The wood-grain aluminum siding used together with the aluminum framed system and continuous insulation may combine to achieve this LEED 2009 certification in multiple areas. Wood-grain aluminium cladding, siding, and soffit materials used in conjunction with a back-framing system can provide architects with an aesthetic, energy-saving exterior facade option for both commercial and residential buildings. In addition to cladding walls, most buildings need certain related materials for covering surfaces adjacent to walls, such as soffits and eaves.
Some existing soffits (such as those constructed from plywood) may be covered by non-combustible or fire-resistant materials, such as fibre-cement boards or stucco. In extremely high-fire-severity areas, exterior gypsum boards, rated at 5/8-inch, are installed in-between existing and new soffit materials to increase fire resistance.
Install the soffit below open ledges according to the guidelines provided above. Guidance for new buildings considers designing buildings with no overhangs to avoid soffit-related problems, or to minimise overhangs in order to reduce ember- and hot-gas-trapping potential.
The alternative treating an external soffit merely as a surface to suspend cladding materials–can leave the exterior of a building prone to operational problems. If designers decide to route the air barriers and heat barriers around the outer perimeter of soffit cavities, then prescriptive insulation requirements from building codes cannot manage condensation risks alone, because the soffit cavities are likely to be subjected to mechanical conditions (e.g., temperature and relative humidity) that are different from those in a typical indoor structure. The design of a thermal barrier and a mechanical system for a soffit cavity must also take into account the uses that will occur above the slab.
With soffit ventilation, you have an intake of the necessary air to any dead space in the attic. Air from outside enters your attic via the soffit vents located lower in the eaves and leaves your attic higher at a ridge vent, or at the gabled or mushroom vent. The air entering the attic is a combination of air coming in from the outside through the soffit vents and air coming in from the interior through a leaky ceiling.
We want replacement air (make-up air) for attic ventilation to come from the outside via the soffit, rather than the inside through a leaky ceiling. Air-tightening of ceiling planes, providing ventilation where make-up attic ventilation air is provided via the soffit vents, and adding lots of insulation. Ventilated soffit is particularly helpful for temperature regulation in attics.
Eaves also serve as shading for a building, helping to regulate temperature. The eaves are the edges of a roof that extend over the sides of the building, overhanging above the walls of the building. Eaves are long enough that they direct the water at a distance, preventing it from flooding walls or damaging exterior cladding.
The fibre cement soffit and fascia are installed correctly, as is the stormwater collection system. The installation of soffits is important as they help protect the building against moisture infiltration and other weathering effects. Soffit is available in a variety of colours and designs as it helps make a house’s exterior look more attractive.
Wooden soffit is suitable for every kind of environment, it can even be recycled. Aluminum soffit is not used as much in homes but is easy to clean and requires little maintenance. The most widely used kind of Soffit is solid, it is cheap and easily installed.
A soffit is also used to cover gaps between a house’s siding and the outside edges of the roof of the structure. Eaves and soffits are part of the architectural design which makes up the structure of a roof. The soffit is a base material attached to an exposed roof overhang on the structure.
Soffit linings are available in either a solid or drilled panel that helps provide naturally ventilated, healthy roof spaces, they are also lightweight, making them ideal for sensitive locations where there are limited loading restrictions for the roof structure. The aluminum gauge used for siding and soffit panels may vary but is available in thicknesses as low as 1/16th inch.
The insulation boards used for the production of the soffit liner boards are considered to be non-conductive articles. Kingspan soffit board do not degrade in normal conditions found in buildings, and they will function effectively over the lifetime of your building.
From a construction supply perspective, I am seeing a substantial uptick now in using cladding that is not flammable, which also provides some fire-resistance time (depending on the concrete structure of the soffit).
The problem with many of these lining systems, however, is that they actually will not offer any sort of fire resistance for the concrete soffit, and in some cases depending on the products used, they can actually facilitate fires and increase the probability of structural damage to the concrete soffit. Natural dimensional stone cladding materials are generally heavier and require highly engineered anchoring and structural support systems, however, designers can consider thin-strength compositing options that have lightweight structural support in soffit locations in order to mitigate dead load loads from this system. You cannot use wooden soffit in a non-combustible building, and with no shrinkage, stains, or anything else, Clark says, and given the nature of a concealed attachment system, it is nearly impossible to tell any difference between either product.
The ideal solution is to ensure that continuous insulation is connected at all of the crucial points between the building assemblies, like wall-to-roof joints, the parapet, the soffit, and the fascia.
If a project buildings structural floor slab at a height above the soffit is poured concrete in movable forms, an option is to use the concrete itself as part of an air barrier system and to run an air barrier material out from the external walls under the soffit onto the bottom side of the floor slab. Insulation for the underside of the soffit is typically used for covered parking lots, providing fire protection for the lower floor slab. Once the roof, overhang, or soffit has caught fire, fires may spread up to the roof, down to the attic, or up to and through exterior walls.