minus soffit vents

[Louis Cannizzaro]

Did an inspection on new construction 1 family fully detached and after inspecting a functioning power vent with thermostat in attic space I noticed vinyl soffits did not have any venting type. I did not notice any other entry for air to support power vent.

[jkogel]

Call the builder. It's a new "unconventional" vent design (maybe).

[Brian A. MacNeish]

"I noticed vinyl soffits did not have any venting type."

Although there were not any perforated soffit installed and it is technically a code violation, you'd be surprised how much air still bypasses the soffit around the J or F trim used to hold the soffit in place.

In some areas, I'd rather have solid soffit as I have seen fine snow blow up through perforated soffit, up 15-16' of vented cathredral ceiling (slope facing northeast) and ending up in the flat attic insulation.

[ekartal6]

Louis,

One possiblity is a vented drip edge: http://www.airvent.com/homeowner/pro...ventedDE.shtml

If there is a roof mounted power ventilator(s) there needs to be either sofffit ventilation, gable ventilation, drip edge ventilation or it's no ventilation. Even if there are other roof vent units they will not create the necessary attic air flow.

[Louis Cannizzaro]

No, i did not notice a vented drip edge or any vent on soffits. I believe it's a builder shortcut which is very popular in this area. Thanks

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

I've used this narrative before:

"The attic space is considered to have inadequate ventilation. Only one electric exhaust vent provides ventilation for the structure. There is no effective air intake at the main structure. For venting to be effective the air has to be able to move and an exhaust fan without intake air ports is considered to be ineffective. It is recommended that the structure be ventilated with both: A) An air intake preferably located as close to the eaves as possible. (Most often this is done through soffit vents. Ensure the soffit vents are not obstructed by insulation.) B) An air exhaust preferably located as close to the ridge as possible. "The total net free ventilating area should not be less than 1 to 150 of the area of the space ventilated except that the total area is permitted to be reduced to 1 to 300..." provided mechanical ventilators are used. Area calculations were not conducted; it is recommended that a state licensed general contractor evaluate the adequacy of attic ventilation and add ventilation as deemed necessary. Failure to properly ventilate an attic can lead to increased air conditioning bills and reduce the life of the roof shingles."

[Ed Fako]

Just as a side-note, there are soffit products with "hidden" vents tucked into the joints of the panels.

I believe that Alcoa and/or Certainteed both offer these products.

Ed the Roofer

[Louis Cannizzaro]

Are these "hidden vents" not detectable with a good set of binoculars?

[Ed Fako]

They are slots cut into the grooved portion of the soffit panel.

I had to look extremely hard from directly underneath the panel to locate them and never would have known, had the homeowner not informed me they were there. Otherwise I was going to quote new fresh air intake ventilation to coincide with the new Shingle Vent II ridge vent system being installed with his new roof.

Ed

[Louis Cannizzaro]

Thank you for the update on this new material that have not yet encountered. This inspection did not have this type. Just another short-cut discovered in new construction that is not any surprise.

[Richard A. Hetzel]

You might add to the good verbiage about ventilation, if you are working in a cold climate, that effective attic ventilation keeps the entire underside of the roof sheathing cold at all times, and soffit air inlets are the best way to accomplish this. Effective ventilation will help to mitigate against ice dams which can result in water entry into the attic.