Ventilation Louvres

Are all houses supposed to have soffit vents for the Attic?

My house has a breathing space in between the block wall and the sheet rock. This space runs from the attic to the basement. I put soffit vents for the attic to vent. Before there was none. When my natural gas furnace comes on, I think it may pull cool air into the house through the soffit vents, ridge vents, and gable vents. I was just wondering if with my house design, should I have allowed the soffit to vent?

Public Comments

1. Those open spaces in the wall should have been filled with insulation. When air drafts through them, heat and air condition air escapes, raising your cost to heat and cool your house. As for soffit vents, it would depend upon the type of roof structure you have and the type of insulation you have.
2. do not fill the wall cavities with insulation as this will cause rot and mould years down the line. air spaces or cavities are important to create an air flow and moisture drainage down to the foundations. soffitt vents are allways a good idea if pracitcall. make sure the attic insulation does not cover the soffitt vents bacuse any moisture in the attic would then sit on the insulation and weigh it down therefore reducing the performance of the insulation. all attics need venting. andy.