Adding a soffit to your porch makes it look neat and tidy.
Fitting a soffit to your porch can protect it from the elements and make it look neat and tidy. Soffits also prevent birds and pests from making their nests in the eaves. Most modern soffits are made from PVC, which is long lasting, easy to clean and maintenance free. The installation of a porch soffit is not a major job and can be carried out by anyone with knowledge of similar do-it-yourself projects.
Instructions
1. Measure the underside of the porch eves, with the tape measure, from the wall to the porch fascia and the width of the porch. Multiply these two measurements together to get the area. A 4-foot by 6-foot porch will require 24 square feet of soffit.
2. Place one end of the spirit level against the fascia where the retaining bracket needs to be hung; hold the other end of the level against the opposite wall. When the spirit level is horizontal, mark both points with chalk. If the distance to the wall is too far, use a length of wood as a rest for the spirit level.
3. Hold the spirit level against the wall where you placed the first chalk mark and draw a line, making sure the spirit level stays horizontal to the floor.
4. Hold the spirit level against the fascia at the height of the chalk mark made earlier and draw a horizontal line. The two lines are where the soffit mounting brackets will be fixed.
5. Place a soffit mounting bracket along the chalk line on the fascia and mark pilot holes with a pencil. Only mark two holes so that you can adjust the bracket if necessary, then drill pilot holes with the drill and the 1/8-inch wood drill bit.
6. Fix the mounting bracket to the fascia with two screws; check that it is level with the spirit level, then drill the remaining pilot holes. Secure with the remaining screws.
7. Place the soffit wall mounting bracket against the wall, keeping it level with the chalk line, and mark the fixing holes with a pencil. Double check the pencil marks are level with the spirit level.
8. Drill the fixing holes in the wall with a 1/8-inch masonry bit fixed on the drill. Remember to push wall plugs into the holes before attempting to fix the wall mounting bracket.
9. Cut the soffit boards to size with with a jigsaw and workbench. Only cut one soffit at a time and check that it fits before cutting the next one.
10. Push the soffit into the mounting brackets; the soffit can be bent slightly if it is a tight fit. Fit the remaining soffit boards in the same way, leaving a 1/4-inch gap at one end of the soffit to allow for heat expansion.
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