Soffit describes the underside part of your roofs edge. Soffits more specifically describe the boards between the fascia and the wall of the property. Soffits aren’t as exposed as your fascias, so they aren’t seen as much by people looking at your roof, nor do they get has much exposure to wind and rain and therefore take much less impact.
A summary of what a soffit is supposed to do includes:
* Stops birds from getting into the space underneath your roof and building nests. They also prevent other creatures from getting in too! Although having birds in your soffit doesn’t sound too bad, Birds may become hostile you get too close, and if / when cracks appear in the roof this can lead to an entry point for the birds to get into your house which is something you could really do with you. Finally, and I’m not against birds, but birds poo can stain your property and some of those stains are impossible to get out!
* Protective layer for the rafters to stop rain getting at them and creating issues with damp.
This protection for your roof from birds, rats and other creatures and the wethers impact is important but worth also nothing that there’s a balance to consider as you need to have some air getting in if you’re to avoid creating an environment for condensation to build which if it does will cause much more damage than a birds nest would create. As such it’s about leaving enough space in the soffit to let air in but without creating a big enough gap for other unwanted elements.
One very common form of soffit is the eave. This is the part of the roof that hangs out over the walls to provide shade to the outside of your house. An eave is formed when the ends of the rafters extend past the outside walls and hang over the side of the house
The finished surface below the fascia and rafters is called the soffit or eave. A soffit is also often installed between the ceiling and the top of wall cabinets in a kitchen, set at a 90 degree angle to the horizontal soffit which projects out from the wall.
If your soffit was installed incorrectly, or yours over time tires and gets worn out, it really needs to be replaced otherwise you run the risk of jeopardising the overall structural integrity of the roof itself.
A tell tale signs that your soffits have got issues are when the paint peels and flakes away.