During a recent inspection in Eureka, Kansas, the Ridgeline Roofing & Solar team evaluated a residential care facility experiencing structural issues—and found the root of the problem in one of the most overlooked aspects of roofing: ventilation.

Tim Yates, on site, noted visible roof decking warping—both horizontally and vertically. At first glance, the roof seemed equipped with a ridge vent system, but after further evaluation, it became clear that something critical was missing: intake ventilation.

Why Ventilation Matters:

A well-balanced ventilation system includes both intake (usually at the eaves or soffits) and exhaust (typically ridge or box vents). This airflow is essential for:

• Releasing trapped heat and moisture
• Reducing the risk of mold and wood rot
• Preventing premature aging of the roofing materials
• Keeping attic temperatures regulated, lowering energy costs

In this case, the soffits weren’t vented. There was no proper intake to feed cool air in, meaning the ridge vents couldn’t function effectively. Without this balance, heat buildup and trapped moisture caused the decking to buckle—damaging both the roof’s integrity and lifespan.

Ridgeline’s Recommended Fix:

✅ Remove ineffective ridge vent system
✅ Install properly spaced box vents
✅ Add eave vents to create an intake source
✅ Improve overall airflow and prevent further structural issues

While eave vents aren’t commonly used, they are one of our go-to solutions when soffits can’t be easily modified. They’re subtle, effective, and help solve intake problems where standard solutions fall short.

If you’re noticing wavy roof lines, curling shingles, or poor energy performance, it may be time to evaluate your ventilation. Proper airflow can add years to your roof and prevent costly repairs. Ridgeline is proud to be called up to bring our quality roofing services from our hometown of Joplin, MO.

Hear Tim’s Thoughts

Video Transcript: "Hey. It's Tim Yates with Ridgeline Roofing and Solar. This morning, we are in Eureka, Kansas, and we are taking a look at a residential care facility that is having some issues. One of the biggest issues we found is this roof has I don't know if you can see the waves. I'm gonna hold it like that or not.

Some of the decking pulling up. It's pulling up horizontally and vertically, but this ridge vent's been installed pretty much everywhere. That's the this piece right here. It's got ridge cap over it. I don't know how it's cut, but, we're we weren't able to see that at this point.

But for ventilation to work, you have to have an intake and exhaust. That goes for every structure like this. So this roof, you're familiar with soffits, the soffit will usually have a cutout or something and a wood soffit or it'll be vinyl and it'll have, little louvers in it. So it can have an intake to bring the heat out at the top, which would be the exhaust. This roof doesn't have that.

So, unfortunately, it's like this all over the place, and it's caused a lot of issues. You can tell with the decking pulling up, and, it's been pretty hard on it. So I think what we're gonna do is, give them a price to remove all this ridge vent, cut some box vents in, and, maybe install some eave vents. I'll have to bring some of those and show everybody what those look like sometime. They're not real real common or used every day, but we use them.

And, that's about it. So it's cooling off. It's been cool last couple of days, and, I don't see it warming up anytime soon. Just getting worse. But it'd be set.

Really bad heat. I appreciate it. Give us a call if you need any help. Thank you."