Longtime lurker, first time poster. I have a new to me house that needs soffits/fascia replaced (some rotting areas) prior to installing gutters. This weekend, I was at Home Depot and "thought" I got a good deal on new ones (clearance 50% off) and now I'm having second thoughts. Usually typing out things helps justify my decisions so we shall see. With a 3800sf attic, it seems I need about a 1/6 vent to solid ratio using the 1:150 method
The house is pretty standard, 1980s construction with cedar 1x4 fascia and a MDF(ish) soffit with vent holes and screen tacked on the backside (around 11" wide), recessed around 2" and flat with a frieze board. Knowing I have a lot of additional remodeling work to the house, I'm not trying to cheap out on the replacement, but I'm not looking to spend top dollar.
So back to options/costs. I need about 300LF (at 11" wide) to replace the perimeter. The "deal" I thought I got was for vinyl soffits (both vented and non) at $10/12-ft piece. Now I know I have to trim all of these to 11" length and snap them all together. I also bought the J channels at $5/12-ft piece. Overall, I'm in $600 for the soffit material itself. No fascia and assuming I just use the existing frieze board as the mount for the rear J-channel. This would allow me to remove the existing soffit as best as possible (not wanting to just cover it) but not have to worry about 100% perfection.
But running other numbers, It seems Hardi soffits (or LP Smartside) are about $25 for a 12"x12-ft section that I wouldn't have to do millions of sectional cuts. This comes out to be $625 for just the Hardi. I would likely need to replace the frieze board but the fascia costs should be similar. Just more demolition required to remove all of the existing soffit material.
So... is the Hardi soffit material a "premium" over the vinyl or vise-versa, eventhough the vinyl "was" technically more expensive? The cost of paint and fascia is a sunken cost on both. Aluminum/steel options seem too costly so it seems these are my 2 realistic options. Only benefit I see to the vinyl is I can get around any existing conduit running through the soffit easier, as it's more pliable with a thin cut.
The house is pretty standard, 1980s construction with cedar 1x4 fascia and a MDF(ish) soffit with vent holes and screen tacked on the backside (around 11" wide), recessed around 2" and flat with a frieze board. Knowing I have a lot of additional remodeling work to the house, I'm not trying to cheap out on the replacement, but I'm not looking to spend top dollar.
So back to options/costs. I need about 300LF (at 11" wide) to replace the perimeter. The "deal" I thought I got was for vinyl soffits (both vented and non) at $10/12-ft piece. Now I know I have to trim all of these to 11" length and snap them all together. I also bought the J channels at $5/12-ft piece. Overall, I'm in $600 for the soffit material itself. No fascia and assuming I just use the existing frieze board as the mount for the rear J-channel. This would allow me to remove the existing soffit as best as possible (not wanting to just cover it) but not have to worry about 100% perfection.
But running other numbers, It seems Hardi soffits (or LP Smartside) are about $25 for a 12"x12-ft section that I wouldn't have to do millions of sectional cuts. This comes out to be $625 for just the Hardi. I would likely need to replace the frieze board but the fascia costs should be similar. Just more demolition required to remove all of the existing soffit material.
So... is the Hardi soffit material a "premium" over the vinyl or vise-versa, eventhough the vinyl "was" technically more expensive? The cost of paint and fascia is a sunken cost on both. Aluminum/steel options seem too costly so it seems these are my 2 realistic options. Only benefit I see to the vinyl is I can get around any existing conduit running through the soffit easier, as it's more pliable with a thin cut.