We recently purchased our house, and this is our second summer in it. The previous owner added a 18’ by 26’ vaulted ceiling addition. It’s always been at least 10 warmer in this room then the others. I pulled off a soffit and noticed that they have insulation just packed in there. It was packed all the way to the outside wall. I cut about 6 inches back and tried to stuff one of those Styrofoam ceiling vent things from HomeDepot between the ceiling and insulation, and only was able to get a 4 foot section up there. I’ve been trying to rack my brain on how to better ventilate my problem without ripping down all the drywall and starting over. Help

If your worried about moisture under your insulation affecting your dry wall then by all means ventilate the space between the drywall and the roof but do it to the outside.

I would consider a ceiling fan to affect ambient temperature if that is what you are really concerened about.

Removing insulation to chill a room in the summer is not the solution to being comfortable in the room. Removing insulation will allow more of the heat of the day to radiate through and super heat your room.

We have the same type of room as the main gathering space. The ceiling fan hangs off the main beam with a collar of similar wood and stain surrounding the mounting sight. Ceiling fans come in a variety of styles with extensions to bring them into range to really stir up the air. In the summer ours run backwards to push the warmer air out of the vault and keep it moving. In the winter the fan runs in the forward position to push that warm air back down into the room.

Debbie was correct that the insulation that touches the roof will get damp with condensation. There really is no way that I know of to insert anything to create the vapot space connecting your soffit with yout ridge vent. Your roof peak above the ceiling does have a ridge vent doesn't it? The problem with slipping the foam to make a vapor channel is you have all the roofing nails to contend with. Along with the nails you also don't want to compact the insulation too much.

I have rectified a situation like this. Remove the shingle caps and rip approx. 3" down on each side. This is to install a ridge vent system.
I used 1-1/4" thin wall irrigation pipe(white PVC). Make it long enough to reach into the soffit cavity and up into the 3" zone. Drill 1/2" holes 12" on center from end to end and keep these holes up to the roof. These PVC pipes come in 10' lengths, if you need longer glue them together.
I installed 3 pipes in each rafter opening on both sides.
This is still working as I drive by the house frequently.
Don't sweat the small stuff; its ALL small stuff.
Good Luck-------Pepp

Generally, you can insulate a cathedral ceiling in one of two ways. Fully, or vented. If you don't have a roof vent (ridge or otherwise), you don't need an eve vent. The ceiling joist should be fully insulated with no air space. If you disagree, read the research.

If you do have a roof vent, possibly the insulation (only one reason to hate fiberglass) has slipped down, compressing, leaving a large uninsualted cavity at the ridge and choking off the air flow at the bottom.

In either case, the reason for your temperature differential with the rest of the house may simply be, you don't have enough insulation. Unless the roof was framed with at least 2x12's and the cavity fully filled with fiberglass (not compacted), you can't get the desired R32 rating (my area) the rest of the house may have.

So if a vented cathedral ceiling was attempted (ridge vent?), then you end up with even less insulation, even with 2x12 framing. In my opinion, the best way to go is to fully insulate a minimum 12" deep cavity with cellulose or IC foam.

At this point, ceiling fans is probably a good idea, although I disagree with the choice of blade rotation stated by one responder. In winter, I don't like being in a space where I can feel air moving across my body. This happens when sitting/standing under the fan. In theory it is supposed to be warm air from above, but realisticly, by the time it reaches sitting level, it has mixed with the cold floor air and is a cool draft. I find it much better to blow the winter warm air up against the ceiling, forcing it down the walls and pushing the cold floor air up where it is warmed. Since the fan doesn't blow down, the air movement is much slower, and therefore, no draft. The circular air motion created by the ceiling and walls creates a very even temperature downstairs and up. In summer the reverse.

RB

My mother is dealing with the condensation situation right at the moment and i am worried about what it is she is going to have to do about it... dampness had shown up in the drywall seems of the ceiling in the first year so I opened the soffit back up and removed the styrofoam on the the East side because of condensation build up was running water on the foam badly. Her vault has been good for the last 4 years and with no visable sign of being wet. It does have a ridge vent. If anyone has any more direction please any help is appreciated. This issue has returned after a major snow fall too.. I'm not sure if the snow had blocked the ridge vent from being able to move air because I was not there to witness the snow setting on top. But I would like to hear more about totally blocking off all movement and blowing the space totally full of insulation too. Please feel free to email me directly at michaelfall22@hotmail.com just TAG the email Roofing Help so i know it is about this issue. RB-Arch if you are out there i was very interested in what you had to say about this type of issue. Feel free to email .. thanks everyone for your help!!

two things cause this moisture.
One the cold air getting through to the sheetock on the ceiling. The other to much humidity within the home.
You first must ask yourself some questions.
What is the current condition of the roof in this area? What condition is the inside ceiling in this area?
Ideally if the roof is going to require replacement soon, you would be better served removing the roof and fixing the insulation issue from there. If the ceiling is in poor shape, that is also an option.
While there are sevearl opinions on using blown in insulation in a ceiling cavity, It does work, but must be done by someone who is experianced and understands how to do this properly.
Your best bet is to uncover the area and fix it with conventional methods. Also be sure to keep an eye on the humidity within the room.