Patent Publication Number: US-8528270-B2

Title: Fascia vent

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/194,068 entitled Fascia Vent, filed on 19 Aug. 2008. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates generally to attic ventilation and more specifically to fascia vents. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Modern attic ventilation systems usually include outlet vents high on a roof through which hot air escapes from the attic, coupled with inlet vents in the soffit or eve regions of the roof. The outlet vents might, for instance, comprise ridge vents that extend along and cover a slotted roof ridge while inlet vents might include a plurality of louvered vents covering openings cut in the soffit. As hot air escapes the attic through the outlet vents by means of convection, which may be aided by vent fans in some cases, it is replaced by cooler outside air that is drawn into the attic through the inlet vents. 
     Many styles and configurations of inlet vents for attic spaces have been designed and used in the past. These include independent louvered soffit vents, continuous strips of louvered soffit vent, ventilating material installed behind or atop fascia boards, and complicated louvered fascia vents. A need persists, however, for an inlet vent that is effective, easily installed by the common carpenter, virtually undetectable when installed, and possessing a net free ventilating area (NFA) that compliments that of a companion roof vent such as a ridge vent. It is to the provision of such an inlet vent that the present invention is primarily directed. 
     SUMMARY 
     Briefly described, a combination fascia board and vent, referred to as a fascia vent, comprises an elongated fascia board having a width appropriate to form the fascia of a gable roof overhang. In one embodiment, the fascia board is fabricated of extruded plastic composite material, which may be formed with a hollow interior having longitudinally extending ribs forming longitudinal channels on the interior of the strip. Other materials, such as, for instance, solid plastics, solid composites, blown and skinned plastics, and wood may be used. In any event, the fascia board is formed on its inside face, i.e. the face that is exposed to the attic when the fascia vent is installed, with a plurality of spaced slots arrayed along a bottom edge and each slot extends laterally only part way across the width of the fascia board. The fascia board is installed by being fastened to the lower ends of the roof rafters with the array of spaced slots facing inwardly and with their bottom ends exposed to ambience along the bottom edge of the fascia board. Soffit boards are installed beneath the overhang between the fascia boards and the outside wall of a dwelling in the traditional way. 
     The exposed bottom ends of the slots in conjunction with the lengths of the slots provide vent paths for outside air to enter the attic. The number and spacing of the slots is selected to provide appropriate ventilating capacity to support the effective replenishment of the attic with fresh outside air as hot air exits the attic through the outlet vents. Thus, circulation is established that helps reduce the temperature within the attic as well as helping to prevent formation of mold and mildew due to trapped stagnant moist air. The fascia vent of this embodiment is thus an effective inlet vent for a variety of roof constructions including any roof with a ridge or gable or power exhaust vents. Further, it requires no special talent or tools to install since it is applied by a carpenter in the same manner as traditional fascia boards. Since the installation of the fascia board and vent are accomplished in a single operation, significant time is saved as compared to installing soffit or eve vents separately and in addition to the installation of fascia boards. 
     In another application, the fascia vent offers the additional benefit of providing for the venting of intake air into a structure that does not have conventional soffits or overhangs. In such installations, the fascia vent is installed against the outside wall of the structure beneath the roof decking. The slots in the back side of the fascia vent provide air passages for the flow in inlet air into the attic above. 
     In an alternate embodiment, the fascia vent is formed from a length of plastic or a composite or other appropriate material with an plurality of side-by-side substantially rectangular vent pockets arrayed along its interior surface. A slot bounded by interior and exterior slot walls is formed along the bottom edge of the fascia vent and intercepts and communicates with the pockets. The exterior slot wall is shorter than the interior slot wall so that airflow into the slot is from the bottom front portion of the fascia vent rather than vertically upwardly into the slot. This provides better ventilation in situations where the bottom edge of the fascia might be covered such as when used in homes without overhanging eves. The vent pockets are separated by ribs and a wider rib is located every eight inches along the fascia vent. The wider ribs are aligned with the ends of roof rafters so that fasteners such as nails can be driven through the wider ribs and into the ends of the rafters to fasten the ridge vent to the soffit. 
     These and other objects, features, and advantages of the fascia vent disclosed herein will become more apparent upon review of the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures, which are briefly described as follows. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the inside face of a fascia vent that embodies principles of the present invention in one possible configuration. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view showing the fascia vent of  FIG. 1  installed and operational on a dwelling with a traditional soffit and overhang. 
         FIG. 3  is a view of the underside of the soffit and overhang of  FIG. 2  illustrating how the slots in the fascia board form vents for inlet air to enter the attic space of the dwelling. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the fascia vent illustrating the interior surface and bottom slot configurations. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the fascia vent of  FIG. 4  from another angle showing the alignment slots formed along the top edge of the fascia vent. 
         FIG. 6  is a plan view of the interior surface of the fascia vent of  FIG. 4  illustrating its wider ribs located at eight inch intervals. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross sectional view of a portion of the eve of a home with the fascia vent of  FIG. 4  installed. The cross section is taken through one of the vent pockets in the interior surface of the fascia vent. 
         FIG. 8  is a plan view of a section of the interior face of the fascia vent of  FIG. 4  illustrating an alternative configuration of installation of the mesh screen. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross section of a portion of a fascia vent showing an alternate configuration of the inlet to the elongated slot with aerodynamic properties. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference is now made in more detail to the drawing figures, wherein like reference numerals refer, where appropriate, to like parts in the several views.  FIG. 1  illustrates a fascia vent that embodies principles of the invention in one possible configuration. The fascia vent  11  comprises an elongated fascia board  12  having an outside face  13  and an inside face  14 . The outside face  13  and inside face  14  are spaced apart from each other and are connected together by a plurality of longitudinally extending internal ribs  18 . The internal ribs  18 , in turn, define a plurality of longitudinally extending interior channels  19  along the length of the fascia board  12 . The fascia board  12  also has a top edge  16  and a bottom edge  17 . At least the bottom edge  17  is shaped to form a drip edge  20  along the bottom of the outside face  13  to inhibit migration of water across the bottom edge  17  to the inside face of the fascia board  12 . 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the fascia board  12  is extruded from a plastic composite material which may comprise, for example, polypropylene with fillers that may include wood fiber, sawdust, rice hulls, or any of a number of fillers known to those of skill in the art. Alternatively, the fascia board may be formed from extruded PVC plastic that preferably is blown to provide a lighter weight yet strong structure. Other materials such as other plastics, aluminum or galvanized steel, or even traditional wood may be used to fabricate the fascia boards. In one embodiment, the fascia vent is fabricated from a fire retardant material, preferably a material that meets “class A” fire rating standards. Traditional thermoplastic and composite materials may be rendered fire retardant by including certain additives such as, for example, magnesium trioxide, antimony, alpha-alkyl-D-glucoside, Silica gel combined with potassium carbonate, and other additives generally known to thermoplastic fabricators. The fascia vent also may be fabricated by methods other than extrusion such as, for instance, injection molding, thermoforming, or any other appropriate manufacturing technique. However, an extruded material such as extruded polypropylene with fillers is preferred because it is strong, durable, resistant to deterioration, and permits extrusion of the fascia boards in significantly longer lengths, which reduces installation time and the number of end joints that result when the fascia vent is installed. 
     The fascia board  12  in  FIG. 1  is formed with an array of slots  21  that are spaced apart along the inside face  14  of the fascia board. Each of the slots  21  extends transversely from the bottom edge  17  of the fascia board a predetermined distance to upper ends  23 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the slots extend approximately half the width of the fascia board, although longer or shorter slots are possible. The depth of each slot  21  is less than the thickness of the fascia board, the slots extending inwardly in the illustrated embodiment to the inside surface of the outer face  13 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the slots  21  cut through the support ribs  18  to form air passages that communicate between and among the plurality of slots  21 . Of course, in an embodiment in which the fascia board is solid, such as in a fascia board made of blown PVC or other plastic, or wood, air passages between adjacent slots are not formed when the slots are made. Thus, air passages communicating between and among the slots is not a requirement. The slots  21  may be formed by any appropriate process such as, for example, by being machined with a router or other cutting tool, by being cut out, or by being molded directly into the fascia board as it is extruded or otherwise formed. 
       FIG. 2  shows the fascia vent  11  of  FIG. 1  installed on a dwelling and is a cross section taken through one of the slots  21 . More specifically, an eve  24  is formed from the projecting ends of roof rafters  26 , roof decking  27  and shingles  28  secured atop the roof rafters, and a soffit board  32  enclosing the bottom of the resulting rafter bay. The fascia vent  11  is secured to the ends of roof rafters  26  with appropriate fasteners such as nails, screws, adhesives, hangers, or any other appropriate fasteners (not shown). The outside face  13  of the fascia vent is exposed and presents the appearance of a traditional fascia board secured to the dwelling. In this regard, the outside face  13  in composite or plastic embodiments of the fascia vent may be formed with impressions of wood grain to simulate more closely the appearance of a traditional wooden fascia board. Rain gutters  29  may be secured along the outside face  13  of the fascia vent  11  using fastening devices such as gutter spikes and brackets. The design of the preferred embodiment of the fascia vent with its extruded composite construction and internal support ribs provides rigidity and strength to allow for the penetration and support of gutter fasteners and rain gutters suspended thereon. 
     The slots  21  on the inside of the fascia board  12  are open to and communicate with ambience on their lower ends and extend upwardly above the soffit board  32  so that upper end portions of the slots are exposed to and communicate with the interior of the otherwise enclosed soffit bay. It will thus be seen that the slots together form a vent extending along the entire length of the fascia through which outside air is free to flow, as indicated by arrows  31 , through the bottoms of the slots, into the soffit bay, and thus into the attic of the dwelling. In this way, the attic can be replenished with cool fresh outside air as hot attic air is expelled through ridge vents or other outlet vents higher on the roof. 
     While the fascia vent is illustrated in  FIG. 2  installed along the overhang of a gable roof, it will be understood that it is equally useful for providing attic ventilation for dwellings having roofs without a traditional soffit or overhang. In such installations, the ends of the roof rafters are substantially flush with the outside wall of the dwelling, which is illustrated by phantom line  34  in  FIG. 2 , and the fascia vent is installed against the outside wall. The function of the fascia vent is substantially the same as described above, except that air flows directly into the attic space rather than first into an overhanging soffit bay. 
       FIG. 3  is a view from the bottom of the soffit overhang of  FIG. 1  and illustrates better the open lower ends  22  of the ventilating slots  21 . It can be seen here that the ventilation slots are subtle and aesthetically pleasing and, in fact, are virtually undetectable when viewing a dwelling from a distance. This is an improvement over traditional soffit vents, which can be highly visible along the underside of the soffit and are considered by some to be unsightly. While not illustrated in the figures, the slots preferably are filled or covered with a material designed to prevent insects and moisture from migrating into the attic through the slots. For example, the lower ends  22  of the slots may be covered with an overlapping screen material or a vented strip with openings sized to allow ventilation while preventing insect migration. Alternatively, the slots may be filled with an open weave mesh material such as that used in the fabrication of Cobra® brand rolled ridge vent available from GAF Materials Corporation and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,579. Such material permits air flow while inhibiting migration of insects and moisture through the vent slots. 
     The size and spacing of the vent slots  21  are predetermined to present a total net free ventilating area (NFA) at the soffit areas of a dwelling that compliments that of typical ridge or roof vent products. In this regard, a slot configuration that presents a total NFA of between 6 to 18 square inches for each foot of roof is preferred. In one particular example, a fascia vent according to the invention is provided with six vent slots per linear foot of fascia board. The width of each vent slot is 1 inch, the length of each slot to the semicircular top portion is 2 inches, the radius of the semicircle at the top of each slot is 0.5 inch, and the depth of each slot is 0.5 inch. With this configuration, the final installed NFA presented toward the attic space is about 11.3 square inches per linear foot of fascia vent where a 0.5 inch thick attic board is used for the soffit and about 9.9 square inches per linear foot of fascia vent where a 0.75 inch thick attic board is used. When the fascia on both sides of a roof are considered, these numbers are doubled to about 22.6 and 19.8 square inches for each foot of roof. Also for this example, the NFA per linear foot of fascia vent of the air inlet to the vent (i.e. the exposed bottom ends of the slots) is about 6.1 square inches per foot for a single fascia board and thus about 12.2 total square inches for each foot of roof. It thus will be seen that, for this example, the effective NFA for each foot of roof is about 12.2 square inches, which is within the preferred range and compliments well the NFA of typical ridge and roof vent products. 
       FIGS. 4 through 9  illustrate an alternate embodiment of the fascia vent of this disclosure.  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a section of a fascia vent of this embodiment showing the inside face and an end thereof. The fascia vent  51  of this embodiment comprises an elongated fascia board  52  having an inside face  53 , an outside face  54  and a top edge  55 . The fascia board  52  can be made of any appropriate material such as, for instance, wood, wood composite, plastic, plastic composite or any other appropriate material, but preferably is formed of Polyvinylchloride (PVC) having a less dense foamed core and a more dense outer skin. An array of vent pockets  56  are formed in the inside face  53  of the fascia board. Each vent pocket  56  is a generally rectangular depression formed in the vent board and is bounded by a back wall  57  and upper and lateral side walls  58 . The corners of the vent pockets are rounded in this illustration; however, this is not a requirement of the invention. 
     The vent pockets  56  are separated from each other along the length of the fascia board  52  by a set of relatively narrow ribs  59  and a set of relatively wide ribs  60 . The wide ribs  60  preferably are located at eight inch intervals along the length of the fascia board and have a width that corresponds to the width of a typical roof rafter, which may, for example, be about 1.5 inches. In this way, a wide rib  60  can be aligned with the end of a corresponding roof rafter regardless of whether the roof rafters are spaced 16 inches on center or 24 inches on center. Alignment slots  61  are formed in the top edge  55  of the fascia board and these slots align with the wide ribs  60  to aid an installer in aligning the wide ribs with the ends of roof rafters during installation, as discussed in more detail below. 
     An elongated slot  62  is formed in and extends along the bottom edge portion of the fascia board. The slot  62  extends upwardly into the fascia board a sufficient distance so that the slot  62  intersects the vent pockets  56 , indicated at  63 , thereby establishing a flow path between the slot  62  and all of the vent pockets  56 . The slot  62  is bounded on the inside of the fascia board by a relatively long interior leg  64  and on the outside of the fascia board by a relatively short exterior leg  66 . As detailed below, this allows air to enter from the bottom front of the fascia vent  51  rather than strictly from the bottom edge, which, in turn, provides certain advantages, particularly when installing the fascia vent on homes without an overhanging eve. A generally U-shaped mesh screen  67  is installed within and extends along the slot  62  to prevent ingress of insects into the vent pockets and, in turn, into an attic through the fascia vent  51 . The mesh screen  67  can be fixed within the slot  62  in any appropriate manner, such as by adhesive  68  or, alternatively, by mechanical fasteners such as staples if desired. Regardless, the mesh screen is interposed in all vent passages between the slot  62  and the vent pockets  56 . Alternate barriers such as, for instance, the aforementioned Cobra® mesh material also may be used within the scope of the invention. As an alternative to mesh screen within the elongated slot,  FIG. 8  illustrates that the mesh screen  81  can be applied to the interior face of the fascia vent, slit at the ribs (indicated at  82 ) to form flaps of screen, and the flaps pressed and extending into the vent pockets and secured with, for example, staples  83 . Of course, the mesh screen can be secured by other means such as, for instance, with adhesives, hot melt, or sonic welding. With this embodiment, the mesh screen also is interposed in the vent passages between the elongated slot and the vent pockets to prevent ingress of insects and the like. 
     The ends of the fascia vent  51  are formed with mating features, such as a dado or half-lap  69 , that allow ends of like fascia vents to be joined securely to produce a water-tight joint. While mating half-lap joints are illustrated, it will be understood that other mating features such as, for example, tongue-and-groove joint features might be substituted with equivalent results. While only a short section of the fascia vent  51  is illustrated in  FIG. 4 , it is preferred that the fascia vent be provided in long lengths such as, for example, 16 or 20 feet so that a minimum number of joints are necessary along the length of an eve to which the fascia vent is applied. 
       FIG. 5  is a view of the fascia vent  51  from another perspective showing more clearly the alignment grooves  61  formed in the top edge  55  of the vent. The alignment grooves are centered with respect to each of the wide ribs separating vent pockets  56 . Thus, when installing the fascia vent along an eve, the installer can identify the locations of the wide ribs  60  from the outside face  54  of the vent so that the wide ribs can be aligned easily with the ends of roof rafters to which the fascia vent is to be attached with nails or screws. Also visible in  FIG. 5  is the long interior leg  64 , the short exterior leg  66 , and the mesh screen  67  installed within and along the slot. 
       FIG. 6  is a plan view of the fascia vent  51  showing the interior surface thereof. While only a short length of fascia vent is shown, it will be understood that the actual fascia vent may be many feet long, as mentioned above. As can be more clearly seen in  FIG. 6 , the vent pockets  56  are separated by narrow ribs  59  and wide ribs  60 , with the wide ribs being spaced apart 8 inches on center. The alignment grooves  61  formed in the top edge of the fascia vent are clearly visible in  FIG. 6  to indicate the center of each of the wide ribs  60 . The inwardly facing half-lap  69  is seen on the right end of the fascia vent in  FIG. 6  and a corresponding outwardly facing half-lap  71  is shown on the left end of the fascia vent. The two oppositely facing half-laps are sized and configured to mate with each other to form a clean waterproof joint between two lengths of fascia vent joined together at their ends. In addition, the ends of the fascia vent are located at the position where a wide rib would fall, so that the joint falls at the location of a roof rafter. In this way, fasteners such as nails may be driven through the joint and into a rafter to fix the joint securely. 
       FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view showing the fascia vent of this embodiment installed along the edge of an eve as a fascia board. The cross-section is taken through the fascia vent between two roof rafters. A roof includes a plurality of roof rafters  76  (only one of which is visible in  FIG. 7 ), to the tops of which a roof deck  78  and shingles  79  are attached. The angled ends  77  of the roof rafters  76  typically overhang an outside wall of a dwelling and are aligned with each other to form an overhanging eve. The bottom of the eve is covered by a soffit board  81  that, with the roof deck, bounds the overhang to define a soffit bay that is part of and in communication with the attic space of the dwelling. 
     The fascia vent  51  is installed along the aligned ends of the roof rafters  76  to form the fascia of the roof structure. More specifically, the fascia vent is oriented along the ends of the roof rafters by an installer and its position adjusted so that at least one of the alignment slots, which are visible to the installer from the outside face of the vent, is positioned at the center of a corresponding roof rafter. This insures, in turn, that the end of each roof rafter aligns with one of the wide ribs on the inside face of the fascia vent. The fascia vent can then be attached to the ends of the roof rafters  76  by driving nails  90  through the wide ribs of the fascia vent and into the ends of the roof rafters as shown, thereby closing the soffit bay. Of course, other fasteners such as screws and/or adhesives might also be used. 
     With the fascia vent  51  thus installed, it will be seen that a ventilation path is established between the outside ambient atmosphere and the attic space of the dwelling. More specifically, as hot attic air flows by convection out of the attic through roof vents such as, for instance, ridge vents, this draws cool ambient air (illustrated by arrows  85  in  FIG. 7 ) through the slot  62  along the bottom edge of the fascia vent, into the vent pockets  56 , and into the attic. Further, the short leg  66  bounding the outside of the slot  62  and the long leg  64  bounding the inside of the slot  62  defines an inlet to the slot and thus to the attic that is oriented toward the front of the fascia vent rather than being oriented strictly vertically from the bottom. This feature can be important, particularly when the fascia vent of this disclosure is installed on a dwelling without an overhanging eve and flush with an outside façade of the dwelling. This type of dwelling is illustrated in phantom lines in  FIG. 7 , where the outside wall  86  of the dwelling is substantially aligned with the elongated slot of the fascia vent and typically is covered with a façade, such as, for instance, clapboards  87 , which may be substantially flush with the outside face of the fascia vent. As can be seen, the fascia vent still provides ventilation since the inlet to the elongated slot and the vent pockets faces toward the outside rather than downwardly. With the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the façade is likely to cover partially or completely the vent openings along the bottom edge of the fascia vent, thereby limiting or blocking airflow through the fascia vent. However, with the alternate embodiment of  FIGS. 4 through 9 , the inlet of the elongated slot faces outward so that the façade does not interfere with airflow through the fascia vent and the fascia vent can be mounted flush with the outside of the dwelling. 
     While the dimensions of the various features of the embodiment of  FIGS. 4 through 9  can be selected to accommodate particular design requirements, the following dimensions have been found to provide a net free ventilation area (NFA) at the eves of a structure that compliments that of corresponding attic vents such as ridge vents, and thus represents the best mode of carrying out the invention. With reference to  FIGS. 4 and 7 , the preferred thickness of the fascia board  52  from its interior surface  53  to its exterior surface  54  is approximately 1.25 inches and the legs that bound the slot  62  along the bottom edge of the fascia board preferably are approximately 0.25 inch thick. This means that the slot itself is 0.75 inch wide. The interior leg  64  preferably is approximately 1.25 inches long while the exterior leg  66  preferably is about 0.5 inches long, meaning that the distance between the bottom of the exterior leg  66  and the bottom of the interior leg  64  is approximately 0.75 inch, the same width as the slot itself. This forms an outside facing inlet with the same NFA as the slot  62 . The fascia board  52  itself preferably is approximately 6 inches wide with the vent pockets  56  being approximately 4.375 inches tall. The depth of the vent pockets  56  formed in the interior face  53  of the fascia board preferably is approximately 1 inch, such that the back walls  57  of the vent pockets are coextensive with the inside surface of the exterior leg  66  bounding the slot. With these dimensions, it can be established that the NFA of the fascia vent of this embodiment is about 9 square inches per foot of fascia vent. When two opposite eves are provided with fascia vents, the total NFA along the eves of the roof is then 18 inches per foot of roofline, which compliments very well the NFA of a typical ridge vent or other roof vent. Of course, any NFA between about 6 and about 12 square inches per linear foot of fascia vent may be acceptable. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an alternate embodiment of the fascia vent of claims  4  through  9  that includes an aerodynamic inlet to the elongated slot that presents less resistance to incoming air flow and thus enhances the ventilation properties of the fascia vent.  FIG. 9  is a cross-section of the lower portion of the fascia vent taken through one of the vent pockets  90 . In this embodiment, the outside leg  93  is formed with a smoothly curved interior edge  96  and the inside leg  94  with a smoothly curved outwardly extending lip  97 . The curved interior edge  96  and the curved lip  97  together bound and define an aerodynamic inlet to the elongated slot  92  that faces outward and that admits ventilating air  98  to the elongated slot  92  and ultimately to the attic with less frictional resistance. 
     The invention has been described herein in the context of preferred embodiments and methodologies considered by the inventors to represent the best modes of carrying out the invention. It will be understood, however, that various modifications to the illustrated embodiments, both subtle and gross, may be made by skilled artisans without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For instance, while preferred materials for the fabrication of the fascia vent have been presented, any material or fabrication process suitable for making the fascia vent is intended to be included herein. Further, the particular configurations or shapes of the slots, their sizes, and their lateral extent all may be modified to meet a particular commercial application or need. The slots need not extend completely through the inside face of the fascia board along their entire lengths, but may, for instance, be enclosed at their bottoms and open within the soffit bay area of a roof. In the alternate embodiment of  FIGS. 4 through 9 , the vent pockets have been illustrated as rectangular in shape; however, they may take on other shapes such as, for instance, triangular, circular, oval, or otherwise so long as sufficient air flow is established into an attic. Mechanisms other than the illustrated alignment grooves may be employed to assist an installer to align the fascia properly for fastening to the ends of roof rafters. For example, small indentations, small bumps, or a marking on the exterior face of the vent might mark the locations of the wide ribs equally well. Further, while the preferred configuration of this embodiment includes a plurality of spaced apart vent pockets on the inside face of the fascia board, it is within the scope of the invention that a single long vent pocket be provided. Thus, the term “vent pocket” as used herein and in the claims should be construed broadly to include a plurality of spaced pockets, a single long vent pocket, or any appropriate feature that communicates with the attic space when the fascia vent is installed. Also, while the slot is formed along the bottom edge of the fascia board in the preferred embodiment, it might just as well be formed at another location on the fascia board, such as, for instance, along the outside face, so long as the slot communicates with the ambient atmosphere and one or more vent pockets. The scope of the present invention is not limited by these and other details but rather is defined and circumscribed only by the language of the following claims.