What is a Ventilation Soffit?
What is a Ventilation Soffit?
Installing an effective ventilation system to your roof is important for many reasons including; prolonging the lifetime of your roof, preventing the build-up of condensation, improving air quality and stopping unwanted pests.
If you are investigating which is the best roof ventilation system for your property it is likely that you have come across ventilation soffits. But what is a ventilation soffit?
At Wonkee Donkee, our team of experts has come together in order to put together a complete guide to soffit vents, including when to use them and to help you decide whether soffit vents are the best choice for your property.
What is a Soffit Board?
To understand what a soffit vent is we must first understand what a soffit board is. Soffit board is commonly used in the construction of properties on the underside of the roof that overhangs the side of the wall. Soffit board is flat and sits between the fascia board and the wall of the property. It is also commonly called the eaves of the house, but this is usually in reference to the soffit board and the fascia board collectively.
What is a Soffit Vent?
Soffit vents are vents that are installed into the soffit (also called eaves) of a building that allows for air to flow through and properly ventilate the roof space. As the soffit vents sit below the roofline they work by drawing air up and through the roof space. The advantage of air flowing in this way is that it allows cooler fresh air to enter the building, which replaces humid air from within the building.
Why choose a Soffit Vent?
Now that you know what a soffit vent is, why should you choose soffit vents over other roof ventilation systems available? In this section, we outline the key benefits of using soffit vents in order to effectively ventilate your roof space.
Properly ventilating your roof provides good airflow through the roof of your house which is important to help control the temperature of your property – especially in the Summer. The air that soffit vents allow into the home helps lower the temperature of your property and help circulate warm air out. This means that the internal temperature will be lower so it reduces the need for air conditioning units or fans which drive up your energy bills.
But soffit vents are not only effective in the Summer, but they also have benefits in the winter months. Air circulation in your attic and roof is important in order to prevent the build-up of condensation which can lead to patches of mould or in extreme cases rotting. Soffit vents help create airflow throughout your roof which helps move on the moisture build-up in the air and improve the air quality of your attic.
What are the different types of Soffit Vent?
Soffits and soffit vents are available to buy online as well as from all good building merchants. But before you purchase soffit vent, you need to choose which soffit vent to choose. The two most common soffit vents are continuous soffit vents and individual soffit vents. They both complete the same task of providing ventilation to your roof; however, their different designs make them more suited to specific roofs.
Continuous soffit vents are manufactured to be long and narrow so that they can run the full length of the roof’s soffit. These (as the name would suggest) are a continuous series of vents that span the length of your soffit. Due to their narrow design, these soffit vents are more suited to properties with narrow eaves – although they can be used for any property.
Individual soffit vents are different in the fact that you just purchase the soffit vent which is already pre-cut in order to sit within your existing soffit joints. Due to these being individual vents that are easy to install they tend to be preferred over the long and narrow continuous soffit vents which normally require the assistance of another individual.
