Soffit Venting

[seanb02]

Hey folks,
I am working on a roofing project for a shed. I have a question regarding venting under the eves, there is loads of information out there for vents with enclosed soffits, but I am coming up blank with options when keeping the soffit area open since I don't really see much need to enclose them on a shed way out in the back yard.

The trusses I built are spaced 24", where they meet at the top of the walls could be enclosed with a 2x4, but I am looking for options on keeping this open as a vent but still keep the critters and the bugs out. I am planning on having a ridge cap vent to let the air out, but need a way to let the air in. Was originally thinking of having vents on the gable ends, but then started to think that venting in under the eves would be better for airflow.

What are my options for this? My terminology is likely lacking, and because of this I'm not exactly sure what to search for. Or perhaps it would be better to just enclose the soffits with the normal vented styles? Seems like a lot of extra work to enclose those if there are other options available.

Thanks.

 

[Kaizen]

Hardware cloth. Like 1/8” holes. Run on bottom of overhang. I’d add some structure to staple it to.
I’ve had mine in my shed wide open for 20 years. Can’t remember ever having anything in there.
Another option is to use scrap 2x to fill it in leaving half inch gap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[u2slow]

You can get all kinds of soffit vent strip material... holes, slots, louvres... plastic or metal... usually in 8' lengths. Cut to fit between the rafters.

I got some heavier gauge aluminum stuff 2nd-hand. Wasn't wide enough, so I combined it with some 1/2"x3" trim board to fill the rest.

 

[41plym]

Hardy plank make vented soffit boards in a variety of widths.

 

[BillK]

How large is the shed ?

 

[seanb02]

How large is the shed ?

Fairly large, 16x24'. The original footprint was 14x16' that my dad built 15-20 years ago. My mom had a contractor put on a 10' addition for a chicken coop and feed storage area 7-8 years ago. The original shed roof had 6" of drop over 14' with sheet metal, not surprisingly it started leaking. I fully married the addition to the main shed and have trusses in place so that the roof will be all one continuous unit. Figured a proper 4-12 pitch roof and shingles will stop the leaks for good.

It has turned out to be a much bigger project that I was originally planning on, I should have had the trusses built for me, it took 2 days just to put those things together. Now I'm up against rain forecasted for the next week or so but I only just finished framing in the lookouts for the overhangs on the gable ends. So now it has to be covered with plastic until I get another break in the weather to finish the final framing, do the plywood sheathing and lay the shingles.

I'm a mechanic, not a framing contractor, so this kind of thing takes me more time than it would someone who knows the trade. It's also kind of fun though, researching and learning additional skills, I've never been afraid to dive right into big projects.

 

[ambenz]

I would use metal bug screen to keep the air flowing and keep the critters out.
The screen with keep the wasps from nesting inside.
If racoons and squirrels are an issue, adding rabbit fence to the soffit will fix that issue.
One thing nice about screen, you get max airflow to keep the shed from baking....and screen is inexpensive!

 

[jshillin]

Vented soffit isn't expensive and would solve your problem without much fuss.