I have a 2 story, hip roofed house with exposed 3×6 decorative rafter tails on 24″ centers and exposed 1x roof sheathing on the soffit. The house has ridge vents, but there are no soffit vents.
Oh, the house is located in South Louisiana. The heat index has been 105 to 110 lately.
I am considering using a hole saw to drill holes in the decorative fascia and the 2×6 behind to vent the soffits. Any suggestions as to where I can find screened vents that will fit into a round hole? Any suggestions as to the size and quantity of holes in each 24†space between the rafter tails?
Replies
got a home dee-pot' around you somewhere???????
dey should have da round vent vents you want.
I bought some 2" (I think) round metal vents at my local ACE hardware store. However, they were louvered, not screened, so if you want to keep out small insects, you would need to cut some screen to stuff down into them.
Can you drill the soffits instead of the fascia? It might look better. Can air flow freely from the eaves to the ridge under the roof sheathing?
Several types of round vents from about 1" to 6" are widely available, in both plastic and aluminum. Buy a good bi-metal hole saw to make drilling easier.
One way to decide what size to use is to calculate the amount of free open your ridge vents provide, (Find a place that sells your type and read the package.) and install the size soffit vents that add up to that area. Or, do it the way I would...just install the biggest ones that fit and look right.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Thanks for the suggestion. I would like to use the largest size I can without making it look horrible and witout compromising the strength of the 2x6 behind the facia.
Off hand, I am thinking a 2" hole would be the max. I can drill without effecting the strength of the 2x. I am thinking two holes in each 24" space between the exposed rafter tails.
The bimatalic hole saw is probably the best bet. My first thought was to cut or route a hole using a template, then I thought about how much work that would be. The hole saw will be much eaiser.
Drilled a pot-load of 3" soffit holes a few weeks back. Use a 1/2" drill with a second handle. Watch the torque if the holesaw binds, it'll twist your arm in knots in no time flat.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Thanks for the warning. I have tied with a 1/2" drill before, but not with a 3" hole saw.
Had to drill a 4" hole through the plank siding of a two hundred year old church last week for a bathroom vent, 15' up. I don't know what I was holding onto tighter, the drill or the ladder.
BTW, use bimettalic holesaw, splurge, the 15 bucks will be well worth it.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
The little 2 inchers I was putting in were only about 12' or so up, one of the joist wasn't on the standard lay out that the rest were in, the hole saw ate through the 1/2" soffit board popped through about a 1/2" where it found the joist and took hold, about twisted my arm off and pulled me off the ladder.
scared the crap out me.
another feature to look for is slots in the side of holesaw so you can easily push the plug out, some of my cheaper ones don't have it and it's a pain when you have a ton of holes to drill, the one I picked up at HD for this job was nice and easy to clear.Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professionals built the Titanic.
CAG, another sea story.
15 years ago at the nuclear power station where I worked as an operator, one of my crew and I were out in the plant, aligning the various systems for startup. Some of these valves are in 30 inch pipes, have handwheels on them 3 feet in diameter, and are geared down so every 50 turns on the wheel rotates the valve stem once. To make operating them easier (faster) we used a large air-power drill. Huge monsters, adapted to operate large valves. Lotsa torque.
The guy had manually cracked the valve open, slipped on the drill and was holding the drill, the handwheel spinning. These drills had an auxilliary handle 180 degrees from the trigger handle, and you normally cradled the drill on your hip and controlled the drill with both hands. But this valve was positioned so you could only operate the drill by leaning over the handwheel from behind the valve. Once the valve is almost open (or closed) you can feel the resistance, let it go, and finish it by hand. Unfortunately, this valve bound half way open, twisting my guy's arm into a pretzel. Broken in three places.
We had to use electric drills after that with rheostat controls to turn down the torque. Safer, but nearly as fast.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Home depot out here sells plastic 2" soffit vents, I put them 2 homes this summer, don't buy the plastic ones. they are not all molded or formed the same size, some are bear to get in, others fall loose and need to be glued.
The little fins molded into the sides of them are thicker on some and thinner on others causing the size difference, it varied from bag to bag, they come in bags of 6.
Just something to stay away from in my opinion.
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professionals built the Titanic.
Thanks for the suggestion. I will probably look for aluminum vents. For some reason the wife is concerned about the looks.
Careful.....attic ventilation in hot humid climates can lead to condensation when the outdoor air comes into contact with surfaces cooled by air conditioning....