Installing Soffit Vents in My House for Attic Ventilation

In this video I install soffit vents on my house to help with attic ventilation.
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Videos produced by The Fixer are provided for informational purposes only. All material provided within this video is for informational, educational, & entertainment purposes only. Some of these projects, materials, and techniques may not be appropriate for all ages or skill levels. Please use all safety precautions while following any instructions or concepts provided by this video. Viewers must be aware that by doing projects on their homes they are doing it at their own risk and The Fixer cannot be held liable if they cause any damage to their homes. It is the sole responsibility of the viewer to educate themselves on their local codes and regulations before undertaking any sort of project. Always have safety in mind and have fun!

[@TheHavocdog]

18:51 I bought a house with only 8 inches of insulation In the ceiling. Also only 2 soffit vents and no venting in the roof. The air conditioner ran continuously from 10 am to 8 pm in the summer. The house temperatures would slowly increase to 79 degrees by 5:30 pm. My electric bills were high. I installed only 4 more soffit vents. But I installed 4 roof vents as well. I then added 4 inches of extra batts of insulation over the existing insulation. I should have added more insulation, but what I did add was very effective. I cut my electric bill for air conditioning by 30%. More importantly, I could now keep the living area of the house at set point at 73 degrees. The air conditioner now would cycle on and off versus running continuously. In the winter my heating bill was reduced by 25%. A little "do it yourself" work really paid off!

[@jacobjaeger5492]

Really enjoyed this approachable tutorial and your simplified explanations. Big plus is you talking to yourself while you're doing the install - absolutely hilarious. I was just watching to watch at that point.

[@dupre7416]

Ryobi tools. I approve. That airflow reveal was cool. Soffit Pocket™

[@daneliasosa6077]

Just thank you from me who knows nothing about these things thank you for your teaching and time to be a great teacher

[@brettbarager9101]

I have worked with 5 different contractors who each knew the "right" way to do something . . . Now I have 5 "right" ways to do the same job (6 if you count my right way!). Good vid

[@storagewars]

Dude i watch your vidéos 4 Or 5 times each. I can read them in French and your accent is rather soft and easy to understand. Thanks. Keep go on. 👏👍

[@milliewilson9614]

I enjoy watching your videos. Mainly because you don't claim to know it all and your way is the only way. You do you!! Your remodel is so entertaining. Keep making these videos. I can hardly wait to see it finished.

[@user-do6os8qf6q]

Dude i watch your vidéos 4 Or 5 times each. I can read them in French and your accent is rather soft and easy to understand. Thanks. Keep go on.

[@ruthscott5166]

Many of the materials that you are using were not around when my Dad built this house 60+ yrs ago. Your videos are a help as we consider the repairs and help me know what to research for our codes, etc.

[@jamest5180]

Very thorough. Intake & exhausting is equalized. Looks like the best way any roofing specialist would do it.

[@arthendrickson4860]

+4000°! 😂 Great job! Thanks for all the details and showing (e.g., through the soffit holes and inside) what’s going on.

[@skootles1]

Thanks for sharing. This is exactly what I was looking for. Remodel of a 1940 house, tons of mold forced a whole house remodel. The cause was mold and inadequate air flow and blocked by insulation soffit attic venting. Great video

[@jennifermartinus4929]

Yes, I enjoy following the work you do on your house, Matt. Great job. 👍

[@rjt135]

I've been thinking about re-doing my attic insulation now that I finished the rim joist. This definitely got those wheels turning again.

[@lynnraarup5258]

Such an excellent explanation and great process for attic venting. In the process of venting you have also eliminated the need for repeatedly painting your soffit as there will be no more condensation dripping from the underside of your roof. And no more icicles. Thank you!

[@jsea3850]

I look forward to your videos. They make owning a house a little less scary. Thanks, so much.

[@catcolbert9044]

I always enjoy watching your videos because they are educational and you explain things clearly.

[@randyriggs5463]

Thanks for the info on how to properly insulate the ceiling. There's more to it than I thought.

[@lindaroyal8161]

Very informative, as all you videos are. Looking forward to the weekly kitchen build.

[@terryhanna777]

You explain things so well!!

[@jamesscheuer8367]

Excellent camera work and clear explanation. Well done!

[@timothystevenhoward]

I did the plastic trays above my garage on what little soffit I have. also added a attic vent on the gable end. made my garage 100% more bearable. It would get well over 100deg in there in the summer.

[@Darryl603]

You could drill holes through the horizontal blocking if you feel you need more air flow. Thanks, Matt

[@Climate_Hoax]

Really like the way you present the information in your videos. WAY too many DIYers try to be a comedian. I like your way of getting the info out to those of us who don't know all this stuff. Thanks for all your efforts.

[@jackww839]

Love your style of videos…so original👍

[@kscheuerman5378]

Thanks so much sharing. I always enjoy your videos!!

[@arunmisra7617]

Thank you. Great pictorial view of attic & explaining everything in detail.

[@graphicwombat]

Good stuff! Our ww2 era 1 & 1/2 story home had absolutely no insulation in it. So when I started to gut and refinish the upstairs I put insulation in everywhere I could. In addition to not being insulated it also does not have a soffit or ridge vent. BUT it does have 2 gable vents. For the sloped ceilings above the knee walls I’m using 1.5” thick foam core insulation board. Since our rafters are only 2x4s I couldn’t use rafter rents and traditional insulation. Instead I cut the foam core boards so they over hung just past the knee wall and just past the collar beams and wedged them (between the rafters) flush against where the drywall goes. This leaves a gap between the insulation and roof decking for ventilation from the crawl spaces to above the true ceiling. Now that I know how to add soffits, it will help cool the crawls spaces behind the knee walls in addition to the true ceilings above the rooms where the gable vents are. For good measure I’m throwing a gable mount fan on the rear gable. 👍🏽

[@AaronPowellvox]

Nice work. Doing things right.

[@alisalopez2549]

your doing a great job can't wait to see the new kitchen

[@jsaysyay]

always nice combo of informative & fun in your videos, really enjoy it. i do wonder, you've done so much with insulation and ventilation, i can scarcely imagine how different it's been over the years in terms of cooling in summer and heating in winter

[@yomomma5042]

Great tip about the cordless drill

[@SierraOne]

A nice warm kitchen is in your future!

[@sandygabin1064]

Thanks, I am always learning something new!

[@shoyrushoyru]

People's opinions about venting attics and roofs are all over the place. Probably a year to a year-and-a-half ago I spent some days researching what the right way attic venting should be done is, and the only thing I really walked away with is that every "professional" says the opposite of what the last one says. It's really irritating because they all treat it like it's something obvious and that you'll start the apocalypse if you do it wrong but then they all say opposite things from each other.

[@johnattancortes8581]

this is very true, some people seal their attics others say attics should breath, the contradictions are endless

[@27photogger]

💯 %

[@myobmyob2215]

And then you have code and inspectors opinions too. Really? Not knocking a whole bunch of massive exhaust holes in a roof unless it's going to be approved at some point, not because some guy said so.

[@bluefidle]

And then the inspectors don't really check things or or agree.@@myobmyob2215

[@55robinwood]

Well in the south we have to vent ours big time. Otherwise the attic will act like a heater AGAINST THE AIR CONDITIONING.

[@d.j.robinson9424]

It's a beautiful day in your neighborhood, hi neighbor. 👍👍💚

[@jarjar0653]

Great explanation. Great video 👍🏼❤️. No wonder you have so many subscribers. 😊

[@memurkamil]

Thank you for sharing useful upgrades around the house. I really enjoy the videos.

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Glad you like them, I appreciate it! 😁

[@leslietinyhousebuilderwann3851]

We live in Texas. We recently moved into a house without insulation. Yep that’s true. Crazy I know. I’m guessing that the vents are extremely important here.

[@heyitsbroski]

A house in Texas without insulation? Crazy. I live in Texas and insulation is a must.

[@iseespots6014]

great video as always🙃

[@nodramamama3438]

I appreciate you addressing all the comments before they happen but those people who already know these things so they're not your target audience. Ignore. The airflow was epic. Love from Canada 🇨🇦

[@SpringRubber]

Very nice video. I'm located in Virginia and have a 1960s rambler-style house that has similar venting: a ridge vent, gable vents and evenly-spaced round soffit vents like you installed. For what's it worth, when I had the roof replaced a couple years ago about 85% of the plywood sheathing needed to be replaced which made for a big expense and a bunch of extra labor. I've been in my attic a lot over the past few years to re-insulate, air-seal and re-wire some circuits and I'm thinking that my 2 gable vents have been defeating the purpose of the soffit vents. I'll probably experiment and block off one or both gable vents and see how that affects attic temp this Summer. btw -- if anyone is looking for a detailed, hands-on book on insulation methods and the concepts, "Insulate and Weatherize" by Bruce Harley has greatly helped me.

[@ivanwill]

Nice one, keep 'em coming...!

[@michaelplays2449]

Great video, thanks

[@DIYHomeRevival]

Good stuff man, thanks for uploading this video. It's going to help me out a lot. My mobile home has overhangs but the ventilation is non existent. I'll have to drill some holes and put up the rafter vents also, this gives me a good point of view of what I'll have to do. Thanks again!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Good luck with your project!

[@danceforpeace]

thank you!

[@gregmize01]

Nice job as always!👍👍👍👍

[@faithford9143]

Good information 👍🏽✌🏽

[@derksgarage]

I recently had my attic spray foamed with 4" of closed cell, literally the best thing I did for my house. I'm of the mindset that an "air" sealed home is a better functioning home. It eliminates all variables, but most definitely at a $$ cost.

[@lillianahill7942]

What do you mean by sealed? I’m curious as I’m doing a lot of home repairs myself

[@derksgarage]

@@lillianahill7942 I meant to say "air sealed". This involves encapsulating the house so that the conditioned air has no way of exiting the home. Matt Risinger and Build Show Network talk about this a lot and it's known to be one of the modern building science principles in new construction.

[@rodolfoamador940]

Just a caution when you seal with spray foam the attic its harder to sell your home, because the mortgage companies cant see your Rafters and joist etc so they don’t know if its rotted so they might not finance the deal just a fyi

[@singhA1968]

nice job

[@stefanpia5419]

Love your channel! It’s possible your gable vents are interfering with the intake at the soffit and the exhaust at the ridge vent. You might take some temperature readings in the attic with gables sealed (cardboard/plastic) and compare with gables opened. “They” say not to combine soffit/ridge vent with gable vents. Might be interesting to see what a thermometer says.

[@MikeM-bn2ij]

I did it like you said and put a temperature humidity sensor up there. Open gables with ridge and soffit vents was 140+ in summer, 40+ degrees over ambient in winter, spring and fall. Plus during heavy rain the ridge would intake water. Closed off the gables and now it's Max 20 degrees over ambient plus no rain.

[@ryanlaporte8224]

My experience was my gable vents screwed up the air flow. I had to cover them to keep using the soffit vents with the ridge vent

[@MikeM-bn2ij]

Same here 👍

[@skumfuk3r]

parabéns pelo vídeo

[@MrHammGutsnGlory]

Thanks for the video

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Thanks for watching!

[@jwc56]

I love your videos. How do you safely drill through stucco? Thanks

[@julio3421]

Good job make more videos

[@kpag3030]

The rafter vents improve the performance of the insulation too

[@cherryaustin3056]

I love your attic it could be turned into another room or 2 its amazing WOW

[@riffdex]

My house doesn’t have fascia end board or soffits. It’s just rafters with bird block in between. I was wondering if I can add vents onto the bird blocks in between each rafter and it will function the same as the soffit vents? I want to do this because I want to remove my gable vents so I can insulate and drywall the attic. But I still want to make sure it’s vented. Yes, I will add baffles and there is already a ridge vent in place.

[@w.patrickpuglisi582]

You can conect pvc piping to the vent cover. Make the pipe length to be one foot above the blown in insulation. Anchor the pipe with plumber;s ribbion

[@gg-gn3re]

Your "use a battery powered drill" is funny. Yea you're stronger than your ryobi drill.. many other battery powered drills no way lmao great video, thanks for all the info

[@chuckhall5347]

Great job. How did you enjoy the space last summer after all that work?

[@arturotorres6437]

My parent's house was built in the 1970's & their sofits have minimum vents. Wondering if i should just upgrade to those new sofits that are ventilated throughout or just do some holes like in the video...

[@judmcfeters9054]

The “they” who say a well vented attic is the same temp as the outside air are only considering thermal convection (air movement), while ignoring thermal radiation (infrared light penetration through the roof) and thermal conduction (bridging of hot or cold through the mass of the roof materials).

[@AaronPlay]

So if I install a pre-vented rafter board (Hardie and LP makes these) I just need to install the rafter vents in each bay and I’m good to go?

[@robingillespie4467]

HI, Mr fixer, I am really learning from every video you do, thank you for that, I as you know am working on my old farm house after my broken back has healed somewhat, I was shocked to find pin holes in gas lines around my home and had to have them all replaced, the gas company filled the pin holes temporarily while I awaited the full repair. I don't know if you have ever checked your gas lines in your home or not, after what happened to me I would suggest befor you close up your walls you have the gas company come and check your lines.... every line had small pin holes so ya hot water tank leads, furnace leads and under the ground just where it entered my home. Just a heads up.

[@ShiningSakura]

Yikes that is scary to find out..... just got a house so I may have to check for that. The house is old but not all that old so hopefully it isn't an issue.

[@mts7274]

What about outside humid air getting sucked in through all the new soffit vents you've added?

[@969Garage]

I have a 1300 square foot ranch in southern nh that suffers from poor attic ventilation. Is there a formula to try and figure out how far apart the holes need to be? And how big of holes i should drill? Or am i over thinking tbis ? I found a few sofet holes under vynal siding but they are only 1 inch holes and they are like 10 feet apart or more

[@flinch622]

The rafter vents... what spacing do they provide away from roof?

[@Sh3lShock]

Yes in GA if outside is 100 degrees it is the ass of the devil in the attic.

[@nataliem872]

Redoing the attic insulation is on my list of need to do in my 50 year old house. Especially once we saw damage from ice dams last winter. On the other hand, I've seen some houses around me that have covered their soffit screens with insulation and wonder why they're having issues. More isn't always better.

[@fdksdk4843]

@@jeffreidy5818 was it DIY or contracted ?

[@T.E.P..]

A ton of great real projects on your channel! Been a great joy as a subscriber. Hello from Saturday May 14, 2022. 331k subs. Hope ya have a wonderful weekend

[@venky1777]

Thoughts on installing a baggle around the 2*2 instead of inside the 2*2 ?

[@joshuabedgood1611]

Could I use these (smaller ones) with an open rafter roof?

[@jamieraible1663]

What do guess the temp difference will be after installing the ventilation?

[@rebeccaramirez-]

thank you for all the explanation...my house used those after my kids father put them on the ? sofet? i didnt know it was necessary...it makes sense..to have those vents...

[@user-nz5op6rd4u]

Equal one way in equal one way out is the best I can say overkill will cause mixed airflow and not exhaust

[@Rachelmarie413]

I’ve got a cape cod style house. We have an attic that we can’t access but we also have a crawl space that runs across the from of the house on the second floor. We just ventured in there and found lots of mold all over the ceiling 😩 we have soffits but they clearly aren’t doing the trick. We’re thinking of adding gabbles on each size of the house because I don’t know if we can afford to add the ridge vent but i think it’s gonna look weird. The struggle is real!

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

I’m sorry to hear that. 😞. You should get some quotes from some roofing companies. Ridge vents are not a ton of work, you might be surprised with the price. Or DIY? Take the caps off, cut a hole, add ridge vents, add the caps back on. I know it is easier said than done but it is something to think about. Good luck and I wish you the best!

[@Guillotines_For_Globalists]

@@TheFixerHomeRepair Cape cod = steep pitch.

[@MikeM-bn2ij]

Have you got water in the attic during heavy rain? Usually happens when you have soffit, gable and ridge vents. Personal experience here had to block my gables no problem since just fyi so other's don't have the same problem

[@balugatail]

I heard in america they like sray foam insulation. Is this true in the area of America where you live? if so what are the advantages/disadvantages of this. in the contry where i live its a desert climate and all buildings are all concrete (inner walls and outer walls)

[@ncooty]

@9:22: Use the clutch, variable-power trigger, torque adjustment, or side handle.

[@dereckh]

This came at the perfect time. I'm getting a Tuff Shed studio pro (lean-to/single pitch) built soon. I'll be using it as an office and ceiling area will be full of insulation, no attic space. It'll be climate controlled with a mini split and completely finished with drywall. I've been told to add soffit vents, but also told to not add them because no need due to not having an attic. can you please share you recommendation? I live in SC. Thanks for your videos!

[@enamoredreviews]

Hey just curious how everything turned out? Did you add soffits?

[@dereckh]

@@enamoredreviewsyeah sure did. both sides 2" round vents between each set of rafters. and since my insulation goes up to the roof i bought these plastic tray things to put under so that airflow can easily travel out the vents

[@thomasgreiner1]

Can you put those vents vertical? I don't have soffits.

[@julietlaney2776]

What is that caulking/sealant that comes in a can?

[@crazysquirrel9425]

Impossible for me to install rafter vents unless I rip out ceilings and tops of walls. Took me 4 hours to make a template and cut out for ONE soffit vent. Reason: had to do it 18 feet in the air on a ladder and saw through one inch of hard wood (house was well built back in the day). My roof joists are 24" roughly on center so that too made it a challenge to get the vent centered. I used a rectangle one, not a round one. I have the vent and box vent nearly equal too. Not a lot of change in crawl space air temperature (attic type crawl space). But even 5 degrees is better than nothing.

[@madman432000]

I thought those vents have little friction tabs to hold them in. You really only need about 2 foot of that vent channel stuff between the rafters, after that the insulation shouldn't block the airflow. The last person that painted that soffit didn't prep very good did they?

[@elaine1743]

Can you tell us what glue you used?

[@randomrazr]

would u ever need to take the vents out to clean

[@riffdex]

So the baffles need to go up the entire length of the rafters to the ridge vent? Some forums they’re telling me to just install baffles at the soffit to prevent insulation from blocking air flow, then the remainder of the rafter lengths is an air pocket that is left below the insulation to facilitate air flow to the ridge vent. So I need the baffles over the entire length?

[@miked451]

You should not need them the entire length, just to prevent the insulation from blocking the path near the soffits.

[@riffdex]

@@miked451 What if I want to add batt insulation to the rafter bays and ultimately finish the attic area? Should I install baffles up the entire length so I can place the batt insulation over and still leave an air gap to the ridge?

[@Guillotines_For_Globalists]

I've never been in an attic that is only as hot as the outside on a sunny summer day. Always seems to be about 50 degrees warmer. Even in new construction with "modern" insulating standards, whatever that may be.

[@shoyrushoyru]

"modern" insulating standards seems to be having any insulation at all, cause some of those old houses have completely or partially uninsulated ceilings and then wonder why they cant keep cool or hot in the appropriate seasons

[@Guillotines_For_Globalists]

@@shoyrushoyru Old homes generally had no insulation in the walls period. Pre-1960 or pre-1950 certainly. Especially the double layer brick homes, with the perpendicular bricks that connected both brick layers together.

[@northernpianotuner3319]

@@Guillotines_For_Globalists yes;our house was built in 1947 of stucco and has NO insulation at all! It has been a challenge since we bought it.

[@josephfitch1]

the bottom layer of the attic should be close to outside temps..right above the insulation..the upper part will be much higher temps

[@Guillotines_For_Globalists]

@@josephfitch1 Maybe so, I'm not 1" tall though.

[@BocaAvilez]

I blow all baffles after insulating to make sure they aren’t clog.

[@jackww839]

Does anyone know how venting work with conditioned attics? (Texas)

[@mdbasler]

You should close off the gable vents, otherwise the system will not have the proper pressure to vent out through the ridge.

[@racheladamec1262]

Thank you for confirming! I’m in the middle of a debate on this exact subject.

[@hubertwhitlock9968]

You don't want a ridge vent and a gable vent because the air will take the least path of resistance and it'll come in the gable and go out the top you want your soffit to come in and go out the top I would either do that and block your gables or not put in a ridge vent

[@glimmermomma4373]

Looks like we are getting ready for drywall!!! Then cabinets…

[@joeselzer850]

what if the Top Plate wood stud is blocking the soffit vents we have the kind that are to the wall right before the roof but the top plate of the wall wood stud blocking more then half the the soffit are house was made in the year of 1947 and thy made the roof to low and the wall not tall enough to give some room for the soffit to be fully open to air the vent is oblong and it has chicken weir

[@karenhoward8542]

Did you consider using blown in insulation?

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

I did! But it is such a small area. The machine rental was gonna be $150. That was just about the price for the batts of insulation so it was not cost effective to do blown in. If it was a bigger area I may have done it. Thanks for watching!!

[@shannonwray4033]

They insulate the do you like before the drywalling project in the kitchen and painted Gray and drywall ceiling White right mr. Fixer

[@mattieruth2171]

TFS❗️

[@bustownbc2787]

Whats the circular cutting bit on the drill called??

[@TheFixerHomeRepair]

Hole saw!