Every part of the roof plays an important role in creating structurally sound coverage for your home. The soffit is like the underbelly of your roof. Its name means “fixed underneath,” which is a good description of what it does and how it works. Let’s explain.
What Exactly Is a Soffit?
The roof typically extends over the sides of the house walls. That overhang, sometimes called the house eaves, has an underside. The underside of it is the soffit. It’s the structural part of your roof that covers the underside of the overhang.
The soffit could be made of wood or fiber cement. It’s any type of material positioned in this space on the underside of the overhang that covers up that exposed roofing structure.
Why is a soffit important for my roof?
The soffit isn’t an optional component of the home. It’s a necessary one. There are several core reasons for it.
Ventilation is one of them. The soffit helps cover up that exposed area of the roof, but it also connects to the attic space. The attic in most homes heats up because of its location and lack of HVAC and just because of the sun exposure. The soffit creates an opportunity to vent that area, allowing too-hot air to escape.
The soffit also helps to complete the look of the home and roof. It would look a bit strange if this area of your home wasn’t professionally covered and made to match the rest of the structure. If the soffit wasn’t there, the rafters, or the actual wood beams that create the structure of your roof, would be exposed.
Soffits are very functionally important, too. They keep the moisture out of this area of the attic and work to minimize the presence of insects. They should be kept, then, in good condition. Properly installed and maintained, your soffits will:
- Minimize the risk of wood rot
- Reduce the risk of mold and mildew growth
- Limit insect infestations in the rafters
- Support the structure of the overhang
- Extend the life of your roof
What Type of Material Should a Soffit Be?
Soffits are quite flexible in terms of what they are made of, but generally, they are wood or fiber cement. They can be a wide range of colors and styles, too, often adding a nice finishing touch to the look of your new roof. Some have a wood grain to them while others are more finished and smooth.
It’s often the case that homeowners purchase soffits that match the other exterior components of their home, such as the molding around the windows and the gutter line. A nice, coordinated look here can really make the soffit a valuable tool in the aesthetics of your home.
When choosing soffits, quality materials are a big part of the process. You’ll also want to consistently inspect them and treat any type of damage as soon as that’s spotted to minimize that damage penetrating into the home’s roof structure.
What Type of Maintenance Does a Soffit Need?
Most people don’t put much attention into maintaining their soffits, but there are some things you should keep in mind to protect this structure and ensure it continues to support the needs of your roof:
- Keep your gutters clean and free of material. That material is very close to the soffits, and because it’s an organic material, it can encourage mold and mildew growth on the soffit.
- Be sure that the gutters are properly sized for the home to enable proper water flow away from the home.
- Check the soffits to ensure they continue to be well sealed. You may need to re-caulk them over time to improve this.
- Inspect them for any type of nesting insects, like bees or wasps, who are likely to use vented areas to live.
- If you have an attic fan, be sure it’s working properly, especially if you don’t have vented soffits. That heat buildup in the attic impacts the quality of the soffits over time, too.
- Keep them clean. If you see discoloration that could be mildew or algae, remove it. Keep the paint from chipping, too.
When there is damage, replace them. It’s a good idea to do this if there are significant holes, gaps, or deterioration patches occurring.
Should Soffits Be Vented?
Ventilation is one of the most important reasons for the use of soffits. Without the soffit ventilation, the airflow within the roof would be minimal. That could lead to trapped air heating up so much that it damages the condition of the shingles on the roof.
During the cold winter months, you’re heating your home. That hot air rises up to the attic space. At the same time, the cold air from outside, perhaps snow as well, is pounding down from the other side of the roof. When this happens, (or the reverse happens in the summer months) there’s a risk of condensation occurring.
Condensation is one of the biggest problems with roof damage. That small amount of moisture will penetrate into the wood structure of the roof. It can also lead to mold growth here, which further breaks down the roof structure. A small amount of condensation can create big issues like this.
The ventilation in soffits helps to minimize that. It allows for hot air to escape through openings on the soffits that are just big enough to enable proper airflow.
When choosing soffits for your home, it’s possible to buy vented soffits. This simply means that there are gaps created to enable proper airflow. Some homes already have venting for the attic in other ways, such as through ventilation fans in the roof structure. If these are present, you may not need to choose vented soffits for the attic.
Soffits are a big part of your roofing structure. Take a few minutes to walk around your home now to spot the condition of them. If there are any concerns, now could be the best time to have a roofing inspection.
