How to Install Soffit Vents for Knee Walls

Install Soffit Vents

• 1

  Center the vent in the middle of the eave, which is the flat horizontal board that runs from one side of the house to the other on the underside of the roof.

• 2

  Hold the vent in place and draw around its perimeter with a pencil. When the drawing is done, take the vent down.

• 3

  Draw a second pencil line 2 inches inside the first rectangular line. This small rectangle is the cut line.

• 4

  Fit a reciprocating saw with a standard wood blade and cut along the line of the small rectangular.

• 5

  Fit the soffit vent on the eave evenly along the original pencil lines. Turn the vent so the louvers face the house.

• 6

  Insert the screws that came with the soffit vent through the designated holes and into the wood of the eave. Soffit vents usually require four to six screws.

• 7

  Install additional soffit vents along the eave in the same manner.

Install Rafter Baffles

• 8

  Start at the top of the knee wall, because the attic space is open below that point and doesn’t require baffles. Position a rafter baffle between two rafters. The side of the baffle that bulges outward should face you.

• 9

  Insert staples with a 1/4-inch crown stapler along the sides of the baffle, which are flush with the underside of the roof decking. Insert one staple about every 6 inches on both sides.

• 10

  Add rafter baffles to the undersides of every rafter space where you finish out the attic. After the baffles are in place, insulate the rafter spaces and hang drywall.