Fascia and eave repair in Long Beach, CA

The roof edge takes a beating. Water runs off the roof onto it, gutters overflow onto it and the sun bakes it. On older wood homes in Long Beach, the fascia boards and exposed rafter tails are often the first part of the roof structure to rot. Once they go soft, gutters pull away, paint peels and eaves start to sag.

Our crews cut out the rotted wood, replace it with new lumber sized and shaped to match, and install drip edge so water clears the fascia going forward. On exposed-rafter Craftsman and ranch homes, we can splice or replace rafter tails to match the original profile so the eave line looks the way it should.

Fascia, soffit, rafter tails and eave sheathing

Fascia is the board along the ends of the rafters where gutters attach. Soffit is the underside of a boxed eave. On open eaves, common on Craftsman and mid-century homes, there is no soffit: the rafter tails are exposed and the underside of the roof sheathing, called eave sheathing or skip sheathing, is visible from below.

Each of these can rot. We open the area, probe the wood and replace what is soft, from a short piece of fascia to a full run of rafter tails and eave boards. On boxed eaves we also check the soffit vents, because blocked or missing vents trap hot, damp air in the attic and add to the decay. Where vents are painted shut or crushed, we replace them while the eave is open.

• Fascia boards behind the gutters
• Boxed soffits on enclosed eaves
• Exposed rafter tails on open eaves
• Eave sheathing visible from below

Why the roof edge rots

Most fascia rot starts with missing drip edge. Without it, water runs off the roof and wicks into the top of the fascia board. Overflowing or clogged gutters soak the wood every rain. Paint fails in the sun, leaving bare wood that cracks and takes on water.

Termites and dry rot fungus also attack eave wood on older homes. If we find termite damage, we tell you so you can have it treated before we install new wood.

• No drip edge at the roof edge
• Overflowing or clogged gutters
• Peeling paint and bare wood
• Termite or fungal damage in older lumber

How we repair the edge so it lasts

We remove the gutters if needed, cut out rotted fascia and rafter tails back to sound wood, and install new lumber primed on all sides. Rafter tails get spliced and fastened to the existing rafters, and we match the cut profile of the originals. Eave sheathing is replaced to match its width and look from below.

Then we install drip edge so water drips clear, rehang the gutters on sound wood, and prime the new wood ready for paint. If the roofing at the edge is worn or cracked, we repair those first few courses at the same time so the new wood is protected from day one. We can match the existing trim profile closely so it blends once painted.

When to call about fascia & eave repair

Dry rot on Long Beach eaves

Long Beach has a lot of exposed eaves. Craftsman bungalows in Belmont Heights, Bluff Heights and California Heights have open rafter tails, often original wood from the 1910s and 1920s. The 1950s ranch homes in Los Altos, the Plaza and Lakewood Village have long, low eaves, and the Cliff May homes in Rancho Estates have wide overhangs. All of that wood takes years of sun and occasional soaking rains.

Our sun cracks paint quickly, and once the wood is bare, the winter rains get in. Near the coast in Belmont Shore and Naples, salt air and marine layer keep wood damp longer. Matching original rafter tail profiles matters on homes in historic districts, so we cut new tails to match the originals.