Holy $$$$$ Soffit Vents Batman!?!?! (And Do I have enough vents?)

LuckyFoot15 · 11-01-2012, 05:13 PM

I thought I had a relatively cheap project to take on today: changing out the painted over soffit vents. I am looking at prices, and they cannot be this expensive, right?!

Here's what's on the house currently, and the areas that they ventilate:
11 Ea. x 4" diameter for 600sqft attic space
1 Ea. x 4" diameter for 100sqft attic space
6 Ea.x 2" diameter for 200sqft attic space

Two questions:
Are these vents sufficient for the spaces that they ventilate?

Where is the most economical place to buy these?
Home Depot is $1.56 Ea. for 2" and $2.07 Ea. for 4" cheap plastic ones online...am I right that these are cheap plastic and I do not want them? Menards is $6.98 Ea. for 2" and $11.69 Ea. for 4"...am I right that this is ridiculously expensive and I would rather sandblast my existing ones than pay $200 to replace them.

joecaption · 11-01-2012, 06:34 PM

The so called cheap plastic one are really vinyl and never would have to have been painted like your stuck with now.
Why not just use a wire brush to clean off what you have now?

LuckyFoot15 · 11-01-2012, 08:06 PM

The ones that got painted are old and not very robust. I tried scraping one and it bent the louvers.

The previous owner had the house cheaply spray painted.

Is there any good sites online that offer better prices that what I've found for the metal vents?

**Gary in WA** · 11-04-2012, 07:31 PM

Your 6oo sq.ft. attic divided by 150 requires 4sq.ft. total, 2 for intakes with a 30' building that means 1 sq.ft. (144 sq.in.) each side. That's 1 every linear foot (4"---- 4.8 NFVA)https://ventmastersstore.com/shop/sc...s-c-23_30.html , or 30 on each side, 60 total... I'd use some continuous louvered venting right next to the fascia board, pp.616; http://books.google.com/books?id=Z8a...0vents&f=false

Figure NFVA, sounds as if you have already, this for other readers: http://www.airvent.com/homeowner/pro...it-specs.shtml

Gary

LuckyFoot15 · 11-04-2012, 09:33 PM

Wow! Thanks for the help!

I was able to find some round aluminum vents online, but it looks from your calc that I'm a bit short on the vents

.

I found soffit vents by manufacturer Maurice Franklin Louver Co. for good prices on Amazon.

6pk of 2" for $6.58 and 4pk of 4" for $8.92

Seeing how I should really increase the amount of vents, I will probably push this project off until next spring and put in the larger vents all at once.