Attic question what is this? My attic looks like this. Possible soffit
- Thread starter Meast21
- Start date
natureboygrower
Well-Known Member
Do you have a ridge vent? If so, that crack, though not optimal is needed ( usually soffits are screened in or fabricated tin) The ridge vent will be at the peak of your roof. It allows air to flow through your soffit and up through the ridge vent replacing, refreshing and moving air constantly to avoid mold. You have no mold in your pic on the underside of your roof decking( plywood) so it appears that everything is working properly. Check above your bathroom while you're up in the attic, that can harbor mold sometimes if your soffit and vents arent working or not enough air flow is happening
Aeroknow
Well-Known Member
Take a picture of the underside of the soffit on exterior. If exposed rafter tails take a good picture of the inside corner where the rafter tails sit on wall and of the blocking in between.
bam0813
Well-Known Member
This. Natureboy nailed it . I see alot of homes that have new roofs put on with ridge vents that were originally designed to have gable vent system but the gable vents are left unblocked which defies the way new system with ridge and soffit ventilation works. Make sure you don’t have gable vents, or don’t have a ridge vent. Should be one or the other
bam0813
Well-Known Member
Aeroknow
Well-Known Member
Theres a few different ways for venting out air from attics. Gable, ridge, roof vents, etc. and although i know what you’re saying about the whole gable + ridge venting, none of that has anything to do with why there’s light coming through like that right there.
looks to me like it’s not full height blocking in between the trusses. Sometimes they don’t require sheer transfer there. But if you see all that light it better be coming through some kind of soffit vent. My guess is a continuous soffit vent.
if that gap goes right through to the exterior that’s some bullshit.
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bam0813
Well-Known Member
It doesn’t go through. They literally just box the rafter tails with fascia board and soffit. The soffit probably has either louvered vent strips if wood or vented vinyl soffit if it’s vinyl sided. If you were to crawl down to the eve you’d be looking inside a vented but closed soffit box
natureboygrower
Well-Known Member
My bad, i wasnt really clear and was headed out the door. I agree with bam 100% that that gap probably isn't completely open to the outside and is just light bleed through coming up through the soffit. Any visible bees nest up in the attic would probably answer that question. I'd say there is a lack of insulation to the edges and no proper vent attached to the interior side of the roof decking. I stuffed my attic with insulation to the soffits and used what we call proper vent to allow air to get up by the insulation ( like the pink styrofoam on the inderside of the roof decking in bams pic below)
I know you're a builder so if I'm repeating this stuff to you apologies, it's only cuz this is New England, not sure if you guys use it your way?
natureboygrower
Well-Known Member
And if you do a ridge vent with soffit, you do not use gable end vents. It's one or the other. At least here in New England
Aeroknow
Well-Known Member
Yeah not usually good to mix the two. They fight each other..
just about every house built nowadays has that baffle installed before it gets rocked so the insulators don’t blow there shit right there blocking the flow of that intake venting air.
Usually, that blocking in between those trusses, on top of wall, are full height so the roof sheathing can be nailed into it with holes in the blocking(birds blocking) for venting. The nailing is for shear transfer but i can see that not always be needed.
but yeah allz i was saying that if that light is from a soffit vent that would be normal. I’d be pissed seeing that if it’s just exposed rafter tails.
bam0813
Well-Known Member
Exactly. That’s exactly what’s happening. They didn’t use the styrofoam eave blocks. It’s all light bleed from venting. What I’d be concerned with is the blown in insulation can now over time and possibly from the installation, could fall through that gap and fill your soffit box which could block the vents and shut the draw off
This isn't my house, its a pic of a similar soffit thing online.
Thats not my attic, just the same setup (got pic from google).. I don't get bugs in my attic so I'm guessing its a soffit on the outside or whatever??? I'm not even sure I have venting in my attic. I open the windows a crack in the summer up there. I know I don't have a ridge vent up there... I got a 1 hour inspection for $300 (house is under 800 sq feet) and he never said I didn't have venting. However I have no black caps on my roof for venting and like I said no ridge vent.
xox
Well-Known Member
fuck it roll with it, worst case scenario you need to crawl around in there with a sheet of plywood to lay on and staple those styrofoam vents that are in that picture somewhere above this post those things cost pennys im sure you can afford a stapler. however i suspect there is enough venting otherwise you couldnt see the light reflecting through the only problem i see is if there isnt enough space between the insulation and the underside of the roof for air movement to occur. either way its small potatos.
