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.
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