You often post about how ugly something is or how much you hate something. I'm sure you don't intend this, but the way you phrase your posts can sometimes be insulting to people who can't afford the more expensive options.

I totally agree, Deee. I noticed the same thing.

3apples, i cannot see my forehead without a mirror. What am I to do? Is there anything I can do about this?

How should she phrase something she doesn't like that would be suitable?

I understand that this community forum is for aiding members in the buiding process, but I just find the 3 threads a day on trivial things annoying after a while.

Again what would be a PC way to say you don't like something about your build, if your house is "expensive"?
What issues in the house building process aren't "trivial" and are permissible to ask questions about?
How many posts is she allowed to write a day?

deee and mx702.

Yes, and thousand of people in Rio de Janeiro live in cardboard boxes. I think everyone in the entire world should stop building nice houses because of this. I hope you give most of your earnings to charity, you obviously have a strong social conscience against consumption.

deee and mx702.

Yes, and thousand of people in Rio de Janeiro live in cardboard boxes. I think everyone in the entire world should stop building nice houses because of this. I hope you give most of your earnings to charity, you obviously have a strong social conscience against consumption.

Three apples, I agree that doesn't work with the historic look you are going for. However some of the prefab stuff just doesn't seem like it would fit.

In my area smooth or cedar imitation Hardi is often used. Seems like if you could go with something smooth it would be better. However the holes would still be there.

Pal - Please read my post carefully. I said nothing disparaging about her home, her spending, her choices, etc. I think her home is lovely.

I only pointed out that she often uses "hate" or "ugly" to describe materials that many other people use when building their homes. I have been on these forums for over ten years. I have read hundred posts by people who have built lovely, expensive homes. I can't remember anyone using the words "hate" and "ugly" to describe materials used in less expensive homes.

She could have easily said "these soffits don't work with my trim ...". No hate or ugliness necessary.

deee

I's difficult to imagine how a question about an eave detail could offend someone.

Posts that are not worthy of comment will quickly move on down the forum list and disappear so it only disrupts that process to hijack a thread with petty personal gripes.

It's amusing to hear that the use of simulated plastic moulding is a high-end detail, no disrespect intended to the OP.

As for the detail, you should first be concerned with the amount of free ventilation air that is provided by the vents. Colonial revival houses did not have vents so the continuous modern perforated vent is intended to be less noticeable than slotted vents and less prone to insects but it appears industrial. Adding a moulding to cover the vent might render it ineffective and it is usually wise to make the eave vents larger than the ridge vent to avoid negative pressure in the attic.

You should post the 9" moulding detail; it sounds promising.

So find the free area of the perforated vent and determine how much of it will actually be open and then calculate what the code requires. That is the job of the designer of the house but it appears he/she is AWOL and left you holding the bag.

3apples - Make sure you don't offend anyone by saying you hate something about your house. Even though it is your house and money being spent you are not allowed to express your dislike by using any terms that would be discriminatory or potentially offensive to someone who deems their house less expensive than yours. Just trust your builder's advice ;).

The soffit was never spec'd for us, so it is not my builder's fault for putting in what he did. My husband and I are trying to learn the ropes here and, though we trust all involved, we want to gather as much information as possible to determine we are baking the right choices. We worked long and hard to afford this house and these details are important to us. Thanks all for you advice. I'll post the fypon option shortly.

I agree that is not a good choice for a historic house, not to mention that I don't see how the soffits could possibly vent with that sort of large molding.

That being said, we used a combination of wood and cement board (or some other low maintenance material) for our trim, depending on the exposure and potential for rot. Our fascia and soffit are some low maintenance material, smooth and paintable, and we had circular vents installed in them. The crown in between is wood. My builder thought this was fine as it is largely protected from the elements.

When I can find my phone, I will post a picture.

Your proposed trim covers most of the ventilation in the soffits. That will be a complete no go because your attic is required to have that air flow. You need something will less horizontal projection so that the soffit vents remain open. Whether or not you can find something that meets your aesthetic approval is a separate issue. But, what you propose cannot work from a structural and functionality standpoint.

The 9" Fypon threeapples is suggesting is a vented cornice, the vents are worked into the profile.

Renovator, don't worry--I know our soffits are builder-grade and not high-end. The industrial look is what's bugging me.

Ventilation is our priority, so I in no way want to jeopardize that. I'm including a link to the fypon option, though their largest piece is still 3" too narrow for our soffits.

Here is a link that might be useful: fypon soffit

I don't know if that is the cornice you are using, but it doesn't look particularly historic to me.

I would look at the georgians on the attached site for an Atlanta architect. Both are beautiful examples of the style with a dentil cornice to show how the details should look.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pak Heydt

If you ventilate your attic you must seal the ceiling below. I have found that so difficult, costly and ineffective that I just put the money into foam insulation in the roof rafters and seal the eaves.

If you do use eave vents be sure the path of ventilation air doesn't penetrate into the house and there are no attic ventilation fans.

I saw the pak heydt soffits and they look really great. I have no idea how to achieve that. Fypon doesn't seem to have anything similar and have no idea what other options are out there since Internet searches are not yielding anything similar. I'll have to ask my builder and architect again.

Yikes, there's an architect involved? Why isn't he/she taking the lead in solving this problem? I'm willing to help out a homeowner but not if an architect is on site and won't help.

The architect is not involved for whatever reason.

It is highly unprofessional to not be concerned about a detail you drew when your client is unhappy.

I would check this person's registration status online.

The soffit was not spec'd at all. This is the problem.

What about the cornice detail? Surely that was drawn on the plans.

The cornice detail was based on a different cornice and then not redrawn when the cornice was changed.