1970s house: no soffitt ventilation gap

[mike004]

I'm just patching up and repairing the fascia boards/soffits on my 70s bungalow.
The fascia boards/soffits are original and look to have been assembled from timber by the house builders.

Question: There isn't a specific 10mm air gap as such in the soffits, as recommended in modern uPVC installations. Ventilation seems to be provided by variations in timber joints and the odd gap where the soffit boards meet each other. There are also various gaps between the top of the fascia and the bottom roof tile -- and lots o fold birds nests in there!
Given that the roof seems in decent nick, is such a "relaxed" level of ventilation OK?

Mike

 

[Nige F]

Worked for hundreds of years...save money and leave alone...check the roofspace each year

 

[Freddie]

Worked for hundreds of years...save money and leave alone...check the roofspace each year

But you know if we dont introduce all the new building regs and ideas they bring out daily into our houses--we are all doomed

You can buy some Soffit vent strip what you can cut to size and introduce onto your soffit if you want, but if everything is ok the put the ladders away and go down the pub

 

[mike004]

Put the ladders away and crack open the beer -- a refreshingly good idea.

Re: Birds making their nests in various places under the roof. Is this something that can damage the roof and should be avoided (wire mesh etc.) or should I just not worry about it as they'll head south anyway in the autumn.

Mike

 

[Freddie]

If they arent getting in the roof then the only problem is a bit of mess from what will be either Swallows or House Martins.

I dont know for sure but it may be illegal to disturb these birds but in any case in the few months they are here they account for Trillions upon Trillions of insects and do nothing but good, so unless you prefer flies to the odd nest leave well alone and just admire them and see how Mitchell admired them so much he designed the Spitfire which is how you come to be here etc etc etc......................

 

[oilman]

Great, something I totally agree with you about. The same goes for most other birds in houses too. Just rooks and the like making their nests in chimneys are to be avoided.

 

[Mr Winston]

(Dutch accent ala Grolsch(?)advert)STOP! Put the BEER down! Do you have any loft insulation? As roof ventilation wasn't really needed before we started insulating roofs as the roof tended to be a very similar temperature to the rest of the house - with insulation keeping the heat in the rooms and out out of lofts the condensation point occurs in the roof as it is cold - to stop the condensation settling in the roof and getting to work on the timbers cross ventilation is a wonderful idea with plenty of options to choose from circular vents, rectangular vents, soffit strips, over fascia vents, tile vents etc

 

[oilman]

Our house has loft insulation, no soffit vents and a howling gale blowing through it somehow. Keep on drinking

 

[Mr Winston]

Do you have a felt or can you see the tiles from in the roof oilnman?

 

[mike004]

cross ventilation is a wonderful idea with plenty of options to choose from circular vents, rectangular vents, soffit strips, over fascia vents, tile vents etc

I take your point and accept that ventilation in a loft is extremely necessary. I'm just wondering if my present "casual ventilation" set up provided by timber gaps and gaps under the leading edge tiles is sufficient.

Mike

 

[oilman]

I've got felt, no gaps of significant size anywhere, wind whistles through.

 

[Nige F]

Hi, again. with respect I understand your concern,but having worked around buildings for over 35 yrs. I tend to sound flippant, as do a lot of tradesmen, it seems to "go with the turf". Well ,I did a few years on Housing Association maintenance..Directly employed, and have seen a few things.. like a p*rn mag in a cold tank.. blocking the outlet. A lady who called us to say light bulbs were blowing in the flat...turns out she was nicking the 110v. bulbs from the emergency lights And a Whole estate of 1980`s timber framed houses...where the builders had covered the vent stripround the roof..And left the lids off all the storage tanks... that`s where I saw condensation and damp on the roof trusses. BUT I used to live nearby to said estate in a 60`s house and there was no probs at all. I used this to qualify my first reply...Of course you could fit some circular soffit vents,if you really want.