TL;DR
A baffle vent is the formed channel, usually rigid foam or treated cardboard, installed against the roof sheathing between rafters to keep a clear airway from the soffit intake up past the insulation toward the ridge. It preserves the cold-roof airflow that carries off moisture and heat after an attic is air sealed and insulated to full depth.
What it means
A baffle vent is the formed channel, usually rigid foam or treated cardboard, installed against the roof sheathing between rafters to keep a clear airway from the soffit intake up past the insulation toward the ridge. It preserves the cold-roof airflow that carries off moisture and heat after an attic is air sealed and insulated to full depth. Channels typically provide a 1- to 2-inch air space, the minimum the IRC sets at 1 inch, and run from the eave to above the final insulation level. Crushed or missing ones show up as damp sheathing, frost, or ice damming above the eaves.
Where it sits in the glossary
Baffle vent is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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