Unistrut Soffit Vent
This typically commercial building material makes for a modern, unconventional architectural detail.
I needed a 1⅝-in soffit vent for the overhang of a new building. One day, I saw some Unistrut lying around and decided to create a mock up of a vent using a 1⅝-in.-wide piece of it. The architect and client liked the idea, so we got to work.
To start, we rolled lengths of 5-in.-wide insect screen into the Unistrut (1). Then, to fasten the 20-ft.-long sections to their new home, we temporarily attached blocks to the 4×8 rafters and anchored the strut with screws and 1 1/2-in. washers (2).
Swapping these fasteners for the completely concealed ones was the most tedious part of the process. I needed needle-nose pliers, a long #2 bit, and many deep, calming breaths to finagle the Unistrut nut into its channel (3). The screen is continuous throughout the 20-ft. sections (4), with about 6 in. of overlap at the butt joints.
— Steve Pink; Portland, Oregon
From Fine Homebuilding #282
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