# Rot!!



## balmoralboy (May 22, 2004)

I was out doing some scraping, getting ready to paint the fascia board on the front of the motel, and there seems to be some rot there. I am wondering if anyone has any idea why?

The motel is a wooden frame structure, built 1980, with a wooden truss roof and conventional roofing. It is built with a 4' overhang at the front to shade the walkway in front of the doors. There is a 8"x1" vertical fascia board and plywood soffit under the overhang. There are screened vents in the underside about every 8'

The fascia runs vertically about 1" past the soffit board. OK so far?

On the fascia board, the lower edge is rotten for about the bottom 1", in patches. The sections of rot start at one end of an individual fascia board (where two boards meet) and go for 18-24". The adjoining board is not seriously affected. The soffit and the roof do not seem to be affected.

Here's my theory:

There is no gutter, so rain runs down the roof, down the fascia, and then drips from the bottom of the board. If, and i haven't checked this, the rotted ends are at low points in the lower edge of the fascia board, could that be the last place to dry up after a rain, and be normally wet enough that it starts to rot before it gets dry?

So, what should i do?

a. Rip off the existing fascia and replace it.

b. Install gutter to prevent it being wet in future.

or,

Paint after removing the rotten wood. Then put in nails hanging down at the low points to provide a non-rotting place for the water to run from.

or, 

use plastic lumber for the fascia so that it will not rot?


What do you all think?


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## Archdean (Jul 15, 2004)

Jim,
How far do the shingles extend past the Fascia?
Is there a metal angle fascia strip under the shingle overhang and on top of the fascia board?


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## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

I agree with Dean i think you need drip edge which is what we down here call the metal strip that gets nailed to the end of the plywood and it supports the end of the shingles.


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## Archdean (Jul 15, 2004)

Drip edge is the right term and for the life of me I couldn't think of the name even though I have used miles of it,, (It's hell to get Old)

Jim must be wandering around outside looking at his roof!! And/or he doesn't like our answer!!


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## bigl22 (Sep 16, 2003)

rip out the rotted parts -- all new fascia-- put a real metal drip edge in place-- use a plastic/ aluminum fascia-- get a gutter -- bite the bullet and do it right-- and never have to do it again--


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## balmoralboy (May 22, 2004)

I was out trying to find a carpenter!

This one looks too big for me. It should be simple, but my shoulders don't work overhead that well. They have a tendency to pop out of the socket when i do that kind of thing!

The "drip edge" we call a "starter strip" here. Yes, there is one. It's the white pre-painted aluminium type. I'd guess it was retrofitted since the outer edge of the strip lines up flush with the edge of the shingles.

So the general consensus is replace the fascia boards, then put up gutters?


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## Archdean (Jul 15, 2004)

> _Originally posted by balmoralboy _
> *I was out trying to find a carpenter!
> 
> This one looks too big for me. It should be simple, but my shoulders don't work overhead that well. They have a tendency to pop out of the socket when i do that kind of thing!
> ...


Your problem has been stated by your observation The shingles must overhang the drip edge 1/2" or more , water likes to run up Hill due to surface tension and in your case it is doing exactly that !! gutters will not help and may even make it worse !!


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## balmoralboy (May 22, 2004)

So, what do I do, replace the shingles?


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## Archdean (Jul 15, 2004)

> _Originally posted by balmoralboy _
> *So, what do I do, replace the shingles? *


Without seeing it I would remove the tabs from however many shingles you need and slide the solid strips up under the existing shingles. Nail under the tabs you already have and put a strip of roof tar(mastic) between the two this will give you a drip edge of shingle 1/2 to 3/4 " over your fascia!! make sure you butt the new pieces under and midway under an existing tab!!
If not clear holler!


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## Archdean (Jul 15, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Archdean _
> *Without seeing it I would remove the tabs from however many shingles you need and slide the solid strips up under the existing shingles. Nail under the tabs you already have and put a strip of roof tar(mastic) between the two this will give you a drip edge of shingle 1/2 to 3/4 " over your fascia!! make sure you butt the new pieces under and midway under an existing tab!!
> If not clear holler! *


Ps you can use any color just turn them over!


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## balmoralboy (May 22, 2004)

My carpenter wants to put aluminium fascia cover over new spruce fascia board. That way, water runs down the aluminium not the wood. Make any sense to you guys?


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## Archdean (Jul 15, 2004)

> _Originally posted by balmoralboy _
> *My carpenter wants to put aluminium fascia cover over new spruce fascia board. That way, water runs down the aluminium not the wood. Make any sense to you guys? *


Sure why not, it still has to be reset from the roof overhang or it will run up under and behind the (al)cover!


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## bigl22 (Sep 16, 2003)

do what the carpenter says -- make sure that the drip edge is intact and overhangs the fascia


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## balmoralboy (May 22, 2004)

Thanks Guys, I really appreciate the help.


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## Argee (Sep 17, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Archdean _
> *Your problem has been stated by your observation The shingles must overhang the drip edge 1/2" or more , water likes to run up Hill due to surface tension and in your case it is doing exactly that !! gutters will not help and may even make it worse !! *


That's not entirely right....The drip edge overhangs the fascia board thus allowing the water to drip past the fascia and to the ground.

My advice to you balmoralboy would be to cover your existing fascia with aluminum thereby making it impervious to water. Replacing the fascia board would be an expensive venture.


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## Archdean (Jul 15, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Argee _
> *That's not entirely right....The drip edge overhangs the fascia board thus allowing the water to drip past the fascia and to the ground.
> 
> My advice to you balmoralboy would be to cover your existing fascia with aluminum thereby making it impervious to water. Replacing the fascia board would be an expensive venture. *


Argee, If you look at his roof profile I think it is barely a 3/12 if that, which means at the tail his pitch at the point that is raised by his drip edge is nearly flat! 

Thats why I encouraged Jim to extend his shingles as they will sag down to an angle sufficiently to prevent the water from migrating back to the fascia!
The failure to do that caused the problem he now has!! IMHO.


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## balmoralboy (May 22, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Argee _
> *That's not entirely right....The drip edge overhangs the fascia board thus allowing the water to drip past the fascia and to the ground.
> 
> My advice to you balmoralboy would be to cover your existing fascia with aluminum thereby making it impervious to water. Replacing the fascia board would be an expensive venture. *


You guys are amazing!!! It's raining hard here today with no wind, and the older section has rain running to the edge of the shingles and dripping off clear of the fascia. The newer section, where the rot problem is, the rain is running down the front of the drip edge, down the fascia, and then dripping off the lower edge of the fascia.

Take a Bow, guys!! Well Done!!

I've been pricing materials and I'm looking at (all per running Foot)$.55 for spruce fascia, 1.20 for pine, and .78 for aluminium cover. Labour will be about $1.50 including painting both sides of the spruce before installation. Incidentally, Randy, you may be interested that HD was $50 less on the aluminium and $100 more for wood because they don't carry spruce, only pine and only in 8' lengths.


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## bigl22 (Sep 16, 2003)

get the spruce-- lighter weight- less of a sponge like wood and swells and soaks less water weight-- if you can swing it- you Paint al of the fscia board first before it goes on -- [ yes even though it will be covered by the fascia cover] and be sure that the board ends are painted very well


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## bjepple (Oct 23, 2004)

I don't know if you have fixed your rot problem yet, but I always spring for the extra money and put pressure treated lumber for the facer boards. I've never had a customer complain about the extra cost once I explained it to them. It is obviously more expensive but in the event water does get behind the fascia, it will take a long time to cause substantial damage. If you don't want to spend the $ for PT lumber, do like bigl22 said and paint it well. And you do want to make sure the drip edge and shingles extend out as far as reasonably possible.


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## Archdean (Jul 15, 2004)

> _Originally posted by balmoralboy _
> *You guys are amazing!!! It's raining hard here today with no wind, and the older section has rain running to the edge of the shingles and dripping off clear of the fascia. The newer section, where the rot problem is, the rain is running down the front of the drip edge, down the fascia, and then dripping off the lower edge of the fascia.
> 
> Take a Bow, guys!! Well Done!!
> ...


Hope your able to get a decent allowance for that "SWEATER"
Btw it was nice of you to thank us!!


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## balmoralboy (May 22, 2004)

> _Originally posted by bjepple _
> *I don't know if you have fixed your rot problem yet, but I always spring for the extra money and put pressure treated lumber for the facer boards. I've never had a customer complain about the extra cost once I explained it to them. It is obviously more expensive but in the event water does get behind the fascia, it will take a long time to cause substantial damage. If you don't want to spend the $ for PT lumber, do like bigl22 said and paint it well. And you do want to make sure the drip edge and shingles extend out as far as reasonably possible. *


Bj, first of all, let me welcome you to the boards and the chattering classes. I see you have 9 posts. If you keep up with the wise words you'll soon have 100.

I've thought a lot about using PT wood, but I've seen some work on what comes back out of it over the years, and I expect that someday we'll be ripping all of the PT wood back out, sort of like UFFI insulation and asbestos floors and shingles.

So, for me, I'm not using it. But it was a good idea.


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