[jt3451]

ok first I am not doing this myself but I need help because I don't want to look un knowledgeable. I have been taking down the old siding on my house and the old rotted soffits. I had a new roof put on before winter.
Now I want to have to soffits covered up but big question some tell me I should replace the wood before doing the vinyl soffits others tell me they will just put the vinyl up with out putting anything underneath.
2 questions how would you prevent bugs etc to go up in crawl space if you are just putting vinyl up and its all open above it. I am in upstate ny will that make my house colder wetter etc. in bad weather?

Next I took down the back sheating and insulated wall and am going to do this on the other 2 sides (front is brick) I wanted to do this because the insulation was not the greatest and I put up new plywood.
Question
should I tyvec house before siding if I use foam board do i skip the tyvec?
I dont want the siding to stick out much from house so will the 1/2 inch foam make it stick out much more (I dont like that look of siding covering up old stuff kinda look)

Any other pointers are really needed I don't want to do this wrong or have it done wrong
thanks much
ps its a 1 story ranch built in the 50's

 

[Bud9051]

Soffits are vented to keep the attic space above as close to outside temps as possible. This reduces the risk of ice dams and helps to remove any moisture vapor that migrates through the ceiling, or through leaks.

You are correct that vinyl soffits are an invitation to bugs of all sorts to call those spaces home. My last soffit work now that I'm retired was on my own house and although it was a bit of a pain, I covered that entire space with screening before the perforated vinyl. You may not need or want 100% perforated soffits, but that is to be determined by calculating your ventilation needs.

As for the Tyvec vs rigid, the first question is the ratio of rigid to cavity insulation. Usually, if memory serves me, you want at least 1" of rigid to balance a 2x4 stud wall. Citation available if you want to do some reading.

Did you add a vapor barrier when you added the insulation and what type of insulation did you install?

Bud

 

[jt3451]

Hi Bud
I did r 13 insulation on back wall no vapor barrier i did tyvec it for the winter but will replace it before having it sided or the foam board
on the sides walls now i am thinking of having them foamed or maybe use a litle more insulation as i found the house to be a little cool this winter (i just moved in in october) so its new to me
This is my downsize pre retirement home maybe retirement home ha ha
and i have always tried to do things as right s possible so it holds up

 

[Bud9051]

I'm supposed to be retired as well, but always find more to do than I can get done. My retirement profession is energy auditing, now just consulting as I can no longer crawl through the attics like I should. But I do understand comfort and energy costs and even long distance I/we can help you identify where best to invest your time and money.

I have upgraded the family home with 3.5" of rigid insulation on the exterior and all sorts of other improvements and this house was the warmest this winter it has ever been, with still 1/3 of the house left to be covered. But I'm also a retired contractor so have the tools and knowledge to slowly do most of this myself.

Upstate NY can be climate zone 5 or 6, link below, so they want r-7.5 or r-10 with a 3.5" wall filled with r-13. I'll let you read.

Bud
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com...rmal-mass&utm_campaign=green-building-advisor
https://energycode.pnl.gov/EnergyCodeReqs/?state=New%20York

 

[joecaption]

Really could use a picture of the home so we can see what your up against and a location so we will know what modern codes would call for.
House wrap has to be installed before siding goes up.
Add all the foam you want to the outside wall but any thickness you add effects every window and door opening trim and that will have to be built out and wrapped in coil stock before the siding goes on.
If you have old wooden windows now you be the time to replace them with new constrution windows or at least replacement windows and wrap the wood with coil stock.
I've only sided about 100 houses but every one of them I did with triple vent or vented beaded soffit and not once has any one complained about insects getting in, the holes are just to small for anything but a bug the size of a gnat to get in.
There just is no way you can have two much venting but you sure can have not enough.
What's on the new roof for venting?

 

[jt3451]

I am in the Buffalo NY area. here is a picture of the house

ok here is a pic of the back of house sorry only one i have right now

the sofits are open now no wood i took the thin wood layer off it was weak

 

[joecaption]

First thing I would do is cut that tree down to the ground and have the stump ground down, it's going to do nothing but drop leaves on the roof and lift the foundation.
That sheathing should have been ran all the way at least 1" below the foundation, if not air going to come in the rim joist.
I'm going to make some suggestions as if it was me doing the job if that's OK.
#1, I'd wait until it was above 60 deg. to do anything, reason being vinyl siding will shatter when trying to cut it if it's to cold.
#2, Gutters need to come down.
#3, Not sure why you would want to use PVC for a fashia, to keep it from flexing there needs to be wood behind it, it would be about 1/2 the cost to wrap the old wood with coil stock if the old wood is not rotted and far harder to cover up the ends of the new soffits with PVC.
I use Certain Teed brand PVC cove molding at the wall to soffit area. It gives you a 1/2 slot to slide in the soffit and a locking lip so the top piece of siding locks in place using a Snap Lock tool.
http://www.certainteed.com/products...entry-trim/wall-and-soffit-transitions/345928
http://malcoproducts.com/product/ro...-vinyl/siding-tools-vinyl/snap-lock-punches-a

 

[jt3451]

ha ha tress are all gone yard was filled with them tiny lot original owners never did a dang thing
anyway no more trees
the wrap will be re done all the way down
thats what i was thinking some say just to soffits without the wood but like you say if i can replace the wood and put vents it it may be more structurally sound better?