What is soffit and why does my home need it?
Soffits help protect your home from the elements and pests. A good, strong soffit helps keep moisture and insects out of the house. This helps prevent wood rot, mold, and other issues down the road. Without soffit wind can easily blow rain, snow or sleet up and into the attic or behind the walls.
How to calculate soffit requirements for a home?
Soffit vent installation
- Calculate the soffit vent size using the calculation above. Make sure that you account for the net free area of the soffit cover.
- Calculate how many soffit vents are needed based on the size of the soffit covers you bought.
- Cut vents on the soffit based on the vent area needed and the size of the cover. ...
- Install the vent cover over the vent.
How to install Soffit for beginners?
How to Install Soffit
- Determine How Much Soffit You Will Need. Measure and calculate the total square footage needed for the areas requiring...
- Prep the Area. Check surfaces to make sure they are uniform and straight. Reattach any loose boards or shingles that...
- Install Soffit. Insert the soffit panel into the channel. Make sure the panel forms a 90-degree angle with...
What is the cost to replace soffit and fascia?
- Wood: $5-$10 per linear foot
- Vinyl: $6-$12 per linear foot
- Aluminum: $8-$15 per linear foot
What does soffit look like on a house?
According to Qualityedge.com, the easiest way to tell if your home has soffits is to walk around it look up at the roof. If you can see the underside of the eaves, but you can't see the rafters, your home has soffits.
Which part is the soffit?
The soffit board is tucked away under the fascia board. It is usually the board that you see most of from street level. The soffit can be ventilated to allow the flow of air into the roof area.
What is underneath the soffit?
What is Fascia? If 'soffit' is the horizontal base area that covers the eaves, 'fascia' is the vertical. Fascia board is placed on the ends of the eave rafters and under the roof shingle or tile.
What is difference between fascia and soffit?
An exterior soffit is located on the span beneath the rafter tails, while the fascia is the exposed horizontal band you see at the end of the rafters. These architectural elements found along the eave area do more than just add visual interest and give a finished look to your home.
How often should soffits be replaced?
There is no definite timetable for replacing a soffit or fascia, but there are some signs that roof repair contractors look for when evaluating your roof's overall health.
Can you replace soffit without removing fascia?
Yes. You can install a soffit without installing a fascia. By using J channels instead of a fascia board, a soffit can be installed under the roof without a fascia.
Is soffit connected to attic?
A soffit vent is simply a vent installed into the underside of your home's eaves (called the soffit) that permits fresh outside air to be drawn up into the attic.
How do I know if my soffit vents are working?
A smoke test is the best way to check if your soffit vents are clear and unobstructed. To do this, you will need a smoke bomb or incense stick. Go into the attic, light the smoke bomb or incense stick, and hold it near the soffit vent. If the smoke gets drawn out of the attic, the vent is clear and working properly.
What part of the roof is the soffit?
The soffit is part of the overhang where your roof meets your siding. When rain or snow hits your roof, it runs down, and the overhang allows the water to flow away from your house. The soffit is underneath the overhang, between the roof's edge and side of your home—the bottom of the triangle, if you will.
Do you need both soffit and fascia?
While a fascia isn't always necessary for a home or roof, soffits generally are. Without a soffit, not only would the home not have a finished appearance, but the rafters and eaves would be exposed to the elements, and at risk for problems like wood rot, interior leaks, mold growth, and roof deck failure.
What is the purpose of a soffit on a house?
Soffits protect your roof's underlying structure from the elements. Without them, rain and snow would cause your roof to mold and rot. Soffits also protect your roof from other natural elements, namely insects, birds, and other pests that might be looking for a warm, dry place during cooler months.
Can you hang things from soffit?
An easy, quick solution to hanging decorative items from your home's vinyl soffit, simply roll into any seam of your vinyl soffit. You no longer have to damage your vinyl soffit by drilling holes, hanging anchors, nor using adhesives, so you won't void your vinyl's warranty.
What part of roof is fascia & soffit?
0:461:59Fascia vs. Soffit (What's the Difference?) - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo the really easy rule of thumb on the difference between soffit and fascia is your fascia is goingMoreSo the really easy rule of thumb on the difference between soffit and fascia is your fascia is going to run typically horizontally. Across your roofing. Section okay so it's going to be this wood
What are parts of the soffit and fascia?
To locate soffit on a house, you need to look at the area that spans beneath the rafter tails. Fascia, on the other hand, is the area that is exposed at the end of the rafters.
What is a soffit in a ceiling?
Soffit ceiling is the covering that forms a ceiling on the underside of the roof in the area that extends beyond the walls of a home. Simply put, it covers the gap between the wall and the fascia, also referred to as the eave.
What is an exterior soffit?
A soffit is an exterior or interior architectural feature, generally the horizontal, aloft underside of any construction element. Its archetypal form, sometimes incorporating or implying the projection of beams, is the underside of eaves (to connect a retaining wall to projecting edge(s) of the roof).
Why Soffit and Fascia Are Important For Your Home
Now that you know what soffit and fascia are, you need to know why they’re important. You might be thinking, how can such small areas be that impor...
Why Vinyl Soffit and Fascia Are Better Than The Rest
You know what soffit and fascia are and why they’re important, so now you need to know what type to get in order to maximize all the benefits assoc...
Feldco Is The #1 Choice For All Your Soffit and Fascia Needs
After finding out what soffit and fascia are, you might notice that yours needs replacing. In such a case, Feldco has you covered.We’ve proudly ser...
What is the phone number for soffit?
If you have more questions for us, just give a call and we’d be happy to help. Our phone number is 1-610-779-1357. Also you can shoot us a quick message if that is easier.
What is soffit made of?
It is commonly made in aluminum and vinyl, as well as fiber cement, wood, and steel. For this article, we’ll focus on soffit for its primary use — the roof overhang. Soffit serves both an aesthetic and functional purpose for a building’s roofing system.
Why do we need soffit?
Functionally speaking, soffit protects your rafters from the weather elements. If your rafters are exposed in any areas, you’ll likely have mold buildup and rotting beams to replace — which definitely won’t make for a fun (or cheap) Spring. Plus, mold in a home is never healthy. Also, soffit helps your building breathe.
What is the material that connects the roof overhang and the side of a building?
The material connecting the roof overhang and the side of your building? That’s soffit. The word “soffit” is derived from the French language, and literally means “something fixed underneath.”. It’s most commonly used around a building’s main roof, but soffit can also be used under porches, under arches or columns, ...
What happens to rafters in winter?
In the winter months, snow and rain would ultimately lead to moisture buildup, and you would eventually have rotting and/or mold in your rafters and sheathing .
Which is better, aluminum or vinyl soffit?
Based on sales volume of homes and buildings across the US, aluminum and vinyl soffit are the runaway winners. They are the most cost effective to manufacture, the easiest to install, and they weigh less than the alternatives. Let’s run through the pros and cons for aluminum and vinyl:
Can you vent soffits?
If solid soffit is more of your style, no problem — just make sure you have vents installed to enable proper air circulation through the attic. Or, for every few soffits you install, you could install a vented panel to assure air flow.
What Is a Soffit?
This overhang can go by a few names, such as the house eaves or the rafters of your roof. The underside of this overhang, when given a finished appearance, is known as the soffit, which means “something fixed underneath”.
What is soffit for exterior?
Aesthetics are secondary, but important as well. Soffits provide a finished appearance for your exterior; without them, you would be looking at the rafters making up the underside of your roof’s overhang. Soffits come in a range of colors and materials, as well as a few styles, including smooth and wood-grain finishes. It’s common to invest in a soffit that matches or coordinates with the rest of your exterior appearance, to help give your home a cohesive and polished look.
What is fiber cement soffit?
Using a fiber cement soffit can help you keep the aesthetics of your home without the maintenance or other issues. Fiber cement soffits come in both smooth and wood grain finishes, vented and unvented, so you can choose which option works best for your home.
Why is soffit important?
Soffits are integral to the rafters of your roof and serve several important functions ranging from aesthetics to helping keep your utility bills in check.
What causes a roof to become superheated?
Your soffit covers the underside of your roof, and therefore a portion of your attic space. Heat builds up inside of attics over time, both from the sun beating down on the house, and from the energy rising within . If this heat isn’t given proper ventilation or air flow, it can cause your roof to become superheated.
Why is it important to ventilate the attic?
Ventilation is also important for helping to keep humidity levels in your attic down. Without proper ventilation through your soffit, humidity could build, causing problems such as mold, mildew, and wood rot. Aesthetics are secondary, but important as well.
Can you use fiber cement soffits with wood grain?
Therefore, if you were installing fiber cement siding with a wood-grain finish on the rest of your home, you may want to consider a fiber cement soffit with a wood grain to match. Soffits can be any color, but many people opt for white or for a color that matches their trim for the best look. The next reason why you want a soffit installed is more ...
Choosing the Right Soffit
Wooden soffits need to be repainted from time to time. Wood looks nice on homes, but be mindful of your environment. They may rot, especially if you live in a moist area with heavy rainfall.
Explore Our Soffit Collection
What is soffit and what can it do for your home? Soffit protects your roof, regulates temperature, and gives your house a beautifully finished look. Whether you're looking to learn what soffit is, where soffits go, or how soffits should be installed, we have the answers you're looking for.
Where is soffit located on a roof?
Soffit is the exposed siding underneath your roof’s overhang. Since your soffit is located on the underside of your roof, it’s often not visible in terms of curb appeal. However, soffit can still be seen when you’re close to the home and when you’re underneath it or at street level.
Why is it important to keep up with soffit?
The fact is, it’s very important to stay up-to-date on your soffit and fascia if you want to keep a good looking and energy efficient home.
What is Fascia?
Fascia goes hand-in-hand with your home’s soffit. Fascia is the area of siding directly above the soffit. It’s the exposed board you see on the front of your roof’s overhang.
What is the best material for soffit?
As mentioned earlier, the main materials of soffit and fascia are wood, aluminum and vinyl. Wood soffit and fascia doesn’t make sense in the Midwest because it’s susceptible to warping and rotting when exposed to moisture. Aluminum soffit and fascia absorb heat and will make your roof and attic extremely hot which will decrease your home’s overall ...
Why is fascia important?
Fascia is also important because it’s visible to everyone. If you want to maximize your home’s curb appeal, your fascia needs to look great as well.
Why is my attic moldy?
Your attic needs to be well ventilated or else moisture can build up causing mold to form. The last thing you want in your home is mold.
What are the main features of a home?
Most of the time, people usually only notice the big and prominent features of their home. Windows, siding and doors are the main attention-getters on any home, but it’s important you don’t overlook the small stuff. What is soffit? What is fascia? Why are they important features on your home?
What is soffit on a roof?
The soffit is one part of a roofing system that will work to block out the weather from exposed beams of a home. Not only is a soffit there to provide protection, but it’s also there to provide an aesthetic appeal to the home. They can incorporate venting to help with the air circulation of your roof and also come without it if they’re not needed. If you feel that you may need an update on your roofing system or would like to know more about soffits be sure to get in touch with a professional roofing company for more information. In order to assist you, here is some general information regarding soffits for your convenience.
What is the purpose of a soffit?
The purpose of a soffit is to provide both an aesthetic as well as functionality to your roofing design and system. It’s the area that covers your eaves in order for rafter beams not to be exposed. With a vented soffit you’ll be able to have proper air circulation in your attic.
What is fascia and soffit?
The fascia of a home structure is used to create a barrier between the edge of the roof from weather damage. It creates a smooth appearance to the edge of the roof and provides a point for where drainpipes and gutters can attach to. The soffit will usually be underneath the fascia and will be seen the most at the street level. It extends from the side of the structure to the edges of the eaves.
What is the difference between an eave and a soffit?
The difference between a soffit and eave is that a soffit is part of the eave as it provides a cover to it. The eave is the lowest part of a roof plane and projects beyond or overhands the walls of a building. Commonly a soffit can be the underside wall of the eave yet it can also be considered as the wall siding of different areas of a roof.
How many soffit vents should a house have?
A soffit vent as a general rule should have at least one square foot of space for every 150 square feet of an attic area.
How much does it cost to replace a soffit?
The cost to replace a soffit will generally cost $20-$30 per linear foot. Prices may vary depending on the materials used and the size of the house.
What is the phone number for soffits in Osage Beach?
If you’re interested in soffits in Osage Beach and Lake Ozark, MO call (573) 789-8367 with Thompson Roofing & Reconstruction!
What is a Soffit?
A soffit in NZ is a building material that can add character to a home while also protecting it. Suppose you have been wondering, ‘what is the purpose of a soffit?’. In that case, the easiest way to describe it is an underside of building materials that protects your rafters and home from the elements.
Soffits and Fascias
While undertaking renovations, a soffit is not the only new building material you will learn about. You may also hear them mentioned in conjunction with fascias. So, how do these two building materials work together? And what is under the soffit?
What About Asbestos in Soffits?
Even though we now use a lot of wood, aluminium, and composite materials for soffits in NZ, many of them used to be made of fibre cement, which often contained asbestos. Without hiring an asbestos removal company for testing, you may not know whether your soffits feature this hazardous material or not.
Soffits and Eaves
Now that you’re familiar with the relationship between soffits and fascias, you may like to learn more about soffits and eaves. As you know, the soffit is the underside component. However, the eave is part of the roof that overhangs the walls.
Asbestos in Eaves
When you think about asbestos in your roof, you often think about Super Six roofing; an asbestos-cement sheet roofing type popular for decades. While this can be a concern for homeowners, it’s also important to note that the eaves may also contain asbestos.
Asbestos Where You Least Expect It
Homeowners are becoming more and more familiar with where asbestos could be hiding in their homes, such as roofing and flooring. However, if you are not familiar with what soffits, fascias, and eaves are, you may not realise that they, too, can contain this hazardous substance.
Where is the soffit on a roof?
The soffit is attached to the underside of the eaves and is the part you’ll see from the ground. The soffit, along with the fascia, envelope the rafters of your roof, protecting it from the elements as well as small critters and insects. When there are soffit and fascia repairs needed, the sooner the better is every roofing contractor’s recommendation.
What is the difference between an eave and a soffit?
The eaves are found on the underside of the roof where the roof attaches to the house and just out a couple of feet. Roof eaves have an impact on the overall appearance of a home with the intended purpose of directing water away from the exterior walls of your home.
What causes soffit damage?
As we’ve explained, the soffit is the part of the roof you see under the eaves or overhang of the roof. The soffit covers and protects the underside horizontally and provides ventilation to the attic, hence the small holes spaced out on the soffit.
Where is fascia installed on a roof?
The fascia is installed horizontally over the ends of the rafters. Between the fascia and the soffit, the roof rafters are protected against the elements, which makes soffit and fascia repair so important.
How does soffit get visible?
Soffit gets more visible the close you walk toward the home since at a certain point you’ll be standing right under it.
What is soffit nailed into?
Soffit is then slid into these channels and lightly nailed into the rafters. Other times, thick solid soffit made of wood or composite is tightly nailed into the rafters . Nails are then covered up by overlapping pieces of soffit or trim. Fascia is nailed directly into the fascia board with either nails or screws.
What Is Fascia?
Fascia or fascia board is installed at the very edge of your roof. Fascia Board is the thin flat piece of trim that gets nailed to the edge of the rafters. They generally run vertically, perpendicular to the walls. In your standard wood frame roof the fascia board is a piece of 1″ pine. Fascia, is the material that covers the fascia board. This can be confusing because both elements are called fascia but they’re very different.
Why does fascia interact with soffit?
Fascia interacts with your home’s soffit because it’s the area of siding directly above the soffit. Sometimes the fascia is bent at the bottom which helps hold the soffit in place. It’s very visible and should be kept in good condition. Beautiful custom home with metal fascia and wood soffit with decorative elements.
Why are fascia and soffit important?
Together, these two exterior components help prevent mold and mildew growth. Fascia helps waterproof the home while soffits allow airflow into the rafters via soffit vents.
What is soffit siding?
Soffit is an important part of your home’s exterior siding design. But looks aside, soffit’s most important job is protecting the home from water damage and providing ventilation. Every part of your home’s siding has a duel purpose. Form and function.
What is the best color for soffit?
Composite materials, like Azek, are generally white, which is good because white is the most common soffit and fascia color. Making sure your soffit and fascia are both installed properly is the best way to prevent problems down the road. Roofing and siding products primary use it to prevent water damage.
What is soffit in a roof?
That’s where soffit comes in. Soffit is the material that’s installed in the roof overhang to help protect the roof against the elements. There are many types of soffit to choose from, so if you’re new to roofing, you might need a little help.
How to distinguish soffit?
There are two ways to distinguish soffit: by material and by type. There are a lot of different categories that fall under different materials. Let’s take a closer look at your options.
What Is The Most Durable Type Of Soffit Out There?
This depends on what your home’s area is like. In most cases, the most durable type of soffit is steel. It’s able to withstand salty air, won’t rot away, and can also handle quite a bit of damage from bumps. This is why it usually has the longest lifespan. Other popular options include vinyl, prefinished soffit, and aluminum.
What is prefinished soffit?
Prefinished soffits are treated with upgraded finishes that help increase durability. These finishes make the soffit easier to clean, not to mention even more resistant to the elements.
What is solid soffit?
Solid soffits are soffits that do not come with holes pre-drilled into them. Most homes will have at least some solid soffits—though vented soffits often will be present as well. If you choose to have an all-solid soffit setup, then you will need to make sure that you are going to have to figure out how to vent your roof.
What is the best soffit for a house?
Steel is, by and large, the most durable option for soffit. It won’t rust, won’t rot, won’t dent, and won’t grow mold. It’s easy to clean and lasts longer than aluminum. This is why most professional builders want to have steel soffit for their homes. However, there are issues that make this a mismatch for a handful of homes.
How much does a soffit cost?
You should expect the soffit to cost anywhere from $10 to $25 per 12-foot section. This translates to $1 to $3.50 per linear foot in most situations. That makes it a relatively affordable building material.
