What Are Soffit and Fascia? Knowing the Importance Between the Two

An image of soffit fascia.

What's soffit and fascia? Knowing the difference between the two, as well as why they're both important to your home is essential. Click to learn more.

3 min read

Are you looking to improve your home’s external appeal?

Well, then you really need to get your head around two important concepts: soffit and fascia. Soffit and fascia are essential elements of your home’s siding. They are basically the accents that make your roof overhang stand out.

Your soffit fascia combination is therefore very important to your home’s overall design and curb appeal. These elements need to fit well with the roof, the siding of the walls, and any other design elements like window frames, steps, and pillars.

Soffit and fascia installation is also very important for your home’s functionality. These elements don’t just look good, but also assist with structural support and airflow.

So, let’s dive into the importance of soffit and fascia for your home!

What Is Soffit and Fascia?

First of all, soffit is the siding or cladding that you see on the underside of your roof’s overhang. It’s an important detail that makes the design of your roof blend into the rest of your home’s exterior.

It’s therefore important to consider the design and materials of your soffit. Most often homeowners use the same siding for their soffit as they do for the siding on the walls of their home.

For example, a classic combination is a white wood siding and white wood soffit. But you can also make your soffit more of a statement element of your home by choosing a contrasting color or material. The most common soffit materials are vinyl, wood, or aluminum.

Fascia is the siding that connects your roof to the soffit. It’s the exposed board that hangs down from the roof. Because of its position, the design of your fascia is important.

Once again, the fascia is usually chosen to match the soffit and the rest of the home’s siding. But it can also be used as an accent piece. The same materials are used for fascia as soffit - wood, vinyl, and aluminum.

Importance of Soffit, Fascia

Soffit is important because it assists with airflow to your attic. This is very important because your attic needs to be ventilated so that mold does not grow in it. Mold not only destroys your home and possessions but is also very bad for your health.

On the other hand, fascia is important because it supports the edge of your roof. It keeps tiles and shingles in place, and also supports your gutters.

For these reasons, it is very important that soffit and fascia repair is done well. You don’t want your gutters falling down in a storm, and you also don’t want your family to breathe in mold.

It’s not a question of soffit vs fascia but what the best soffit fascia combination is for your home.

Design Meets Functionality

Now you should have a good idea of the importance of soffit and fascia for your home. You should remember not to make a decision about your soffit fascia combination without thinking about both the design and functionality of your home.

It’s always going to be an individual choice. You need to think about the colors and materials that will fit best with the rest of your home’s design. So, go and take a look at your home from out on the street and think hard about how soffit and fascia could improve it!

If you’ve found this useful, why not check out some of our other great articles on soffit, fascia, and other topics?

An image of how to install soffit.

How To Install Soffit: Tips To Get The Best Installation For Homes

Many people want to know how to install soffit. Well the question has been answered, you will learn more about how to get the most out of your installation
An image of clearning soffit.

How to Clean Soffits: Can You Use a Pressure Washer?

Dirty soffits make the rest of the house look bad. Keep reading below to learn how to clean soffits and whether or not you can do it with a pressure washer.
An image of bulkhead vs soffit.

Bulkhead Vs. Soffit: What's the Difference?

Have you heard the words bulkhead and soffit used interchangeably? Here's what you need to know about bulkhead vs soffit.