When it comes to roof maintenance, many homeowners tend to overlook the importance of fascia and soffits. Often, homeowners pay little attention to them and assume that they’ll simply last forever. This is not the case.
The fascia makes up an integral part of your roof and if it is damaged and in a poor state of repair, it won’t be long before your roof suffers the same fate. When this happens, the consequences could be disastrous and extremely costly.
Maintaining the fascia of your roof isn’t just essential for ensuring that your roof remains in a good state of repair, it’s also important for the aesthetics of your home as well. As far as fascia repair and maintenance is concerned, however, there’s a great deal more to consider than you might realize.
Here’s a look at fascia repair and maintenance and why it’s so essential for your roof.
What is Roofing Fascia?
Despite often being overlooked, the fascia is an integral part of the roof of your home, in terms of both functionality and aesthetics.
The fascia is basically a board which is located along the edge of your roof. It functions as a protective layer for the ends of trusses and rafters, and helps to divert rain water and other forms of debris away from your roof. It also helps to support gutter function and keep moisture and unwanted pests away from your roof.
Not only does the fascia help to promote roof health by protecting against the elements, it can also improve your home’s aesthetic appeal by providing neat edges and a clean, symmetrical finish to the roof’s edge.
Fascia can be made from a variety of different materials, though commonly it’s either made from treated timber, vinyl, or even aluminum as it is so resistant to rust.
The Importance of Well-Maintained Fascia
Now that we know more about what roofing fascia is, it’s time to look at why it’s so important to maintain it and carry out any necessary repairs as quickly as possible.
Just a few examples of the importance of well-maintained fascia include the following:
Protect Your Roof from the Elements
Without question, the main function of a roofing fascia is to help protect your roof from the elements.
Not only do they divert rain, sleet, snow, ice, and other forms of moisture away from your roof, they also provide a protective layer to help keep your roof in the best possible condition.
Pest and Animal Protection
As well as protecting against the weather, fascia also helps to provide protection against pests and animals.
Without the fascia, birds and insects would have easy access to your roof and it wouldn’t be long before they started to nest there. This could pose all kinds of problems. The fascia helps to keep them away from your roof, so you needn’t worry about unwanted guests in your roof.
Aesthetic Appeal
On top of serving a very functional purpose, roofing fascia also helps to improve the aesthetic appeal of your home.
The fascia serves as the finishing touch to your roof, helping to create clean, neat, symmetrical lines and finishes, and hiding any joins or imperfections.
Not only can fascia improve the look of your home, it could also add value to your property by giving it a cleaner, sharper, more modern and professional look.
Prevent Internal Damage to Your Home
Finally, another reason why it’s so important to maintain and repair damaged fascia is because it helps to protect the interior of your home as well.
If the fascia is damaged and is allowing water to get under the roof, it will leak inside your home and cause all kinds of problems. This could be very dangerous, especially if the water came into contact with electricity, not to mention very costly to repair.
As the saying goes ‘prevention is the best cure’ and roofing fascia certainly helps to prevent interior damage to your home.
Fascia Repair Tips
If your fascia is indeed in need of repair, or if you simply want to maintain it to keep it functional, here are a few fascia repair tips that should prove very useful.
Gather The Necessary Tools and Safety Equipment
First and foremost, when it comes to fascia repair and maintenance, safety should be your number one priority.
As fascia is obviously located on the roof, you will need a safe and secure ladder. You’ll also need the usual safety equipment such as a face mask, eye protection, knee pads, elbow pads, and gloves.
Make sure you also have the necessary tools and equipment such as a flashlight, hammer, saw, cutting equipment, replacement fascia, and so on.
Identify Signs of Damage
If you are concerned about the fascia of your roof, carefully and safely carry out an inspection of it and look for any signs of damage.
Look for obvious signs of damage such as holes, splits, cracks, peeling paint, warping, or discoloration. On top of that, look for signs of animal or insect infestation, as well as mold, loose or sagging gutters, or water staining.
Remove the Damaged Fascia and Replace
Once you have identified where the fascia is damaged, the next step is to remove it and replace it with new fascia which is fitted securely and is watertight.
Measure exactly, ensure any joins are seamless, and make sure you use the correct fascia material. For example, if you have timber fascia, you can’t remove a damaged section and replace it with aluminum. Not only will this look out of place, it also won’t be practical and won’t provide the correct levels of protection.
Install a Drip Edge
To help divert water away from the roof and fascia, and therefore promote longevity, go ahead and install a drip edge across your roofline.
Bring in the Pros
Finally, to ensure that your fascia repair is not only carried out to the highest of standards, but also to ensure that it looks the part and is done safely, leave it to the professionals.
Roofing professionals carry out these types of repairs and replacements all the time, and also offer guarantees and warranties in the event of something going awry.
