Ventilation for your roof and home is undoubtedly extremely important! I am excited to tell you about the great option of soffit vents. Read the entire article click one of the links below to jump to the section that interests you.
- Get a completely free quote of this roof, without any obligations.
- Lets start off by answering what is a soffit vent?
- What is the purpose of a soffit vent and do you need them?
- What are the different types of soffit vents?
- Do you need soffit vents if you have a ridge vent?
- What are the pros and cons of using soffit vents?
- What is the price individually and to install soffit vents?
- A brief overview of installing an individual soffit vent.
What is a soffit vent?
To put simply, a soffit vent is a vent that is installed under the eaves of your roof, known as the soffit, to help your roof or attic keep cool by drawing in fresh outside air into your attic. These are often called ‘under-eave soffit vents’. You can also get a soffit dryer vent that you would allow for the exhaust of your dryer to escape your home through the under eaves instead of relying on the normal wall venting.
What is the purpose of a soffit vent and do you need them?
The soffit vent allows for cooler, fresh outside air to be pulled into your roof or attic. This allows for the hot and humid air that has built up inside your attic to escape out of your other vents. These vents work great along with the roof ridge vent, which I have an article on and I encourage you to watch that one as well.
The reason why you would want to have these vents installed if you have not already is that a roof without any ventilation has a great problem with overheating and a humidity build up. Humidity not only threatening to damage your roof or anything that is stored in your attic, if your roof is too hot it can actually cause a huge problem to your energy costs. A well-ventilated roof and attic will keep your home cooler and thus any air conditioning you have in your house will have to work a lot less in order to keep your house cool, which will cost less in electricity and save you money.
Should your home be lacking the proper attic ventilation, it is really in your best interests to install these vents into your home. I would highly advise that you take a look at the generous offer that Networx has offered us to get your completely free quote to assist you in improving your homes roof ventilation. It is really something you cannot afford to pass up on.
I highly recommend that you consider this vent and pair it along with a ridge vent, they work great together and can help you not only save money but prevent any damages to your roof and belongings.
Types of soffit vents
There is not a lot of different types of soffit vents like you can get for other vent types, but there are some that will work well for you depending on the size of your roof and what other ventilation systems you already have in place.
Individual soffit vents – These vents are extremely common, they are easy for a one person to fit themselves so this is not a surprise at all. They may not be as effective as a continuous vent but none the less they work well. These vents are cut specifically to fit between the joists of your under eave or soffit.
Continuous soffit vents – These are a form of under-eave vents that run along the entire eave or soffit of a roof for maximum air intake, these work very well with very large exhaust vents such as gable vents or ridge vents.
Perforated soffit vents – Perforated vents work well in order to prevent rodents and the like from being able to use this as easy access in to your roof. It is generally a great idea to get some form of cover for your vents to help combat this risk. Usually, perforated vents are made for houses with vinyl siding.
Circular soffit vents – These are very small usually and do not work nearly as well when being compared to the continuous vent. Mostly used in a large number or for special circumstances, such as being used as a soffit exhaust vent in order to extract the humid air out of your bathroom or from your dryer.
- Installed Vent
- How Roof Ventilation Works
- Continuous Soffit Vent
Do you need soffit vents if you have a ridge vent?
If you have already read my article on the roof ridge vent you will know my standing when it comes to these two vents being used together. They work fantastically when paired if done correctly by a roofing professional, and you will have that 50/50 balance that just about everyone talks about when speaking about roof ventilation.
Soffit vents allow for the outside dryer air to be sucked up into your roof forcing the hot and humid air through the top of your ridge vent creating a constant flow through your roof keeping it cooler and potentially even cutting down on your electricity costs.
It is highly advised that if you have or are planning on installing ridge vents, you should pair this off with soffit vents. This will keep your roof cool, reduce humidity and prevent damage to your roof as well as anything stored in your attic.
Special Offer: Get a Free Roofing Quote (United States Only)
Networx has kindly offered to provide all my blog readers a free quote on all your roofing needs. I would highly recommend you take advantage of this generous offer by clicking here and getting your free quote for your soffit vent install or repair. You will not be charged at all for the quote! 🙂
Pros and Cons of using soffit vents
Pro: If you are planning on installing individual soffit vents in your roof and you have adequate space under the eaves or soffits, these vents are quite easy to install and would be a job for one person. This does, however, change if you are wanting to install Continuous soffit vents as they take a lot more work and it is recommended that you use a roofing professional to do the install.
Pro: If you are living in a heavy snow area or an area that gets snow quite often then these vents are great for your home as they are near impossible to become blocked with good maintenance.
Pro: They have a relatively low maintenance cost, so in the long run paying a bit extra to get the job done by a train professional is not too much of a downfall cost wise as you will be saving money.
Con: Soffit vents are designed for air intake, so if they are not paired off correctly with another exhaust vent they will not work efficiently in cooling your roof. This will risk damage to your roof or home.
Con: It is possible for moist air to collect under your soffits, this can severely hinder the very function these vents are designed for. This won’t only risk damaging your roof but also risk damaging your siding and under eaves.
Con: Should you have soffit intake vents near your exhaust vents that may be working for your bathroom for example, there is a huge risk of this moist air being sucked into your intake vents, through your roof and this moisture can wreak havoc in your roof and cause some serious damage to your house.
How much do soffit vents cost?
For the average soffit vents that are of decent quality, it is advised to budget $3.80 dollars per foot for the vent and installation. So for 100 foot of venting, you are looking at about $380 for the setup, with $220 going towards purchasing the vent and $160 for installation costs.
These prices will obviously vary depending on the availability of the materials and product as well as the competition for labor. But it is a good idea to budget for just over $3 per foot of venting.
A brief overview of installing an individual soffit vent.
While it is relatively easy for one person to install an individual soffit vent, and this will be the one I write a brief overview on how to install yourself down below. If you are needing or wanting a continuous vent, please do yourself a favor and get a roofing professional to do it for you. There is a lot that can go wrong and when it comes to roof ventilation you really do not want to take that risk at all.
What tools will you need?
- Jigsaw
- Drill
- Spade drill bit
- Screwdriver attachment for a drill
- New soffit vent
- Self-tapping screws
Step 1 It is important to use a stud-finder to figure out where your rafters are, you do not want to cut into these ever, this could weaken your roof and can be a real headache to fix. Once you have found where your rafters are, you can determine where you want to install your soffit vents.
Step 2 Use your new vent as a guide to mark off with a pencil the location you want to install it. Mark the holes where the screws will fit and outline this. Remember you will want to cut the hole a bit smaller than the vent itself. A good guideline is 3/4 of an inch inside the outer edge of the vent.
Step 3 Drill 4 holes on the outer edge of your marked area with your spade drill bit. Connect these holes with a chalk line or a ruler an. Use this as a guide and cut out the space with your jigsaw. Remove the cutout and clean up the area with a file or some sandpaper.
Step 4 It is finally time to install your vent. Line up and center your vent over the new hole you cut, ensuring the louvers are pointing towards your wall. Using self-tapping screws, screw these into your soffits with your screwdriver attachment on your drill.
In conclusion, you can see the value of having soffit vents installed for ventilation in your attic, especially when it is paired with another exhaust vent system. I highly recommend you consider using these for your house. They are also quite inexpensive especially if you are planning on installing them yourself, even though I would advise against this and would recommend getting yourself a free quote from Networx above beforehand.
I really hope you enjoyed this article and I would love it if you could share it with your friends.
Jack French is the CEO of EZPZ Roofing. He has over 10 years of experience in the construction industry and has been with EZPZ since its inception. Jack is a hard worker and a natural leader. He takes great pride in his work and always puts the customer first.