Fascia and Eave Repair in San Diego, CA

How does water reach the fascia and the rafter tails?

Water reaches the fascia from an overflowing gutter, from a cracked drip edge or from a cap that has lifted at the eave. It sits against the wood, soaks in at the joints and softens the grain from the inside.

Paint that has blistered lets water in behind the film, and once the wood is wet the paint cannot dry out the moisture. A board that was painted only on its face and not on the back is especially prone to this.

Rafter tails are reached when the fascia fails and the water runs along the top of the rafter. That is why a fascia repair is checked up into the attic.

Once the fascia is soft, the nails that hold the gutter work loose and the gutter starts to sag. That sag makes the water run to the lowest point and spill over the front edge, which wets the fascia further. A gutter repair without a fascia repair is therefore often a repair that has to be done twice.

What does salt air do to the trim at the coast?

Salt holds moisture against wood and paint, and it speeds the breakdown of the finish. The coastal trim is checked more often and is primed on all faces.

Salt also corrodes the nails and brackets that hold the trim, so the fixings are checked as well as the wood. Stainless or coated fixings are used where the exposure calls for them.

The technician notes which faces of the trim face the wind and the spray, and the finish is chosen to suit.

Coastal homes often have fascia boards of a material that is less resistant to salt than the owner expects. Painted pine and fiber-cement boards both need a sealed back and sealed joints, and the technician checks which one is in place before choosing the replacement and the primer.

How does sun change the fascia finish inland?

Inland sun bakes the paint on the south and west faces of the fascia. The paint dries, cracks and lets the water through, and the wood behind it dries and splits.

A light finish reflects more sun and shows the wear sooner. A darker color absorbs more heat. The technician chooses the color with the sun's path in mind, and the owner can see the reasons on the scope.

Re-painting every few years is a sensible rhythm on the sunniest faces. A quick check of the paint each spring shows whether it is still holding.

On the inland sun side, the fascia is also exposed to the glare that reflects off a light-colored wall or pavement. That reflected heat dries the paint from the outside in, so the finish on those faces may need more frequent checks than the shaded side of the same house.

A trim color is chosen with the sun in mind. A pale finish reflects more of the light and runs cooler, while a dark finish absorbs heat and can crack its paint sooner on the south and west faces. The technician asks which color the owner wants and explains how it will age on that face before the paint is mixed.

Why check the vent and the drip edge at the same time?

The soffit vent and the drip edge are part of the same edge detail. A repair that closes the vent or leaves the drip edge loose can move the problem to another place.

The soffit vent is needed for the attic's airflow, so it is kept open. The drip edge guides the water off the roof and into the gutter, and it must lap correctly over the fascia.

Checking the three parts together takes little extra time and prevents a second visit for the same edge.

The eave is also where the attic first shows a problem. A vent that is blocked by a fallen piece of soffit, or a drip edge that has lifted, lets water and debris into the attic space, and the first sign is often a dark mark on the underside of the eave board. The technician looks at the attic side during the eave work so both faces of the problem are dealt with.

A soffit panel that is replaced should be vented in the same way as the one it replaces. A solid panel where a vented one was installed removes the attic's intake, and the attic then runs hotter than the owner expects. The technician checks the existing panel's pattern and matches it, or explains the change if a different pattern is proposed.