Here is a pattern we see on house after house. The gutter starts to sag. Somebody pushes it back up and adds a few screws. A year later it sags again, and now there is a soft spot in the board behind it. The gutter and the fascia were failing together the whole time, and fixing one without the other fixed neither.
What the fascia does
The fascia is the board that runs along the edge of the roof, closing off the ends of the rafters. The gutter hangs from it. The drip edge sits over it. It is the only thing between the weather and the end grain of every rafter in the house. When it is sound, nobody thinks about it.
How a gutter kills a fascia
A gutter that is clogged, pitched the wrong way or pulled away from the roof spills water over its back edge instead of carrying it to the downspout. That water runs down the fascia every time it rains. Paint fails first, then the wood takes on water, then it softens. A fascia that is soaked a hundred times a year does not last.
How a fascia kills a gutter
Once the board is soft, the gutter's hangers have nothing to grip. They pull out under the weight of water and ice, the gutter drops at that point, and now it holds water instead of draining it. Standing water is heavy, it pulls more hangers, and in winter it freezes into a block that can tear the whole run off the house. Every time the gutter sags, it spills more water onto the fascia, which softens further. Round and round.
The signs
- Peeling paint along the roof edge, especially under the gutter
- Gutters that sag between hangers or pull away at the ends
- Water sheeting over the gutter in a heavy rain
- Dark stains on the siding below the gutter line
- Soft wood when you press the fascia with a screwdriver
- Birds or squirrels getting into the roof edge, which means there is a hole
Why we replace them as a pair
A new gutter on a rotted fascia is a new gutter on the ground in two winters. A new fascia behind a failing gutter is wet by spring. When we take a gutter down we see the board behind it for the first time, and if it is soft, we replace it then, while it is exposed and before the new gutter goes up. It is one visit instead of two and one problem solved instead of one problem moved.
What else turns up
Often the rot has reached the ends of the rafters or the roof decking at the edge. That is the moment to deal with it, with the gutter off and the edge open. It is also why gutter and fascia work is best done by a roofer: the roof edge is a roofing detail, and the drip edge, the ice and water barrier and the first course of shingles all meet right there.
Keeping the new ones alive
Clean the gutters twice a year, after the oaks drop and after the spring seeds. Make sure the downspouts carry water away from the foundation. Look at the pitch after a heavy rain: water should move toward the outlet, not sit. Do that and a new gutter and fascia will outlast the roof they hang from.
If your gutters are sagging or your roof edge is peeling, we will come and look. The estimate is free and usually priced the same day.
