SmartVent – How to Retrofit

Patent numbers 6,212,833 ,9,022,845 & 6,447,392 issued by the United States Patent & Trademark Office.

Download How to Retrofit instructions here

For retro fitting the SmartVent onto a roof, after determining where you’re going to install the product you will need to pull up at least 8 courses of shingles. This will allow you to install a full 3 foot wide sheet of Ice & Water Shield on top of the SmartVent and directly to the roof decking.

Once you have removed the shingles, measure up 6” – 7” from the last (lowest) course of shingles that is still on the roof. Cut your one inch slot out, making sure to end the slot at least 12” from any obstacle on the roof, I.e. chimney, window dormer, valley, hip, rake edge, intersecting walls, etc.

After removing the plywood from the one inch wide slot, place the SmartVent onto the roof decking ensuring it lines up with the shingle course above which is installed after the ice shield and the slit . Nail the SmartVent similar to the eave detail (8 nails total). Use four nails across the lift edge starting 2″ in from the edges. Use black nail line in fabric as a guide. Matching four nails at the top of the vent.

Apply a roll of ice shield on top of the SmartVent even with the lift edge and directly to the plywood above the vent. If tarpaper was already installed, gently tuck the ice shield under the higher course of tarpaper so it laps over the ice shield by at least three inches or more. Ensure ice shield adheres to SmartVent and wood decking, not installed over the tarpaper.

Install a starter course of shingle slightly overhanging the SmartVent bottom edge about 3/8” to 1/2”. Align shingles per manufacturers’ directions. Install the shingles over the starter course and align accordingly to the shingle layout. Then continue up the roof tying into the previous courses properly. The installation at the mid-roof is very similar to that of the eaves edge but the shingle overhang is only 3/8” to ½”.

There may be more of a need to use the SmartVent End Caps at the mid-roof installation as you may encounter obstacles such as valleys, hips and skylights. The End Caps make for a smooth transition before the obstacle.