Basements, Attics and Crawl Spaces - Heat coming out of the attic, should I increase ventilation?

We have a single floor ranch home and on hot days (like today) you can feel the heat pushing down from the attic into the hallway from the closet where the heater sits. I have a blow down gas heater in the closet and there is nothing seperating the top of the closet from the attic. I'm planning to fix that, to add a "ceiling" to the closet so it's seperated from the attic.

My question is, do I need to worry about this heat pushing down? Does it indicate improper air flow in the attic? When I first moved into the home there were no vents in the soffit, I added a few vents in the soffit to improve airflow into the attic and I have four of the vents on the top of it, do I need to add more vents or otherwise increase the airflow into the attic?

Thanks,

Tim

First, it sounds like you need more insulation. A minimum of 12" is needed, and more is better. Yes, block off the air flow from the attic to the house interior, but the heater must have a combustion air source. Make sure you still have that. Then improve the attic ventilation. The best method is a combination of soffit/ridge vents. But anything that gets the air to move will help, such as whirley bird vents, gable or roof mounted fans, etc.

Thanks JB,

My heater closet has a vented door on the closet so it can pull air out of the hall for combustion, should that be enough air flow?

Thanks,

Tim

Probably, but how old is the house. Newer homes are built toghter so the heater has fewer places from which to draw air. But if you have insulation issues, that is likely not a problem.