Attic ventilation and exhaust vents, done from the roof side.
You don’t have to wait for a leak.

Usually a few causes working together: warm, moist air leaking up from the house, insulation that’s thin or blocking the eaves, and attic air that can’t move — not enough intake at the soffits or not enough exhaust at the ridge. Warm attic air melts snow unevenly (that’s the ice dam), and summer heat trapped in the attic cooks shingles from underneath. Ventilation is the part we fix from the roof side — the intake and the exhaust — and we’ll tell you plainly if air leaks or insulation look like part of your problem too.

It’s published in our price book: ridge vent repair $26 / lin ft, soffit vent installation $95 / vent, baffle installation $38 / bay, and roof vent or turbine repair $425 – $650. Solar attic vent installation is priced in writing after review, before work begins.

No. A solar attic vent runs on its own solar panel — no wiring into your house and no electrician. We install the roof side: the vent itself, properly flashed into your roof. Our boundary is simple — we do roof work, not electrical work. If something inside the house needs wiring, that’s an electrician, and we’ll tell you plainly.

Yes, it’s a problem: every shower pumps warm, moist air into your attic, where it feeds musty smells, attic frost, and ceiling stains that look exactly like roof leaks. We reroute bathroom and dryer vents and terminate them properly through the roof — published at $550 – $850. Kitchen exhaust vents through the roof are the same idea; that one is priced in writing after review, before work begins.

No — a photo is a clue, not a diagnosis. We can’t determine the cause or guarantee a fix from a photo alone. Tell us what’s happening with your roof. We’ll review the information and contact you about the next step.

Short answer: Maybe — what matters is balance, not just more vents. A roof vents as a system: cool air comes in low through the soffits and hot air leaves high through the ridge. If intake and exhaust aren't balanced, adding vents in one place alone doesn't fix it.

• Signs the balance may be off: a very hot attic in summer, moisture or musty smells, ice dams in winter.
• Common Michigan cause: soffit vents blocked by insulation or debris, so no cool air gets in at all.
• A roofer checks the intake-to-exhaust balance on your roof before saying what it needs.

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: If your roof has ridge vents up top, it almost always needs soffit vents down low too — that's the intake half of the system.

• Soffit vents sit under the eaves and let cool outside air in.
• Without them, ridge vents have nothing to pull, and hot air just sits in the attic.
• They get blocked more often than people think — insulation pushed into the eaves, debris, or paint sealing them shut.

MDRR installs soffit vents ($95 per vent, per our price list). Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: Both are fans that actively pull hot air out of the attic. A power vent runs on house electricity; a solar vent runs on its own small solar panel.

• Passive vents (soffit + ridge) move air without power and suit most homes.
• A powered vent moves more air, which can help a big or stubborn attic — but it only helps if the intake (soffit) side can keep up.
• Wiring a power vent is electrician work. MDRR does the roof-side vent work; we'll tell you honestly whether your job is a roof-side job or needs an electrician too.

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: Yes — kitchen range air should vent outside through the roof, never into the attic.

• Cooking puts moisture and grease into the air. Dumped into the attic, that moisture feeds mold and rot in the wood and insulation.
• A proper roof cap lets it out above the roofline, where it belongs.
• If your range hood currently vents into the attic, that's worth fixing.

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: Yes — a bathroom fan must vent outside through the roof, never into the attic.

• A shower puts a lot of moisture into the air. Vented into the attic, it condenses on cold wood and insulation — mold, rot, and stained ceilings follow.
• The fix is a dedicated roof vent for the fan, sealed and flashed properly at the roofline.
• The same goes for a dryer vent: it must go outside, not into the attic.

MDRR reroutes bath and dryer vents ($550–$850, per our price list). Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: Usually that's a good sign — it means heat is staying inside your house instead of leaking into the attic.

• A well-insulated, well-vented attic stays close to outside temperature, so snow sits evenly and melts slowly.
• The trouble pattern is the opposite: snow melting in patches while ice builds up at the edges. That means warm air is escaping into the attic and refreezing at the colder eaves — the start of an ice dam.
• Even snow cover with no ice at the edges is generally what you want to see.

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: Yes, dark shingles absorb more sun and run hotter — but color alone isn't the whole story. Ventilation matters more.

• Dark shingles soak up sunlight and radiate heat down. On a sunny Michigan summer day, an attic can reach 120 to 160 degrees or more.
• What keeps that heat from cooking the house is airflow: cool air in through the soffits, hot air out through the ridge.
• So a hot attic with dark shingles usually points at the vent balance first, not the color alone.

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: Musty usually means moisture is getting in and staying there — poor ventilation, a small leak, or damp insulation.

• Michigan attics trap moisture easily in winter: warm house air leaks up, hits cold wood, and condenses.
• Check the usual suspects: bath or dryer fans venting into the attic, blocked soffits, a flashing leak letting water in.
• The smell alone doesn't say which one it is — a roofer traces the moisture source before anything gets fixed.

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: Warm air escaping into the attic melts roof snow, and the meltwater refreezes at the colder eaves — that ridge of ice is the dam.

• Heat loss through thin insulation or air leaks warms the roof deck unevenly: snow melts higher up, water runs down, and it freezes where the roof is cold — at the overhang.
• The dam then backs later meltwater up under the shingles, and that's when ceilings stain.
• Prevention is insulation, air sealing, and balanced ventilation — keeping the attic close to outside temperature.

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: You usually notice the effects first — a very hot attic, moisture, or shingles aging fast — because the vent itself is on top of the roof.

• A ridge vent only works with open soffit intake below it. Blocked soffits make even a good ridge vent useless.
• From the ground you can't reliably tell; a roofer checks the ridge line and the intake together.
• Don't climb up to check it yourself — that's roof work, and it's not worth the fall risk.

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: If your attic floor insulation is thin, patchy, or old, probably — but insulation alone doesn't fix ventilation problems.

• Insulation slows heat leaving the house. That keeps rooms warmer and helps stop ice dams, since less heat reaches the roof deck.
• But if the attic can't breathe (blocked soffits, weak exhaust), new insulation just sits in a damp, hot space.
• The pair works together: insulation plus balanced ventilation.

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: Both point at the same thing — warm house air leaking up, and an attic that can't breathe.

• In January, moist house air leaks into a cold attic and freezes on the wood and nails. That's the frost.
• In July, the same sealed-up attic traps roof heat with nowhere for it to go. That's the oven.
• The fix is the pair: seal the air leaks from the house side, and keep intake and exhaust ventilation balanced.

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.

Short answer: Usually condensation, not a roof leak.

• Warm, steamy shower air travels up the fan duct through a cold attic. If the duct isn't insulated, the steam turns back to water inside the duct and drips down into the fan.
• The fix is an insulated duct run to a proper roof cap that vents outside — never into the attic, and never under a soffit, where the moist air gets pulled right back in.
• MDRR reroutes bath vents ($550–$850, per our price list).

Tell us what's happening with your roof. We'll review the information and contact you about the next step. (586) 698-7094.