Vinyl soffit material has small holes to allow air to enter freely. Before attaching this material along eave walls, make sure that all the baffles between rafters are in place to keep insulation out of the eaves and allow airflow into the attic. On this house, we cut the vinyl soffit sections into short lengths that overlap each other and ran them perpendicular to the siding. Insert the ends of each soffit panel into vinyl J-channel trim nailed to the wall and nail the other end to the bottom edge of the gutter board.
Soffit work is also required to finish off the underside of the roof overhang on the gable ends of a house. Remember the J-channel trim that you installed along the rake to house the ends of the gable-wall siding panels? The inboard edge of the soffit trim can rest right on top of that J-channel. This detail is shown in the illustration on p. 149. The outboard edge of each soffit piece is nailed to the 2 x2s fastened along the barge rafter.
It’s common practice for some builders to build boxed returns at the bottom corners of the roof to bring the soffit around the corners of walls. One part of the return (made from 2x material) is cut to match the angle of the roof’s pitch and is fastened to the underside of the barge rafter. The other part of the return should then be fastened to the angled piece and to the wall (see the sidebar on the facing page).
STEP 8 COVER EXTERIOR TRIM WITH ALUMINUM CLADDING
Aluminum trim, often referred to as coil aluminum because it comes in a coil or roll, can be shaped and used to cover rough exterior trim, such as gutter boards, barge rafters, and beams. This sheet metal comes in various widths and colors. The small nails used to install the material are available in matching colors. Softer than steel, coil aluminum can be cut with tinsnips or a utility knife. The same long, flat worktable that was used during vinyl siding installation is just as valuable for sheet — metal work. To make the precise bends that give the finished cladding its clean-lined appearance, you’ll need a hand brake as well as a large sheet-metal brake, which you can borrow or rent (see the bottom right photo on p. 174).
To wrap a 2×4 gutter board, cut a 6-in.-wide strip of aluminum and bend it at 4 in. into a 90-degree angle. The 4-in. leg slips under the roof’s drip cap and covers the front of the gutter board. Attach it with matching l-in.-long nails every 24 in. along an imaginary centerline (see the left photo on p. 174). The 2-in. leg fits over the vinyl soffit, covering the nails used to secure the soffit to the bottom of the gutter board. Be careful not to drive nails so hard that you leave a hammer imprint in the metal.
