Southern Overhangs

Highlights

Proper shading strategies can reduce undesirable heat gain in summer and increase the desirable heat gain in winter. If you are not planning an addition or roof work, there are several good retractable awning solutions that are available. If you are undertaking exterior construction, then simply extending the overhangs is a very cost-effective solution because the added labor and material cost are not significant given that they already need to build the roof.

You, your architect, or your builder can actually calculate the overhang based on the latitude of where your live to shade all of the summer sun and let all of the winter sun heat your house. As an example an 18” overhang works in Philadelphia where the sun is 85% off the horizon in the summer at noon and drops to 25% over the winter.

The ROI Calculation is based on an additional 12" of overhang on 60 linear feet of the southern elevation and a matching 60 feet on the opposite side of the house to balance the aesthetics. Typical roof construction cost $6 / sq. ft. for asphalt or reflective roof, plus up to $6 for detailing.

A little extra shade, helps keeps the direct sun from overheating your house, and in this case the soffit detail turns the corner to complete the aesthetic with a fascia board and trim.

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