"Oscar_Lives" wrote in message
news:OPvke.2200$PS3.1567@attbi_s22...

"MLD" wrote in message
news:O9rke.18152$4d6.8881@trndny04...

"Magnusfarce" wrote in message
...
Can someone explain what a soffit vent is compared to a gable vent?

- Magnusfarce


"James Bond" wrote in message
...
While calculating the number of soffit vents I am going to install in
my
house, I am operating on the priciple that I should have equal intake
square footage (from the soffit vents to be installed) as exhaust.
Now
my
question is do my existing gable vents count as intake or exhaust?
And
just to be sure I am using the right term, by gable vent I mean the
two
triangular vents at each end of my house that are right below the
peak
of
the roof. It is my guess that after the installation of soffit vents
that
these gable vents would function as exhaust, but I want to verify
that.

TIA for any help.

James
Make sure that soffit vents and gable vents are compatible and can live
together. It's possible that they might counteract each other and/or
disrupt the intended air venting. They will interfere with each other
if
you have a ridge vent or roof vents.
MLD





WRONG.

Don't be too hasty with your answer. The following does not come from the
article that I first read but it does point out that there can be conflicts
if you have too much of a good thing. Basiically, what I get out of this is
that vented air will get it's source from the nearest opening (least
resistance) available. This means that if there are gable vents the flow
from the soffits will not be too effective. The first article had several
schematics that showed the air flow with different systems (gable, soffit
and one that had both). The system with the combination of the gable and
soffit acted principally as a gable only vented system. Recommendation was
to block of the gables if there are soffits. Pay your money and make your
choice--but do a bit more research first. Google roof vents, gable vents
etc.
MLD

Watch out for unintended consequences!
Murphy's law rears its head in the strangest places... your attic, for
instance. Who would think that beautiful powered ventilator might do
absolutely nothing to cool your attic? If you have lots of ventilation
already, adding a powered ventilator may be a waste of time and money.

This is especially true if you have a soffit-ridge vent system, the most
efficient natural ventilation system. Face it... ventilators are stupid
machines! They will draw air from wherever they can with the least effort.
This means that a ventilator will draw air from ridge vents, gable vents or
soffit vents. Fine. But if the fan draws much of its air from a nearby
gable or ridge vent, there is no benefit to anyone except the electric
company! So placement of the ventilator is essential... as well as careful
consideration of whether or not it is a wise investment in the first place