Should I use vented or solid soffit?

Non-vented or continuous soffit works best when your roof has narrow eaves or if you need to ventilate a large amount of attic space. Vented soffit panels are good with a wider eave and a smaller amount of attic space because they have smaller vents between solid panels.

Is it better to have a Vented soffit?

The primary reason for installing vented soffit is to ensure that your home has proper air circulation in the attic. While it may seem contrary, having proper ventilation actually prevents issues related to moisture build-up and increased energy costs.

Can you have too much soffit ventilation?

You can't have too much soffit venting, but it's worth noting the minimum requirements. Usually, 4-in. by 16-in. soffit vents are rated for 26 sq.

How important is vented soffit?

Soffit helps your home achieve the right amount of airflow circulation without allowing moisture to accumulate around the beams and interior elements of your home. This ventilation is achieved through mini-holes or vents in the soffit. These vents make your home breathable and provide air circulation to your attic.

What type of soffit is best?

Aluminum soffits are popular for many reasons. They are highly durable, lightweight, and easy to handle. If your overhangs feature irregular shapes, aluminum soffits are a great option because they are highly malleable.

Vented Soffit vs. Non-Vented Soffit

Do soffit vents help cool house?

Unlike most attic vents which are usually positioned somewhere at the top, soffit vents pull cool dry air in from the outside, which forces hot damp air trapped inside your attic up and out of the higher vents.

What happens if you dont vent soffit?

Many years ago, home builders were simply unaware of the importance of attic ventilation—this is why some older homes don't even have soffits. Inadequate attic venting can lead to premature aging of roofing shingles, may warp wood sheathing, and increase HVAC costs.

How many vents should you have in your soffit?

Most professionals recommend one square foot of ventilation for every 150 square feet of attic area. This will help you determine how many soffit vents you need. For example, a 15′ x 40′ attic would have a total area of 600 square feet; divided by 150 equals 4 square feet of total ventilated space needed.

How often should I put vented soffit?

How Far Apart Should Soffit Vents Be? The ideal space between soffit vents will depend on your roof's total square footage (or attic) and the number of soffit vents used to ventilate it. It's recommended that all soffit vents be spaced at equal distances from one another on the sides of your roof under the eaves.

Which attic ventilation is best?

In most cases, we recommend soffit vents for intake and a ridge vent for exhaust. For homes that cannot have a ridge vent, box vents are generally the second best option for exhaust. And for homes that cannot have soffit ventilation, you will find that fascia vents to be your second best bet.

Is ridge vent better?

Continuous ridge vents are more effective because they are installed at the peak of a roof's ridge, allowing for warm air to escape from the attic. It also works better because it creates a vacuum in your attic.

Do attic vents help cool house?

Typical attics will reach 120-150 degrees during the summer. An attic fan can help lower that temperature by up to 50 degrees, which translates into up to a 5 degree lower temperature inside your home. Not only will it feel cooler inside, your AC will last longer as it will not need to cycle as much.

Will soffit vents work without a ridge vent?

Installing only a ridge vent and no or inadequate soffit venting is likely to result in unnecessary heat loss from the building as convection currents of rising warm air in the attic, unable to easily draw in air from outside, will "suck" warm air from the building, thus increasing unnecessary heat loss and increasing ...

Do old houses have soffit vents?

Older homes frequently did not have soffit venting but just a solid, usually plywood, soffit surface. Modern houses usually have a prefinished material, vinyl or aluminum, that's perforated for venting used as soffit material.

Will soffit vents stop condensation?

Once the air enters the soffits, it moves along the underside of the roof sheathing. As it flows across the sheathing, moisture is pulled away along with the air movement. This prevents condensation (and mold growth in the attic) from occurring.

Should soffit vents be covered with insulation?

You should never cover your soffit vents with insulation because it will block the natural airflow. Blocking the natural airflow will cause even more problems throughout your house, so properly installing insulation is critical (source).

Can you have too much ventilation in attic?

It's possible to have too much exhaust ventilation, but you cannot have too much intake ventilation. If there is more intake ventilation than the attic's square footage requires, it's not problematic because any excess intake converts to “exhaust” on the leeward side of the house.

Which direction should soffit vents face?

It's best to install soffit vents with the open part of the louver facing in toward the house to keep windblown debris out of the attic and prevent water from coming in when the eaves are cleaned with a garden hose or pressure washer.

Do you need soffit vents without ridge vent?

If there is no soffit venting, the ridge vent has no option but to pull air from the other side of the ridge vent. Now, there is a potential weather infiltration problem. Assuming that there is no infiltration issue, another possible consequence of a ridge vent without intake is a negatively pressurized attic.

Do I need soffit vents if I have an attic fan?

Ventilation is important and can help keep an attic dry and lower air temperatures, but not having any ventilation isn't the worst case scenario. If you don't have soffit vents, we recommend you add some other vents in the lower part of the attic that can function like soffits.

Is it OK to vent exhaust fan through soffit?

A bathroom fan can be vented through soffit so that the warm air from the bathroom comes out through it and goes outside. However, It is important to keep in mind it can not be vented into the soffit, as this will lead moisture back into the attic.

How do you tell if attic is properly vented?

Does a hot attic make house hot?

A hot attic it makes for a hotter house. This results in higher cooling bills and the need for thicker insulation above the ceiling. Another problem is any ducting in the attic will be heated and the heat will transfer into any the duct and warm any cool air moving through it and into the home.

Does ridge vent make house colder in winter?

The unintended consequence of your recently installed roof vents is that your house got colder. In the winter months, warm attic air is vented to the outside through the ridge vents and is replaced by colder outside air sucked in through the soffit vents.