DIY Garden Shed Project

I don't know about you, but over time I accumulate stuff and that stuff was cluttering my utility room. It was stuff not junk. So much s that my wife started complaining about this stuff.   See my house doesn't have a garage and didn't come with a storage shed, so when we needed to buy shovels and tools we just placed them in the utility room where our freezer and washer and dryer resided.  However this was not optimal so I said why not just get a shed. 

I looked and searched and priced, and was going to spend over  $500.00 either way for a shed, so in my creative voice I said I will just build one.   I looked on the net for shed ideas and found one that I liked on Pintrest.  So I studied the picture over a few days and jotted down some notes.   But never really drew up any plans.  Yes you read that correctly. This shed was built without a single plan only an image.  The total cost of the shed was

But this shed was going to be slightly different after all I live in windy Florida place of hurricanes and sporadic storm fronts.  What does living in Florida have to do with building a shed?  Well there are some things you have to consider.  With winds reaching up to 60mph during a spring or summer storm you don't want to see your shed tumbling through the neighborhood.  So it has to be sturdy and secured. 

Most sheds you see on Pinterest are your basic garden shed, not really secured, but just relying on the weight to keep it in place.  Not so with this.  

THIS IS NOT A WEEKEND PROJECT  expect to spend some time on this project to get it right.

Tools & Hardware - Let's start with the tools you may need to build your shed

Circular Saw	Corner Brackets
Miter Saw or table saw	Wedge Anchors (tapCon Screws)
Drill	4" Deck Screws
Level(s)	3" Deck screws
Hammer	1 1/2" Deck Screw
Tape Measure	1" Deck Screws
Speed Square	Rafter ties
Palm Sander	Stud Braces
Clamps	Gate Hinges
Socket Wrench	Lock/Latch
Rubber Mallet	Shingles/felt/plywood

As I stated anchoring your shed should be first thought when building your shed. Some places require you to pull permits or submit plans when building a structure on your property so you may want to check with your city before deciding on a location for your shed.  But Permits are for suckers, who needs a piece of paper after all it your property right?!  

I am not going to put how many of each item you will need to complete the project because it totally depends on the size of your shed. 

I chose to use treated pine for my shed as it was easier to find and cheaper material than cedar ( 1.20 vs 3.94).  As long as you get pressure treated lumber your shed will last a long time.  The total number of screws used in my shed are 353.

I used the following wood sizes depending on your project:
1x4x10 ,  2x4x12 , 1x6x16 

Pouring the Foundation

I chose to place my shed off the utility room (just  in case I ever wanted to run power to it). Once I had the location now I needed to both raise it to prevent water from entering and to secure the shed.  Using left over wood from a pergola I tore down, I framed out my new foundation.  Pouring a foundation is relatively simple, all you will need is about 5 - 15 60-80LBS bags of cement depending on the thickness  and square foot of the foundation.  You will also need a wire mesh (not rebar) that can be found at Lowes or Home Deport for under $10.00.  Cement can be pricey so watch for sales at your local hardware store.

$8.95 at Lowes.

Once you have framed your foundation lay the wire mesh in the frame covering as much of the area as possible. The wire mesh will give your foundation some added strength and flexibility to prevent it from cracking as the ground shifts.  Follow the directions on your cement for the appropriate water to mix ratio.  Using another board (skrim) and person smooth out the top of the foundation ensuring the cement settles into the corners well. 

Before the foundation hardens insert  the wedge anchors.  This will prevent you from having to down drill into the foundation to insert Tapcon Screws.  Threaded end pointing skyward. The wedge anchors will be used to secure the walls to the foundation.  The anchors should be spaced about 18" - 20" apart to ensure that there are away from any studs when framing the walls.

Cover the foundation in a plastic sheeting this will help the curing process and also protect your newly poured foundation incase of any inclement weather.  The foundation may seem difficult but if you have ever mixed cement you can do the foundation.  Please wear gloves when working with cement as it can eat your hands raw.  The foundation took me 2 hours to mix and set using a wheel barrow and shovel. Depending on the weather it may take up to 3 days for your foundation to fully cure.

Framing Walls

While the foundation is curing, you have time to frame out the walls of your shed.  There are three main walls: the two sides and the back.  If you need to sketch them out before starting now is your chance.  Unlike most, I prefer to use screws when working with wood. The main reason is for durability. Screws do not work themselves out unlike nails will over time as the wood expands and contracts.  Secondly if you mis-measure or have to undo your connections you can easily unscrew them instead of risking damaging the wood with a hammer or mallet.

In this picture you can see the side walls are actually framed.  The shed will having a sloping room. The roof is sloped toward the back to help with drainage from rain.  It is important to take the slope / pitch of your roof into account.  Depending on where you decided to locate the shed rain water runoff can harm the area around the shed.  It is also important when framing the walls as you want to ensure that the walls sit flush.   The studs on the walls are 16" on center.  You can do walls 24" on center if you wish, but 16" is the norm meaning that every 16 inches you should run into a stud.  

The back wall (not shown) will be shorter in height than the other two walls.  Please make sure that the walls are even and flush at the corners.

Siding

Lap Siding stained and secured using screws

Choosing your siding for the shed in itself is a chore. You can choose lap siding (as I did) or you can go with solid plywood walls and stucco, or brick.  The least expensive is the lap siding or paneling.  After the walls are framed this is the next step into building your shed.  I chose pine dog ear fence boards in 10' lengths. Cut off the dog ears and stain or waterproof the fence boards.  Staining will take some time but will give you various options in colors to choose from. Staining and weatherproofing the wood will guarantee long lasting use.   Which ever siding you choose please make sure you take the time to prep the area by sanding if necessary and/or staining and painting.  It will be easier to do so now than when the shed is completed.

Lap Siding is easy to achieve.  Measure the length of the wall and transcribe that to the planks. The bottom plank should cover the base of the frame fully. Using your table saw/miter/circular saw cut the boards down to size. If your wall is square, you can make continuous cuts until you get to the taper at the top.   Make sure the first plank is level across the frame and using the 1 1/2" deck screws screw the board down.  Take the next plank and overlap the board just enough to cover the screws in the previous board.  Use your level and make sure that it is straight and secure this board to the frame as well. Make sure the plank is secured to each stud on the wall. Hint: Predrill all the holes in the planks  before screwing to prevent splintering or cracking.

Repeat these steps for the two side walls and the back supporting wall. 

Putting it together

At this point in the project you will need a partner. After the siding is placed onto the exterior walls they will weigh significantly more.  Ask a friend or neighbor, a son, wife daughter but don't try to do it yourself.  Unfortunately, I been working out some and the weight wasn't the problem it was supporting the walls while you ratchet them into place. But I managed to do it alone.. How did I accomplish this?, prayer helped, but also two 1x4x10 posts (which is what you will need later)  1 placed on the outside of the wall the other placed on the inside to hold the wall in place.   The wedge anchors come with hex nuts and washers for fast easy installations.  If you remember from previously your anchors should be placed 18" - 20" apart. transpose the locations of the wedge anchors and drill a hole through the base of the walls (bottom plate)  3/8" hole in this case. You may want to make the hole larger than the bolt so the wall will fit easily into place.  Once all the holes are drilled (make sure you double check the placement.   Hint: take white out or paint and place a dob of it on top of the anchor lift the wall and set it down on top of the anchors (these will place a mark on the bottom plate) and drill the hole.

Set the walls in place, have your friend hold the wall while you ratchet the wall into position.  Check to make sure everything lines up smoothly and secure the walls.  The wedge anchors will support the walls as each one is rated for over 250lbs of force.   Join the walls together in the corner. you can use a 3" deck screw to joint the side wall to the back wall.  Here again you may want to predrill the hole.  Wood is natural and since it is natural there are some knots that you can't see.  Predrilling these will save you time and heartache trying to force the screw through this hard section of wood.   I placed 6  of these 3" screws on each wall.  Once all three walls are together place an L brace on the bottom of each of the studs.  This will give it an added layer of reinforcement to prevent sway another step is to brace each section of the wall with a cross brace, more on this later.
You will notice a mistake I made in prepping the wall.  OH SNAP!  I forgot a wedge anchor.  Oh well not to worry. Get a hammer drill and an TapCon Screw and drill through the baseplate and foundation, insert the TapCon and viola fixed.   Remember place the "L" braces along the studs of the wall 1 per side.

Top-plates and Rafters

By now your shed should have all 3 walls in place
and is free standing (well with the help of a brace). The next step you can skip if you are just building a simple garden shed. But I don't know what simple is so here is the next step adding top plates.  What is a top plate? It is an upper wall plate which is fastened along the top of the wall studs as pictured here.  By the time you finish building this shed you will be ranked as an intermediate framer, meaning that the techniques used to frame this shed is the same as framing out rooms and walls in houses and buildings.

The top plate is going to be used to secure the rafters for the roof as well as secure the three walls together.  But first we need to put another board across the front of the shed.  This board will be used to frame your doors as well as support the roof and rafter system.  This beam will provide lateral support for your shed as well and contain a top plate.  Measure the distance from wall to wall and cut the beam (2x6x10) and knock it into place using the rubber mallet. Again its time to call a friend or call in a favor.  You will need more than one person for this section of the project.  If you have a drill to make pocket holes here is when you need to do so.  

If you do not have a pocket hole joiner (Kreg Tool) simply predrill the holes in at a 45 or 35 degree angle into the adjoining boards.  Then screw the beams together with the appropriate length screw.  Do this for both sides of the beam.  Next measure the length for the top plate.  The top plate should extend from one side wall to the other and across the door frame.  Secure this top plate with screws or nails your choice but screws are better.

Top plate over door and back wall.



Because my shed is angled and not square I had to do some additional cuts to place the top plates across the sides of the two walls.  What do I mean by additional cuts? Well as  you can imagine since the walls are slope
d the space at the end of the walls are slightly off,  though the height is not the issue since we will be adding rafters  to the shed for the roof.  Not necessary if you are going to do a flat roof ( just frame it out as you would a wall).   But remember I said I am not simple so I don't take the easy way nor many short cuts.
So how did I overcome the issue with the height of the side walls vs the height of the back wall?  Simply I ripped the 2x4x6 the same angle of the wall  using a circular saw and notching out a section to secure the top plate.  This would be easier using a table saw but I did not have one handy at the time of this build.  Mental note buy a table saw.
  
The top plates can clearly be seen in these photos. The gap at the top plate is easily solved by adding shims or cutting scrap wood and hammering it into the position of the gap, once in screw down the top plates, you can also caulk this area if you want. 

Adding top plates to the shed will add strength and stability  to the structure as well as give the rafters an area to be secured down.

Determine the length of your rafters (they should all be the same length).  Here is where you will need to use a speed square to determine the pitch of the roof and to make the notches in the rater over the top plates on both ends of the rater.  I suggest using scrap wood before making the initial cuts on your wood so you can get the angle just right.  The two outer rafters I had to rip in half as they would have been higher than the rest of the roof.  When you find the right angles for the notches use each board as pattern for the remaining rafters.  You may need to make some slight adjustments for each rafter as wood is not perfectly straight.  With the use of your friend ( you may have to bribe them with some beer or food) lift the rafters into position.  Like I said I did this portion alone as well, after all I was still working out regularly, lol. 

Back of rafter with 3 rafter ties

Use the 4" deck screws to secure the back ends of the rafter.  Predrill as much as you can as these longer screws can bend easily if you hit a knot.  The screw should go through the rafter and the top plate.  Remember rafters are usually made up of 2x4x10s  (the actual height of a 2x4 is between 2.75" and 3.5"  its not really 4" so long screws are needed. The head of the screw should penetrate the wood as well (do not leave them flush)  which will indeed reach the top plate.  The rafters are secured by 2 of these long screws. Repeat the process for

Front of rafter secured with 2 ties

each rafter front and back. Make sure you check the spacing before securing the front of each rafter;  you want to at least maintain 16" between each rafter.  Add the bracing (rafter ties) to each rafter, 1 on each side of the rafter front and back. Also, for additional support add rafter ties to using the inner bracing as seen in the picture.  There should be 5 rafter ties per inner rafter and three for the exterior rafters.

Repeat the process for each rafter securing both the back and the front of the rafters to the shed.  these rafter ties are normally used with nails however, I always use screws even though they are  more expensive it just means you don't have to worry about the boards coming undone.  The rafter ties are secured with 1 to 1 5/8" screws. You will need to make sure that there is a screw in every hole. If you pulled a permit the inspector will be looking that each hole is used.

The holes are there for a reason so make sure you use them.  Rafter ties will securely hold the roof system in place and will also hold up in winds in excess of 100mph.  Here is a

closer look at the rafter ties used.  You can pick them up from Lowes for as low as $.59 each, yes fifty-nine cents. Do Not  over look these.

Now that the rafters are basically installed, we need to add cross bracing to the roof system. Cross bracing adds stability and durability as well as allowing the roof decking a place to be anchored too. Measure the space between each rafter and using the scrap wood that  you is left from the 2x4x8s  cut them to fit in between each rafter.  Make sure you stagger them in a step pattern.  Secure the cross bracing with 2" deck screws or nails.   Once you have finished bracing the rafters do the same thing to the interior walls of the shed. the cross bracing here will prevent the twisting and swaying of the walls and add strength.  These cross bracing in the walls can double as storage space or shelves for your tools.

Now it's time to add the roof decking.  Roof decking is nothing more than sheets of 5/8" or  3/4" plywood. Hoist the roof decking in place and secure using either screws or nails; you already know which I chose, yup 1 1/2" screws.  Place hurricane clips between the decking sheets. the hurricane clips provide strength to the decking where there is a two pieces being joined.   Tack down the roof felt (about 24.00 a roll at your local hardware store), you will have a lot of felt left over, using roofing tacks.

Building the Doors

The doors of the shed can be done last as well as the added trim. To build the doors you will need to frame them using 1x4x10s and fence planks or plywood.  The fence planks look more decorative.  Once you have measured the inside frame for the doors transfer those measurements to your lumber.  Frame the door as you would the walls, first the outer walls beams first, followed by the cross bracing then secure the planks to the door frame. Remember to leave room from the edges of the door for the hinges and the closing of the door.  You will need to add a door stop to the door frame and you want to make sure that the edge of the door fits properly.  You will need to use your large clamps here as well as a bottle of wood glue and the same friend you called upon before.  These are large doors and are considerably heavy between 50 - 80lbs each.  Depending on the size of your door you may need three gate hinges to attach the door.  Have your friend hoist the door in place while you attach the gate hinges start at the top, proceed to the bottom hinge and then the center hinge this will make sure the door is even.  Open the door  and close it to make sure it is landing where you desire especially at the door stop.  Repeat this process for the second door if there is one.  I chose not to stain the doors as the natural wood grain on these planks look great.

You are almost done,  just a few more touches and your shed will be ready to store your items.  Choose your shingles, mostly likely use the same type as is on the roof of your home. I chose

architectural shingles, cost a little more but I only needed two bundles (29.00 each).  I left the overlap of the shingles at the front.  The reason for this is that I wanted the shed to be able to breath.  Sure the lap siding provides some airflow but the I purposely left the portion between the roof and the top plate open so air could pass through freely alleviating the danger of fumes from gas or any other chemicals that may be stored in the shed.  I did, however, put a screen (not shown) in these gaps to keeps wasps and insects out of the shed.  I also took an added measure of preventing spiders and other unwanted insects by spraying pesticide around the top and bottom of the shed. This is to be repeated every 6 - 9 months.

Enjoy your new shed.

Wood / Laminate Flooring

Tired of that carpet?  Is your carpet worn out? Well replace it with a floating wood or laminate floor. I have already done the main living room and den with laminate flooring. For as much money and support and free exposure I am giving Lowes I should get some kind of kickback.

Well let's get started. This is not a hard job at all and depending on the area that you are covering it could take only a day.  I got my Cherry wood laminate floor from Lowes at a cost of 19.21 a box.  If you sign up for MyLowes program it will keep track of everything you purchase in case you need to buy more or replacement parts. It also allows Lowes to send you coupon savings that you can use for other purchases. Sometimes $15.00 off a purchase of $50.00 and $25.00 off a purchase of $200.00 or more: the saving prices vary. But they do send these out to members especially those who continually purchase material or items from them. 

OK enough free publicity.

Let's Get Started:

The very first thing you should do is to decide on the color flooring you will want to go in your home (yes men listen to your wife, girlfriend, whomever).  DIY is not just for men but women also can do this job with little trouble. 

First, as always measure the area in which you are working. Remember to find the square footage of a room just multiply length x width (LxW = SqFt).  

You will need the following tools to complete this project:

• Tape measure
• Miter Saw
• Utility Knife
• Square
• Wood floor kit (will contain spacers)
• 1/4" round molding
• underlayment
• Rubber Mallet
• Pry bar
• Knee Pads

After you have all the tools you need, you will have to empty the room(s) of all the furniture.  You can just move some furniture aside however this becomes more of a hassle than just taking it out.  Stop being lazy and save yourself some time and frustration by having an empty room.  

Using your utility knife, find the seam in the carpet and cut the seam of the carpet. Grab a corner of the carpet and pull. Carpet is held down by a tack strip that is located at the perimeter of the room. If you cant grab it with your hand grab some pliers and pinch a good amount of the carpet and pull up.  Carpet is easy to remove. Once you have the carpet up, remove the carpet pad, don't be too disgusted about all the stains you will see, some of them are from the foundation or subfloor. Other stains,  well if you have animals that would explain the more prominent stains.

Use the pry bar to remove the tack strips. Tack strip are held down by small nails. If you have a concrete floor you will probably notice some of the cement comes up with the tack strip at the nails. Do not worry it is normal, besides we are going to cover the concrete with an underlayment.   After, you have removed all the carpet, carpet padding and tack strips sweep the floor of any debris.

Underlayment:
There are various types of underlayment you can purchase: standard plastic roll, fiber based and thermal insulated.  Your underlayment must have a moisture barrier.  I suggest you purchase an underlayment that has moisture barrier as well as sound deadening abilities. I do not recommend just using the thin plastic foam underlayment: it will not provide a lot of sound deadening nor comfort as you walk.  Be prepared to spend at least 60.00 per 100 sq. ft. on a good underlayment.  A good one of choice to use would be Tecsun 100-sq ft Premium 0.125-in Flooring Underlayment which can be found at Lowes.  It thickness is an good sound absorption and it is both mold, water and moister resistant.

Underlayment come with a tape strip. This tape strip should face the interior of the room and be able to seal the seams between the underlayment layers. Please ensure you have extra tape as some of the underlayment's tape adhesive may not secure correctly. It does not hurt to re-tape the seams of the underlayments.

Direction of Floor:
I know you are saying what?!! there is a certain direction the floor should be placed?  Well yes of course direction is everything. The grain pattern in the floor can either make a room look small or larger.  Just like they say stripes make you look thinner or bigger depending if they are horizontal or vertical the same thing can be said for flooring.   Determine where your light source is and run the pattern of the wood towards that source (for example if you have front widows the boards should face that direction).

Placing Floor:
You should have the underlayment down and taped securely. The most important row to get right is the first row.   Using the spacers provided in your wood floor installation kit, lay the first row approximately 1/4" from the wall. This will allow the floor to expand and contract during changes in temperature and prevent buckling of the floor. Note: there should be a 1/4" gap around the entire perimeter of the floor.  

DO NOT PRECUT ANY OF THE FLOORING

After you have the first row down, using your miter saw (skill saw or what have you) cut about 1- 2 inches off the first board on the second row.  You need to make this cut so that the floor will be staggered. The horizontal joints at the top of the board should not line up, but be placed in a staggered setting (think of a staircase). Tilt the board slightly on the lip of the first board making sure the bottoms are even.  Continue to connect the flooring  and repeat the steps ensuring to cut 1-2 inches off every other row. 

If you have any corners to go around wait until you get to the corner before making the cut, always measure twice okay maybe 4 times and before you make the cut. You may even want to use the cardboard box the flooring came in and trace the corner on it so that you can use it as a pattern for the cut.

1/4" Round:
Once the floor is down, use the 1/4" round to cover the 1/4" gap around the perimeter of the floor. When placing the 1/4" round in corners make sure you a scrap piece to get the miter joints correctly, unless you are a pro at eyeing the cuts.  Secure the 1/4" molding to the baseboard with finishing nails: DO NOT NAIL INTO THE FLOOR.  If you nail the molding to the floor it will eventually cause the floor to buckle during the changes in temperature. 

Transitions:
When you are doing a hardwood, laminate or tile floor you will need to have a transition in place. The transitions should be purchased at the same time as the flooring.  Transitions do not come in bundles but in a long piece. The transition will have an aluminum or tin railing along with the raised piece of flooring.  The transition is secured in place by screws that are drilled into the subfloor or concrete. You can cut the transition using tin snips or if you are like me and couldn't find your pair a good pair of kitchen shears will work nicely.  Just make sure your wife isn't home when she see's you whit her kitchen shears or you will get an ear full. But hey they are made to cut just about anything right?

Once you have the rail in place the transition snaps into place rather easily. Transitions are used at openings like doorways and transitioning from wood to tile or wood to carpet.

If you did not want to use the metal rail in the transition you can still use the wooden transition, but you will need to secure it to both the laminate floor as well as the other flooring material. If this is the case (I don't know why you really would do this ) you can use Locktight or similar adhesive. 

Finishing up:
Sweep the floor. Now is a good time to get a Swiffer or an iRobot Roomba. Laminate floors look beautiful and will last you a long time if you take care of them. Depending on the traffic in your house you may end up sweeping them every three days. If you have pets you may want to sweep every day.  

Cleaning your new floors:  You can mop them the same as you would a tile floor however be careful not to place excessive amounts of liquid on the floor as the water can seep in between the joints and cause the floor to ripple.  You can buy laminate floor cleaner from any store, the best application is applied using a Swiffer type wet/dry broom.  NEVER use products like Pledge on your floor. The wax in these products will make your floor very slippery and can cause people to slip and fall.  Though its rather entertaining to watch your pets try to walk across the area that you waxed its not very safe for humans.

Lastly, use furniture pads on the bottoms of your furniture to make sure they do not scratch the floor when rearranging rooms.  Though laminate flooring can be replaced easily, you really don't want to have to replace boards unless there is a serious need.

Sit back enjoy your new floor and marvel in your work. 

Replacing Existing Fascia Board

Everyone will deal with this issue at some point in time during home ownership. Mine came sooner than expected.

What is fascia boards?  Fascia board  in layman's terms is the wood trim around the exterior of your home which traditionally supports your gutter system.  There are many blogs out there about how to replace sections of fascia board (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/step/0,,20183702_20076509,00.html)  but what if you have to replace all of it. What these blogs fail to state are the steps to take when replacing the fascia.  

Here I am taking you on the steps I did to replace the fascia board on my home.  My home was built in 1964 and we replaced the roof in 2008 (yes the roof was DIY project as well)  at the time of replacing the roof the fascia board was perfectly fine.   But 6 years later sun and water cause the boards to rot.  As you can see mine were severely rotted man I am just lucky animals didn't get in there then it would be a whole different adventure. 

Detecting Rot: 

There is one sure way to find out if you need to replace your fascia: are your gutters loose or sagging?  If you have gutters on your home and you notice that the gutter fastener has come loose from the fascia it is a sure sign that rot has begun to set in on your fascia.  If you do not have gutters closely look at your fascia board, using the handle of a screwdriver tap on the fascia board, if you notice a difference in sound and or hardness you will need to replace that board.  

Replacing the Fascia on a existing roof can be done without calling a roofing company or a contractor. If you are good with using a miter saw, tape measure, nail gun, hammer or drill then you can do this project yourself.  I suggest you get two friends to help you on the bigger jobs. 

Tools:

• Kobalt 8in Stainless Steel  Drywall Taping knife
• Drip Edge (if necessary)
• Miter Saw
• pry bar
• Tape Measure
• Ladder (2 or a scaffolding)
• 2 x 6 x 12 treated lumber (Lowes or local lumber supply)
• Roofing Tar (10oz  All Weather Roofing Cement)
• 1lb-Galvanized Roofing Nails
• 1-lb #10 x 3.5-in Countersinking-Head Polymer-Coated Phillips Deck Screws
• Rubber Mallet
• Hammer
• Hammer Drill with phillips srew bit
• Rotary tool (saw to cut nails if needed)
• Caulk
• building permit (if required)
• Plastic sheeting (in case of weather)

My estimated cost of this project total was $220.00. Yes that is for all the fascia board on the house.

Total time well time is relative after all things come up and so does weather at times. 

Skill Level:  6 (if you can use a saw and know how to read a measuring tape you are suited to do this job)

Getting Started:

First measure the total number of square feet you will need to purchase lumber.  Remember to find the sq.ft. you need to measure the length x width.  Lumber will be your greatest expense. I recommend buying an extra board after you calculate the amount of lumber needed, this will save you time in case you measured wrong or your mitering skills are not great.  

Once you have all the materials needed to get started (a good friend included) start by lifting up the the first row of shingles. I know you are saying What!?!?!  But you must lift up the first row of shingles in order to pull off the bad fascia board.  

Removing The Fascia Board:  can be the longest part of the repair process. If you run  into issues like I did with having the roof decking tied into the nailer board.  If yours is similar you will need to break out the Dremel tool to cut the decking nails from the nailer board, if not then your removal will be easier.

Using the Taping knife, place it at the crease of the drip edge and the shingle. What is Drip edge.  Drip edge is the shiny metal that flashes the joint between the edge of the roof and the top of the fascia board.   Tap the taping knife until it goes between the drip edge and the shingle, be careful not to tear the shingles we are not trying to replace your roof just the fascia boards.  Repeat this step for the section of the boards that you are replacing.  You can do one entire side of the house if you desire to save time.  Lift up on the tapping knife and the tar should break loose under the shingles. 

Take your pry bar and find the roofing nails in the drip edge and remove them. Roofing nails are only about an inch long so you do not need a lot of room. There are usually 4 - 6 roofing nails per drip edge.  Use the pry bar to assist you in removing the nails from the drip edge.  Once the drip edge is removed use the pry bar to pull the fascia board loose from the rafters. Tip start at the edge of the miter joint in the fascia board and pull toward you. the fascia board is typically held in with 3 inch galvanized nails. 


Please note: I did not re-install the nailer board on my house  instead i used a 2 x 6 x 12 board that is used to replace both fascia and nailer board.  Nailer board smailer board who needs it anyway? in 90% of houses they all have nailer boards to offset the placement of gutters.  Me  I am not replacing the nailer board, why?  My reasoning was simple: I am just going to rest the gutters directly under the drip edge, if I choose to use gutters again.  Once you have the nailer board and fascia board off you should be able to see inside your attic area.  YOU DO NOT NEED TO REMOVE THE SOFFITS UNLESS THEY ARE DAMAGED. 

Save the drip edge:  if you are careful in removing the nails holding the drip edge you can reuse them to save you some money. Drip edge can be found at any hardware store and  each rail costs under $10.00.  Since the drip edge is thin, be careful not to bend twist or damage can occur. If you do damage them do not worry, you can tap out some bends and dents using a rubber mallet. Drip edge can be painted so if you mark it up don't worry, just cover it with paint.

Installing New Fascia:
Be safe, work smart and efficiently.  Make sure you place your miter saw on a level surface and use saw horses to help support your lumber. Familiarize yourself with the miter saw before plugging it in and before cutting.  There is something to that old rule measure twice cut once.  You've seen that show on DIY Network? That should explain it all. You don't want to end up with too short of a board when you are up on the ladder. 

Your miter cuts must be 45 degree angles, practice on a piece of the old fascia board before you cut your new lumber.  Miter both ends of the board. Please note: flip the board over to perform the correct 45 degree cut on the opposite end. Miter cuts should butt up against one another.

Instead of nails, I decided to use (3 1/2") screws to attach my fascia board to the rafters. I know, I know, what you are thinking, screws are overkill: but nails pull out during storms and down here we have hurricanes and we are talking about the roof.  Any chance of the wind lifting up the roof will now be reduced.  If I need to remove the fascia (which I shouldn't) I can just unscrew them instead of prying them off as I did during removal. 

If you have a good drill (hammer drill works  better) you do not need to drill a pilot hole. If you do not have a powerful drill you will need to drill pilot holes in the lumber and in the end of the rafters.  Pilot holes should not be the same size as the screw you are using. 

This is a good time to run to the store or send the wife/girlfriend to get food, snacks or beer to bribe your friends over to help you. You will need two people to install the new fascia boards. The length and weight of the boards make them rather cumbersome to lift into place.

Lift the boards into place (2 man lift) and mark the board according to the location of the rafters. Make sure you find the center of the rafter so the nail or screws will have ample area to grab.

Once you have completed replacing the fascia board, re-install the drip edge using new roofing nails.  Because you don't remove the first row of shingles you will need to use your rubber mallet to drive the nails into the roof decking and drip edge.   Take the roofing cement and run a bead of cement under the shingles and on top of the drip edge. If there are any loose shingles secure them back using the roofing cement.

Run a bead of caulk between the fascia board and where it meets the soffits to ensure an energy efficient seal.  If there are any gaps either at the miter joints or the roof line you can use spray foam to seal these gaps to prevent any moisture, insects or animals from entering the house. 

Once you are done  you can paint or stain your new fascia board and re-install your gutters.