If you have a dryer in your home, you’ll need a vent to evacuate all of the air and lint from the machine. Dryer vents usually go out a side vent in a building. However, some people dislike this design and wonder whether you can vent a dryer through the roof.
You can vent a dryer through a roof. To do this, a vertical dryer vent will need to be installed in the building. This vent can meet a horizontal connection to reach a vent on the side of the building. Alternatively, it can go through to the roof to allow air and lint to escape.
Keep reading to learn more in detail about venting your dryer directly through the roof. We will also explore vertical venting from a dryer, the expenses involved in venting your dryer through the top, and the advantages of choosing horizontal and vertical dryer vents.
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Can a Dryer Vent Go Up?
Typically, dryer vents go horizontal out of the utility room through a vent on the side of your building. This allows air to escape from your building. The air vents from dryers can be full of bacteria, so pumping this horizontally outside the building may be unsuitable for many people. As a result, some property owners desire a dryer vent that goes up instead of sideways.
A dryer vent can be installed to go straight up. This is known as a vertical dryer vent, and it can go directly through the roof or be connected to another horizontal vent higher up in the building. This is usually based on the height of the building and the location of higher-up vents.
A dryer vent can only go up 35 feet (10.7 m) from the dryer to the roof or horizontal vent. This eliminates the chance of rooftop vents in many buildings as the top is more than 35 feet above the ground. Installing a dryer vent over 35 feet can be dangerous and is not advised.
Dryer vents exhaust wet air and lint from clothing. If there is a blockage or the duct is too high from the dryer, lint build-up may occur. Lint becomes highly flammable over time, which makes a poorly designed dryer vent a significant fire hazard. This is why building a dryer vent higher than 35 feet is usually inadvisable.
How Much Does It Cost to Vent a Dryer Through the Roof?
Venting a dryer through the roof of a building is a much more labor-intensive and extensive job than a horizontal vent. This is because the vent will usually have to pass through a floor or two and the roof. As a result, more work is required to install a dryer vent through the roof of a building.
It costs about $1000 to install a dryer vent through the roof of a building. The exact costs of installation will vary depending on where you live, as well as several other factors. That said, a dryer vent through the top is significantly more expensive than a dryer vent through a sidewall.
A horizontal dryer vent can cost you as little as $80, depending on where you live and the location of your dryer. If your dryer is placed against a side wall in your home, installing a horizontal dryer vent is both easy and affordable.
While prices may increase if your dryer is not located against a sidewall, you’ll usually never have to pay as much as a vertical vent will cost you. In fact, you can expect to pay as much as five to ten times the price for a dryer vent that goes through the roof rather than horizontally through your drywall.
What Are the Benefits of Vertical Dryer Vents?
Vertical dryer vents that pass through the roof of a building are doable as long as the building is not more than one or two stories high. However, some homeowners may wonder what the benefits of a dryer vent that goes through the roof are, especially if this is the first time they’re hearing about these vents.
Here are some advantages to vertical dryer vents that go through the roof:
Aesthetically Pleasing
Perhaps the most significant advantage to rooftop dryer vents is the fact that they’re on the roof. As a result, the vents are out of sight and hidden away. This prevents your dryer vent from disrupting the aesthetics of your home and ensures that your home looks exactly like you’ve always envisioned it would.
Clean Air on Your Property
A dryer vent that evacuates air through a sidewall of your property may cause damp air full of lint and fabric to be pumped into an outdoor area of your property that you enjoy. This can be unpleasant as the moisture in the air combined with the materials can expose you to bacteria and agitate people’s allergies.
Airflow Efficiency
Vertical dryer vents have an advantage when it comes to airflow efficiency. This is because the air leaving a dryer will be hot, and hot air naturally rises upward.
Therefore, placing a vent that rises upwards can enhance your airflow efficiency. This can also reduce your maintenance costs and improve your ventilation system’s performance.
Allows the Dryer to Be Located Anywhere
Another fantastic advantage of rooftop dryer vents is that it does not matter where your dryer is located, you can install a vent above it that connects to another higher vent or a rooftop vent.
On the other hand, horizontal dryer vents often require the dryer to be located adjacent to a sidewall.
What Are the Benefits of Horizontal Dryer Vents?
Horizontal dryer vents are usually located at the shortest distance from the dryer. While there are drawbacks of these vents, there are also several significant advantages.
Here are a few of the major advantages to horizontal dryer vents:
Cheaper to Install
Horizontal dryer vents typically cost a fraction of the price of installing a vertical vent. You can have a horizontal vent installed for under a hundred dollars, depending on the location of your dryer and the materials used in building your home. On the other hand, as discussed above, vertical vents can set you back about $1000.
Easy to Maintain
Horizontal dryer vents are much easier to maintain than dryer vents that pass through the roof. This is mainly due to accessibility. A dryer vent on the sidewall of a home can easily be reached for maintenance, while maintaining a dryer vent on your roof will require specialized roofing safety equipment and is a much more dangerous task.
Shorter Distance From Dryer
One of the most significant benefits of choosing a horizontal dryer vent is the likelihood that it’s a much shorter distance from the dryer itself. A shorter vent is easier to clean and maintain. On top of this, it’s safer as there’s less room for lint to accumulate, which dramatically reduces the risk of fire in your home.
See also: How to Vent a Dryer Without a Vent to Outside
Final Thoughts
Dryer vents are an essential component of your home that you likely give very little thought to. However, if they are not installed correctly, they can leave your home vulnerable to fires and poor air quality and ventilation. This leads many homeowners to wonder which type of vent they should choose – horizontal or vertical.
Horizontal vents are cheaper to install, although they vent air outside onto walkways or doorways in your home. Vertical vents are far more expensive – however, they can be hidden easily, and you don’t have to worry about being in contact with polluted air from the vents.
Related: Can You Vent a Dryer Into a Garage?
