The fascia carries your gutters. The soffit breathes for your attic.
Soffit and fascia are where a roof rots from the edge inwards.
They are the two boards nobody looks at, they fail from water that should have been in a gutter, and they are routinely wrapped in aluminum rather than replaced.
- We check behind the wrap, not just the paint
- Free inspection, typically within 24 hours, with photographs
- MHIC #111971 · A+ BBB Accredited
Two fields and one question. We photograph what we find and send it to you — even if the answer is that you do not need us.
What they actually do
Fascia is the vertical board along the roof edge. Your gutters hang off it. Every litre of water the roof sheds is, briefly, its problem.
Soffit is the horizontal underside between the fascia and the wall. It is not decorative: the vents in it are the intake half of your attic ventilation. Without working soffit intake, a ridge vent has nothing to draw through and the whole system stops moving air — which is covered on our roof ventilation page.
How they fail, in order
It is nearly always the same sequence, and it starts with water that should have been somewhere else.
- Gutters overflow or the drip edge is missing. Water runs behind the gutter instead of into it.
- The fascia stays wet. Paint blisters, then the board goes soft at the nail line where the gutter brackets are.
- The gutter starts to pull away, because the board it is screwed to no longer holds a fastener.
- Water reaches the soffit and the rafter tails, and now it is structural rather than cosmetic.
The whole chain is preventable at step one, which is why we look at drip edge and gutter pitch on every inspection.
The aluminum wrap problem
Wrapping rotten fascia in aluminum or vinyl is common, fast, and looks like a repair from the ground for about a decade.
It is not a repair. Capping wet wood traps the moisture against it and takes away the only signal you had — the look of the board. The rot continues out of sight, the rafter tails go next, and by the time the gutter falls off, the job is carpentry rather than trim.
Wrapping sound wood is a legitimate, low-maintenance finish and we do it. Wrapping soft wood is hiding a problem and charging for it. On an inspection we get behind the wrap and photograph what is under it.
When it gets done with the roof
Fascia and soffit are almost always cheapest as part of a roof or gutter job, for the same reason skylights are: the gutters are already coming off, the roof edge is already open, and the drip edge that caused the problem is being replaced anyway.
Doing rotten fascia as a standalone job means taking the gutters down and putting them back for a second time — paid for twice.
Straight answers
My gutter is pulling away from the house. Is that the gutter?
Usually it is the fascia behind it. A gutter falls off when the board it is fastened to has gone soft. Re-hanging it on the same wood buys a season at most.
Can you just wrap the fascia instead of replacing it?
If the wood underneath is sound, yes, and it is a good low-maintenance finish. If it is soft, wrapping it traps the moisture and hides the rot while it spreads to the rafter tails.
Do I need soffit vents if I already have a ridge vent?
Yes — more than you need the ridge vent. Exhaust with no intake does not ventilate; it can pull conditioned air out of the house instead. Intake and exhaust have to be balanced.
How much of this is usually rotten?
Less than people fear, and more than the ground-level view suggests. It is concentrated where the water was — behind the gutter, at inside corners, below valleys. Photographs settle it.
Find out which one you are looking at.
Free inspection, typically within 24 hours, with photographs of what we find. You keep the report either way. Or call (240) 880-2108.
- Full roof replacements — not patches
- Free 24-hour inspection with a photo report you keep
- MHIC #111971 · A+ BBB Accredited · GAF limited lifetime material warranty
Two fields and one question. A specialist calls you back to confirm a time.