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Soffit Vents
Soffit Vents Play an Integral Role in your Home’s Attic Ventilation System
By Mark J. Donovan
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Soffit vents can be seen running
along the underside roof eaves of your home. Soffit vents can be installed
as one continuous strip running the length of the roof eaves or as
individual circular or rectangular perforated vents. Soffit vents work in
conjunction with roof vents, such as ridge vents, to remove heat from the
attic in the summer and to remove warm moist air during the winter. Soffit
vents, in concert with roof vents, help to extend the life of roof shingles,
and prevent ice dams and other moisture related damage that can occur in the
attic. |
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It is important when determining and
installing an attic vent system to make sure that there is at least an equal
amount of ridge vent and soffit vent. Many builders recommended actually
installing slightly more soffit vent than ridge vent, e.g. 60% soffit vent and
40% ridge vent.
| To calculate the total amount attic ventilation necessary
for a home, multiply the length times the width of the home’s foundation
size and then divide by either 150 or 300. If the attic insulation has a
faced surface and it facing towards the warm room of the home, divide by
300. If the attic insulation does not have a vapor barrier divide by 150.
Once you have calculated the total amount of attic ventilation required,
divide this number by 2 to calculate the amount of square feet required for
both the soffit vents and the ridge vents. |
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Note that if you plan to use cap vents in lieu of ridge vent you will need
to double the amount of attic ventilation area required.
Once you have calculated the required number of square feet of both the
soffit vents and ridge vents, you may need to convert these numbers to
square inches. To do this, simply divide the number by 144. (Note that there
are 144 square inches per 1 square foot).
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| After calculating the required soffit vent area in inches
you can then divide this by the amount of net free area associated with the
particular individual soffit vents you plan to use. This calculation will
tell you how many soffit vents you will need to install in your roof eaves.
For example, if the total soffit square area requirements is 720 square
inches, and if the particular soffit vents you plan on installing each have
a net free area of 72 square inches you would need a total of 10 soffit
vents. |
Photo by Mark Donovan |
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Related Attic Information
Attic Insulation Vent Systems from Amazon.com
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