Attic Ventilation: Do I need soffit vents?


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Old 10-17-13, 01:35 PM
T
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Attic Ventilation: Do I need soffit vents?

I recently purchased a house and had a question about the current attic ventilation situation, so hopefully this is the correct sub-forum for this. The current configuration is gable vents at both ends of the roof and 2 turbine vents. There are no signs of mold or moisture in the attic with the current configuration.

I will be adding insulation to the attic before winter arrives and it was recommended that I add soffit baffles prior to doing so. Currently there are no soffit vents.

My main question is: with the current ventilation setup, do I need to add soffit ventilation at some point? A secondary question would be: how far should I space the baffles for future soffit vent installation?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Old 10-17-13, 02:02 PM
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With no soffit vents the gable and roof vents are useless.
There's no make up air.
Take a straw and put your finger over the end of it and suck and see what happens.
A soffit needs to be fully vented, not spaced out.
 
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Old 10-22-13, 06:00 AM
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Thank you for your response joe. I don't know what you mean by the soffit needing to be fully vented. I was asking if I needed soffit baffles between every rafter, as I am planning to install baffles prior to adding insulation but before soffit vents are installed. So do you mean I need to install baffles between each rafter? I want to make sure I have enough installed prior to adding insulation.
 
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Old 10-22-13, 06:17 AM
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Baffles and venting in every rafter bay.
Got a picture of the soffit area on your home?
 
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Old 10-22-13, 12:53 PM
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From the inside or outside? I'll have to take one when I get home.
 
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Old 10-27-13, 06:33 PM
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If your soffit is an open box like in the pic, then you could vent the entire soffit and you could install baffles between each rafter. The reason for the baffles is to ensure there is an open air space from the soffit area to the attic area. If the insulation is installed and the insulation does not contact the bottom of the roof sheathing (there is still a space there) then baffles do not need to be installed at all. If you are planning to blow in insulation then some sort of a band board or divider should be installed to prevent the insulation from being blown into the open soffit area along with the baffle.
Your house may be constructed in such a way that there is no way or no convenient way to install vents in the soffit. It would be nice to have a fully vented attic space but there are many homes old and new that do not.
 
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