Soffet Vents

[EodEmt]

My current house has a complete hip roof design. I only have approx. 22 total lineal feet of ridge vent's for a 1700 s.f. home. The attic is stuffy & way too hot. This fall/winter I plan on installing a few solar powered vents. In the mean time I wanted to add continuous soffet vents. There are currently the 8 X 10" vents installed every 8 feet on the soffet's. I was looking for some thoughts & input. Thanks

Gregg

[Piper]

I would advise you to have unvented soffit for four feet on each side of any exhaust fan terminations in the soffit. Vented soffit is an intake and when placed near bath exhausts causes mold and rot on the under side of the roof, rafters and ceilings.

Solar powered fans are a great idea.

[deejoe]

normally, if an attic has sufficient air flow from the soffit vents to the ridge vents there really is no need for any other type.
For a 1700 sqft attic floor area it would need a mininmum of 1 sqft of vent per 300 sqft of attic floor area.
In your case,a total of 6 sq ft of vent is needed.This will be divided 50/50 between soffit and ridge.(3 sqft=soffit) (3 sq ft = ridge.)
Note= 1 sq ft= 144 ", so you would require a minimum total of approx 450 sq inches of "FREE" area for the soffit and the same for the ridge.

[Piper]

The reality is that soffet nad ridge vents don't work. I work in attics and the ones that have gable vents and whirly birds are noticebly cooler in the summer.

[Under_Miner]

If you live in a climate that gets cold (below freezing) in winter, remember that soffit venting is absolutely neccessary. It's neccessary to carry away the warm air that builds up where the outside wall meets the roof, causing ice dams. Otherwise, depending on the prevalent wind direction, gable vents are really all one needs.

[deejoe]

[QUOTE=Piper;49850]The reality is that soffet nad ridge vents don't work. I work in attics and the ones that have gable vents and whirly birds are noticebly cooler in the summer]
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next joke, please.
if your absurd statement had any real truth to it, then millions of homeowners would be very discontented.
Past and present building practices have indicated that the very great majority of homeowners (and builders) seem well pleased with the soffit/ridge vent installations.
"Powered "vents are NOT required IF the vent installations are installed PROPERLY.
Gravity is all that is required for proper ventilation of an attic space.

[mdshunk]

Dee... calm down. What might have been more proper to say is that powered vents work better. I, too, work in attics a lot. At least 3 out of 5 days each week for me I spend at least some period of time in an attic. Attics with some type of powered ventillator are noticably cooler, without a doubt. True, they are neither required or necessary, but they do create cooler attic space in many cases. The temperature difference in the middle of the summer might be like the difference between blazing hot and very hot, but still a difference.

[scuba_dave]

I've dormered the back of my Cape, added a ridge vent.
The new back dormer has the rafter vents that lead from the soffet to the ridge vent. Very important in my case to keep the R-30C (cathedral) insulation from blocking the flow of air.
Since the rise in heght from the wall to the peak is only 2', I have to agree that a powered vent will be needed in my case.
I am using hardi-plank (cement) soffit in the back of the house - faces South.
In the front I retro-fitted the rafter vents from the ridge vent down to the front of the house. I will eventually install soffet vents on the front of the house. At present only 10' is properly ventilated on the front where the front porch was enclosed
When the 1st rafter vent was installed from soffet to ridge vent the flow of air was amazing. The front of the house will ventilate very nicely
I think due to the flow of air it will also draw air from the back roof of the house.
But I'm installing a powered ventilator just in case
Better to have it, and not need it - then Need it & not have it

I thought the solar powered fans were pretty expensive?

[EodEmt]

Scuba Dave,

The solar pwered vents are quite expensive comparitively to a normal powered vent-$200-300 more. I figured w/ my situation here in FL w/ electricity being rather expensive compared to where I came from (ID) & the abbundance of sun (sometimes) they would pay for themselves in the long run.

[deejoe]

if the proper amount of ventilation is calculated and the attics floor are well insulated, then that is all that is needed to eliminate any "overly hot" temperatures from within the attic space.
obviously,if an attic is not vented with AT LEAST (the more ,the better)the proper amount of vents and also does not have the proper R value of insulation,then of course it will certainly help if a powered vent is installed.

However, the bottom line is; DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME and then no powered vent will ever be required. If the temperature in the attic should ever rise significantly because of a very, very hot day,who cares, with the proper insulation on the attics floor it will not have any adverse effect on the living part of the home.This heat will simply rise and go out to the great outdoors.
No constant use of electricity to power a fan is required.
Spending the small $$ on the extra R value is over with, but with a power fan this added expense just keeps on occuring.

[deejoe]

If you live in a climate that gets cold (below freezing) in winter, remember that soffit venting is absolutely neccessary. It's neccessary to carry away the warm air that builds up where the outside wall meets the roof, causing ice dams. Otherwise, depending on the prevalent wind direction, gable vents are really all one needs.
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Most of the quoted advice above is ok, except for that last sentence about gable vents.
As the poster (EodEmt) has said; it is an "complete HIP roof design", therefore there are NO gables.
that is why low placed soffit vents,together with high placed either ridge or mushroom type (near peak)vents work best, especially on a "hip " roof.

no power is required whatsoever.

[Under_Miner]

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Most of the quoted advice above is ok, except for that last sentence about gable vents.
As the poster (EodEmt) has said; it is an "complete HIP roof design", therefore there are NO gables.
that is why low placed soffit vents,together with high placed either ridge or mushroom type (near peak)vents work best, especially on a "hip " roof.

no power is required whatsoever.

Sorry, I was just replying to what Pipe had said regarding gable vents. I am not a strong believer in only using gable vents, specially in this particular case ;-) . However I would definately have to agree with you that the best way to vent an attic is by using soffit and ridge or high placed pan vents/whirly birds.

[scuba_dave]

Scuba Dave,

The solar pwered vents are quite expensive comparitively to a normal powered vent-$200-300 more. I figured w/ my situation here in FL w/ electricity being rather expensive compared to where I came from (ID) & the abbundance of sun (sometimes) they would pay for themselves in the long run.

I was hoping that the prices had come down, or you found a really good source

[jimijames]

now what kind of roof is this? with ridge vents? send a picture and someone can give you the proper advise.

[Clutchcargo]

The good thing about connected power vents is that they operate when there is no light. A couple of times during the night I could hear it working because the humidity was above it's 85% trigger point. I don't know how much of an issue it is to vent when it's not hot but I glad the air is moving rather than condensing.