6 Foot Wide Soffits - DIY Chatroom

Taylor B · 10-28-2009, 01:17 AM

Hello All,
We are looking for a good low maintainance soffit material for a contemporary addition with mostly 6 foot wide soffits. The broad second floor shed roof shades south-facing walls that have a number of windows.

The total soffit area is about 420 sq. ft.
Joist spacing is 24 in.
I plan to attach the soffit directly to the joists, sloping down 1.25 in/ft.

I have seen nice pictures of smooth, uniform, wide soffits, but how are they made?

Painted plywood would work at reasonable cost, but painting, maintenance, and potential joint movements are negatives.

Standard aluminum and vinyl soffits are easy, low maintenance, and inexpensive, but large areas of the highly visible corrugations would look out of place.

Solid PVC (like Azek) would look good, but it is expensive and might require additional support over the 24 in. spans. (Hide the screw heads?)

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you very much.

Taylor B.

Maintenance 6 · 10-28-2009, 02:19 PM

5/8" exterior rated gypsum board is an option.

cellophane · 10-28-2009, 04:11 PM

Beadboard can be a nice option as well. A lot of the older construction around here uses it all over the place.

A more expensive option would be EIFS (Exterior Insulated Finish System.) It comes in dozens of colors and finishes and is pretty low maintenance. Don't know how it factors on the DIY scale though.