What is the best ridge vent for a shingle roof: rigid or rolled?
Short answer. For most shingle roofs, a rigid molded plastic ridge vent is the better choice because it resists crushing, keeps its rated airflow, and usually includes an external baffle. Rolled ridge vent earns its place on wavy or uneven ridges and long runs, as long as the installer avoids compressing it.
Rigid ridge vent
- How it comes: molded plastic sections, commonly around 4 feet long, that clip or butt together.
- Strengths: holds its shape under cap shingle nails, so it delivers its rated net free area. Many include baffles, internal filters and end plugs.
- Weaknesses: on a ridge that sags or waves, sections can bridge low spots and look uneven unless the installer works them in.
Rolled ridge vent
- How it comes: a flexible mat of fiber or mesh, often in rolls of 20 feet or more.
- Strengths: follows an uneven ridge and installs quickly with few seams.
- Weaknesses: overdriven nails or heavy cap shingles can compress it, cutting airflow; some types lack an external baffle; and it can look flatter at the peak.
Which to choose
On a straight, newly decked ridge, rigid vent is the safer default. On an older roof with a ridge that has settled, rolled vent may lay flatter and look better. In either case, the cap shingles should match the field shingles, and many manufacturers sell high profile caps that look sharper over a vent.
When a ridge vent is the wrong answer
Hip roofs with very short ridges may not have enough length to meet the exhaust requirement. Attics without real soffit intake need intake fixed first. And a ridge over a vaulted ceiling without vent channels has nothing to exhaust. In those cases, box vents or other solutions may fit better; see ridge vent vs box vents and how roofers measure a roof.