Renovating New Hampshire Soffits

What do your soffits look like? Are they working properly? What are soffits, anyway? Most New Hampshire houses have soffits, and if they're not working properly, that could lead to problems.

What are soffits?

On most New Hampshire houses, if you stand under the overhang of a pitched roof and look up, you'll be looking at the soffit.

How do they work? What are they supposed to do?

Soffits serve two important roles in a house. First, they block the roof off from mice, squirrels, and other creatures who may want to build their nests in there and ruin your insulation. Second, they work in combination with ridge vents to allow airflow through the roof. Without sufficient airflow, condensation is likely to collect in your roof. That could lead to mildew, mold, dripping, rotting, and possibly even ceiling collapse.

The old way

Older soffits were often made of plywood or even boards, with metal vents installed at regular intervals.

The new way

Today, soffits are usually made of perforated vinyl. They don't need to be painted, and installation is less labor-intensive because they don't need custom holes cut for the vents.

Renovating soffits

In many cases, new soffits can be installed without fully removing the old ones. In this example from a recent job, we're removing the old vents and installing the new perforated vinyl soffits over (literally, under) the old wooden ones.

Thanks,

New Hampshire Construction