I have a 1920's home in Ohio, and have NO soffit venting in the house. There are 2 gable vents, with one small temp-controlled fan (set to turn on ~95 F or higher). There is also a ridge vent.
The attic is unfinished, with some insulation on the attic floor and some sub flooring installed, but it's not perfect. I can see light from outside in a few spaces, but they aren't "supposed" to be there =).
There is a lot of discussion on the net of soffit + gable + ridge, or gable only, but nothing about gable + ridge.
First off, with 2 gables and a ridge vent and this small fan, is this sufficient for airflow in the space? I do not see any mold or moisture problems, but it gets incredibly hot and is very tough to cool my 2nd floor (attic is on 3rd floor). In the summer, with AC on, I have a ~6-10 degree F differential between 1st and 2nd floor. In the winter, heating the 2nd floor isn't so bad.
Because of this, I bought some thin R11 radiant insulation, it's basically aluminium foil wrapped on both sides of some really thin insulation. My plan was to attach this stuff directly to my rafters, in order to keep the space cooler in the summer. This would also leave a ~4" gap between the roof deck and the insulation, so if there IS any air flow there now, hopefully it would remain.
Is this going to cause any problems with my gables + ridge as it exists already? Even without this insulation, do I have any existing problems I may want to try and take care of?
I do not plan to put soffit vents in and don't want to get that answer back =).
Thanks!