Improve Anchorage of Attached Structures
07/31/2025
Make Resilient Upgrades | Strengthen Your Home •
Why do they matter?
The failure of roof ridge vents, soffits, valleys, and accessories could expose your home to damage during a high-wind event like a hurricane or tornado. Secure these parts of your roof today to be ready when high winds arrive.
What do I need to know?
- A residential soffit is a horizontal surface outside on the underside of the eaves. The eave is an area of the roof which overhangs the exterior walls.
- Attic ventilation openings include the following: soffit vents; ridge vents; off-ridge vents; gable rake vents; turbines. If needed, retrofit these vulnerable components to ensure they can withstand high winds.
- Properly installed and braced soffits resist wind forces and keep water out when the wind drives rain against the outside walls and up into the attic of your home.
- Much of past damage in high-wind events is from attic ventilation openings incapable of resisting high-wind forces and allowing wind-driven rain to enter the home.
- Unsecured rooftop exterior equipment like exhaust fans, fan cowlings, and vent hoods can blow off during high-wind events. Generally, insufficient anchorage, inadequate strength of the equipment itself, and corrosion of fasteners and straps cause such failure.
- Securing the components of your roof during a storm can prevent water intrusion, the creation of windborne debris, and subsequent damage to the roof and the interior of your home.
- Roof ridges often experience covering loss in hurricanes or severe windstorms. Vented ridge caps should be properly fastened to ensure adequate resistance.
- Low profile ridge vents are a good choice as they are less vulnerable in high-wind events.
- Roof valleys are vulnerable in severe weather because they experience significant water flow, leading to water infiltration.
- Special care should be taken to follow manufacturers’ specifications to attach all roof elements, including accessories, equipment, solar panels, and/or turbine roof vents.
Where do I start?
Create Wind and Hurricane-Resistant Soffits
Depending on the condition of your existing soffits, the soffit panels could be either strengthened, removed and reinstalled, or replaced with new material. Follow these DIY steps to strengthen your existing soffits.
Step One – Assemble Your Tools and Hardware:
What you will need for this project:
- Caulking/sealant material
- Caulking applicator (gun)
Step Two:
- Caulk the bottom of the trim piece at the intersection of the soffit and wall to strengthen the connection to the house and prevent the trim piece from moving. (Please note: black caulk is shown here for contrast only.)
Step Three:
- To hold the soffit panels in place, squirt a marble-sized dab of caulk into the V-shaped hole formed by the intersection of the soffit panels and the trim. This will tie the soffit panels to each other as well as the trim.
- To ensure that the marble-sized dab forms an adhesive contact with both the soffit panels and the trim, push the point of the caulk tube into the joint until you hit the back of the trim. Next, squirt sealant into the opening until it nearly starts falling out of the opening. Slowly continue inserting sealant while simultaneously withdrawing the tip.
- Once you are finished inserting the sealant, quickly remove the tube.
Additional information:
- The most critical soffit installations are those with vinyl or aluminum soffit panels.
- Aluminum soffit panels can corrode in a salt environment. If the house is within 3,000 feet of saltwater, aluminum soffits should be removed completely, and a new soffit system installed.
- Use soffit material applicable to the wind speed in your home’s location.
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