Installing Soffits

Whether it is during the hot summer months, or the deepest and darkest parts of the winter season, heating and cooling a home can easily be one of the largest expenses that any home owners can find themselves faced with. Perhaps the single easiest method that homeowners have for lowering these costs is by adding a soffit or vent to the home that doesn't already have one.

Installing soffits is a surprisingly easy project that even a beginning home improvement enthusiast can do themselves. While there are many different kinds of vents that could be added to a home, soffits are perhaps the easiest method, and the one that we will be talking about here. Simply follow these steps, and you will find that you will have a new soffit installed within two hours.

Items needed:

• Soffit vents
• Stud finder
• Screws
• Ladder
• Straightedge
• Hammer
• Saber saw
• Drill and drill bits
• Screwdriver

Procedure:

1. Choose the location. Look around the exterior of your home, and choose a location where you will want to install the soffit vent. Ideally this will be a place that is between two studs, and on the underside of a roof overhang. If you do not know where any studs are located, then use a stud finder to help you out. You may want to repeat the process a couple of times for different locations, to help ensure that you have a proper amount of air flow.
2. Trace. Take the soffit vent and place it where you envision it being installed. With one hand hold it in place while you use the other hand and a pencil to trace the outline of the vent cover. As you do this make sure that each of the vents will fall between the rafter ends and any nailer strips that are in place.
3. Drill. At each corner of the tracing that you just did, drill a hole. These holes will allow you an easier time of cutting the vent location out.
4. Cut it out. As you are cutting the vent out, be sure that you are leaving enough space for the vents to be fastened on. This can be achieved by cutting 1/4 inch along the inside of the lines that you have traced. If it helps, create a secondary set of lines 1/4 inch along the interior of the original tracing.
5. Install the soffits. Once you have finished cutting the holes for your vents it is time to install the soffit vent covers. Use the drill to help fasten the cover to the vents, and ensure that it is nice and tight. When fastening the soffit vents make sure that you are using either galvanized wood screws or stainless steel screws. This should help prevent any rust from forming from exposure to the elements.

Keep in mind that this is only step one in the entire process of improving the air flow for your home. The next step would be to install a roof vent. Again this is a procedure that isn't terribly difficult to accomplish. In fact, you will find it to be about the same level of difficulty and time expended as installing a soffit was.