Installing new aluminum Soffit

[k p]

Hey guys...

I recently bought new aluminum soffit for my house. I replaced my old un-vented soffit for new vented soffit (and cut a bunch of holes in the wood soffit underneath of course). I've had some ice-damming in the past winters and I'm hoping this will help.

Anyhow...my overhangs are only 11" deep and there was no way I was going to cut each 11" length with tin snips. I did some research and discovered a circular saw with it's blade turned backwards does a nice job cutting this stuff. I built a jig from some wood scraps and it did an amazing job.

I made a video of the jig and cutting, it would be awesome if you guys can check it out!

 

[Rookie2]

won't help the ice damming but it will look nice. There is a lot on you tube about ice damming though.

 

[k p]

won't help the ice damming but it will look nice. There is a lot on you tube about ice damming though.

I've read up on ice damming quite a bit and I'm curious why you think vented soffit won't help. Can you explain?

 

[Rookie2]

The overhang is always at outside temperature, heat rising up from the interior thru the attic warm and melt the snow on the roof area above the rooms. melting snow runs down underneath the snow accumulation and refreezes on the shingles of the overhang still at outside temperatures.

 

[vekster]

nice job on the jig.

I need new aluminum soffit and facia's. was considering doing it myself to save some $.
Did you find it worthwhile to do it yourself in regards to saving money?

 

[k p]

The overhang is always at outside temperature, heat rising up from the interior thru the attic warm and melt the snow on the roof area above the rooms. melting snow runs down underneath the snow accumulation and refreezes on the shingles of the overhang still at outside temperatures.

I understand what ice damming is, I just don't understand your opinion on why installing vented soffit won't help.

nice job on the jig.

I need new aluminum soffit and facia's. was considering doing it myself to save some $.
Did you find it worthwhile to do it yourself in regards to saving money?

ABSOLUTELY. I have a small house, only about 35' wide, 25' deep. It's a 1.5 storey with very basic soffit/fascia/eavestrough. I have a 35' straight run at the front and 35' straight at the back. Soffit and fascia is dirt cheap to buy yourself and if you're half-way confident with cutting thin gauge aluminum and some minor angle/forming work for corners you can easily do this yourself. My soffit was under $100 for the whole house and my fascia was just about $100 too. I re-used my eavestrough and downspouts.

 

[cowboy73]

I agree with Rookie2. The problem isn't your soffit, it's the amount of insulation in the attic. The heat from the house is escaping in the attic causing the snow to melt which then refreezes when it gets down to the cooler overhang of the roof. The attic insulation needs to be increased to prevent the heat loss that melts the snow on the roof. During the winter, houses with roofs that are clear of snow are the ones that are loosing a ton of heat into the attic.

 

[Kevin54]

The overhang is always at outside temperature, heat rising up from the interior thru the attic warm and melt the snow on the roof area above the rooms. melting snow runs down underneath the snow accumulation and refreezes on the shingles of the overhang still at outside temperatures.

To go along with what you stated......it can also be caused by a darker roof, and will pull in heat just like a blacktop driveway will melt way faster than a concrete driveway in the winter.

But you are spot on about the soffit area being the same as the outside temps, and then things will refreeze. You cycle through a week of 15-20 degree temps in the winter, and you will have a real decent ice dam if you had any significant snow laying on the roof.

I've been thinking of putting heat tape either "in" the gutter, or fastening it underneath the gutter to keep ice dams from happening.

 

[Rookie2]

To go along with what you stated......it can also be caused by a darker roof, and will pull in heat just like a blacktop driveway will melt way faster than a concrete driveway in the winter.

But you are spot on about the soffit area being the same as the outside temps, and then things will refreeze. You cycle through a week of 15-20 degree temps in the winter, and you will have a real decent ice dam if you had any significant snow laying on the roof.

I've been thinking of putting heat tape either "in" the gutter, or fastening it underneath the gutter to keep ice dams from happening.

I recommend reading some of the installation instructions for easy heat. http://www.emersonindustrial.com/en...f-sentry-de-icing-controls/Pages/default.aspx

The ice will still build up and cascade over top of itself until it creates an ice sickle. It all depends on attic heat ,insulation and how much sun that side of the home gets.
I had 4 foot ice sickles every winter til i realized that the attic stairs were carrying heat up to that area of the roof. I added 2" foam board as a door and a piece flat on the attic floor at the soffit area and that helped alot.

 

[k p]

I appreciate all the comments and insight. I've been researching this stuff for the better part of the summer and I still find completely opposite opinions no matter where I look.

To give some context: My house is a 1.5 storey, prior to this summer it had a gable vent on each end of the peak as well as 2 square vents on the front and two vents at the back (closer to the eaves). I had to have my roof done this year and opted to have a ridge vent installed (along the peak). I also installed new vented soffit and cut the necessary holes in the overhang plywood to allow them to function.

My thoughts are that prior to adding the new ridge vent and vented soffit the escaping heat from my house was simply "hanging out" in the attic and accumulating until it was warm enough to melt the snow...and cause an ice dam.

I'm cautiously optimistic that the additional ventilation I have now added will help evacuate the warm air much faster and prevent it from accumulating to the point of melting snow.

Thoughts?

 

[moparfreak]

K p

Not going to comment on the ice damming here, not my area of expertise...

However I did mimic your idea on cutting the aluminum soffit as I'm currently installing around 280' worth of aluminum soffit. It works awesome. Thank you for the idea. I find I can also use it for cutting other assorted pieces and shapes of aluminum so long as it fits in the jig, such as fascia or J-trim or T-trim, etc.

I find that I also need to brush the RH side off every few cuts and scrape out the saw cut groove, to prevent bits of aluminum from gumming & plugging it up which then causes the blade to start overheating. Also need to tie back the blade guard as it doesn't ride up over the jig so well. But, all in all a HUGE timesaver.

I spoke with the guy who did my shingles, and he said he has a dedicated 12" sliding miter saw just for cutting soffit w/ the blade turned backward. For repeat jobs I can see where that would help but for a one or two time deal this worked perfect.

 

[trackwelder]

Proper vents installed under the roof deck into the soffits makes a huge difference. Along with a good insulation job.

 

[kbs2244]

It is all in the temp difference of the surface.

If you have a black roof, facing west, you are going to melt snow over the, no matter how well insulted, insulated attic.
The shingles will be warmer than the attic.
It is due to radiant heat, not air temp.

That melted snow will run down, under the over laying snow, to the cooler soffit and freeze.

You will get icicles.
Learn to love them

Or change the color of your roof

 

[signcrafter]

I appreciate all the comments and insight. I've been researching this stuff for the better part of the summer and I still find completely opposite opinions no matter where I look.

To give some context: My house is a 1.5 storey, prior to this summer it had a gable vent on each end of the peak as well as 2 square vents on the front and two vents at the back (closer to the eaves). I had to have my roof done this year and opted to have a ridge vent installed (along the peak). I also installed new vented soffit and cut the necessary holes in the overhang plywood to allow them to function.

My thoughts are that prior to adding the new ridge vent and vented soffit the escaping heat from my house was simply "hanging out" in the attic and accumulating until it was warm enough to melt the snow...and cause an ice dam.

I'm cautiously optimistic that the additional ventilation I have now added will help evacuate the warm air much faster and prevent it from accumulating to the point of melting snow.

Thoughts?

I know this is an old thread that got pulled back up but wondering how your soffit vents worked in the last couple of years?

To elaborate on what others have said just adding vented soffit isn't really going to fix anything. Keep in mind that every house is different based on how it was designed and built. But the key to preventing ice dams is to keep the air just under the roof sheathing the same temp as the oustside air. To do this you basically need to vent your attic space to let in a lot of outside air. The best way is to create an air flow from the soffit to the peak. Sounds like you had learned that and were trying to do exactly that. That is the simple part since ridge venting and soffit vents are fairly easy to do. The harder part and where each house is different is the little details. The biggest flaw I see is people insulate the **** out of their attic(a good thing) but then when they get to where the roof meets the wall they will run the insulation tight into that little corner. This meaning that you are blocking the air flow from the soffit into the attic. Now you have problems. You need to use a foam baffle to keep a space under the sheathing so that the air can move freely from the soffit into the attic. From my experience(which is a good deal) this is the number one problem area people don't understand.

So you were on the right path with ridge vent and soffit vents as long as your air can move freely from the soffit to the attic and also that your attic is insulated properly.