Maintenance · 4 min read
Soffit Vents: Why Your Attic Can't Breathe Without Them
Published
Adding ridge vent without adding soffit intake is like putting an exhaust fan in a sealed room. The soffit is the intake half of the system, and it's blocked more often than not.
How to check yours
Go into the attic on a bright day and look toward the eaves. You should see daylight through the soffit vents and feel air movement. If insulation is packed against the roof deck at the eave, your intake is closed.
Baffles
Insulation baffles are inexpensive channels stapled between rafters at the eave that hold a clear air path from the soffit up over the insulation. Any attic with blown-in insulation should have them.
Vented vs solid panels
You don't need every panel vented. We calculate the required net free area and alternate vented and solid panels to hit it, which looks cleaner and performs identically.
Older homes
Story-and-a-half homes common in Troy and Piqua often have almost no eave depth. Edge vents at the drip edge and smart baffle detailing are the workaround when there's no soffit to vent.
If any of this applies to your own home, our soffit installation crews handle it every week, and you can see how we work in your area on our Troy, Ohio roofing page. Inspections and written estimates are free either way — call 937-749-7767.