Soffit and more!

The soffit is the material beneath the eave that connects the far edge of your roof to the exterior wall of your house. They are often vented. Besides being underneath your eaves, soffits can also be on the underside of a porch roof. 

Soffits come in two basic varieties: vented and solid. Vented soffits may be perforated, or they could be created by adding vents to solid soffits every few feet.

Ventilation is crucial for the health and longevity of your attic. When your attic is an unconditioned space, proper air flow will keep your house cool in the summer by allowing excess heat to escape. Believe it or not, allowing cold air to flow into the attic at the eaves is also important in the winter. If your eaves are too warm, it encourages snow on the roof to melt during the day and refreeze at night — a cycle that can cause damaging ice dams. When cool air can flow through soffit vents, it reduces ice dams and helps extend the life of your roof.

For this reason, it’s important to make sure that attic insulation does not block the flow of air through soffit vents, which could result in trapping excess moisture and problems with ice dams. It can also actually tax your heating and cooling systems more, so be sure to keep soffit vents clear.

Not every home needs vented soffits, however. If your attic has other vents on the gable ends of your roof, these may provide sufficient ventilation. In this case, a solid soffit is appropriate.