I've been having a somewhat related problem.
I've got 74 in the living room/kitchen areas (middle of the home) and around 77 (and sometimes more) in the master bedroom/study areas. I'm getting what seems like good flow from the vents, it just isn't enough.

It's possible that the vent in the living room is blowing just enough air on the thermostat to fool it into thinking it's cooled enough. It does only seem to run for about 15 minutes.

It's a heat pump, which as I understand, does tend to cycle more than your regular a/c units.

Oh, and that 74 is about 4' up on the wall, the 77 is at floor level!

trmimo.the house is 76' long and the ridge does look to only be about 30'.What type of extra ventalation would you suggest and do you think I should complain to the dealer or try to correct this myself? Mark, are your supply registers in the ceiling?