6 Reasons Your Soffit and Fascia Need Attention

Homeowners should understand the purpose of the soffit and fascia on their home and be able to identify damage that needs attention. The soffit and fascia serve both aesthetic and functional purposes on a home’s exterior.

The soffit is the underside of a roof’s eaves and the fascia is the board that extends straight down from the roof edge. 

As the soffit and fascia age, they experience damage and require repairs. The following are six signs to look out for that indicate that your soffit and fascia need repairs.

Paint on the soffit and fascia sometimes develops chips and cracks over time. This is both an aesthetic problem and a functional problem.

While at first cracks and chips might be merely aesthetic, they can deepen and expand over time until they create leak problems. For this reason, homeowners should seal up cracks and paint over chips to ensure that the soffit and fascia are watertight. 

If your gutters are leaking, chances are high that your soffit and fascia are suffering from water damage.

Leaking gutters can cause the soffit and fascia to be constantly exposed to water. This can cause freezethaw damage in the winter months. Flowing water can also knock the soffit loose and dislodge the fascia boards. 

If your attic is not adequately ventilated and the attic air is stagnant, your soffit and fascia could be to blame. Often, soffits are ventilated to allow air to flow into the attic and upper floors of a home.

 Clogs and blockages in the soffit and fascia components could cause poor ventilation. Dirt and debris become lodged into the soffit and fascia vents and block air flow. In this case, the components need to be cleaned or replaced. 

One important function of the soffit and fascia is keeping pests from building nests under a home’s eaves. The soffit and fascia are a first line of defense against pest infestations not just on the roof itself but in the home’s interior as well.

A careful inspection of the soffit and fascia is always important when pests have infiltrated a home. Replacement of the soffit and fascia is important if pests have been making their way into the home through openings in roof eaves. 

Wooden parts of the soffit and fascia are susceptible to developing rot over time. This is especially true if there are leak or moisture control issues that are constantly exposing the soffit and fascia to moisture. 

Rotting wood in the soffit and fascia creates a variety of problems. Not only can rot be visible and unattractive, but it can also weaken the soffit and fascia so that parts come loose over time. Also, wood rot can give off a strong odor if it becomes extensive. 

If you’re living in an older house, the original builders may have used some building components that contained asbestos.

Older soffit and fascia were sometimes produced with asbestos. If the soffit and fascia contain asbestos and become disrupted by damage or remodeling work, members of the household could face health threats due to asbestos exposure.

If you are concerned about the possible presence of asbestos in your old soffit and fascia, you need to look into asbestos abatement and removal services to safely resolve the problem.

Homeowners in the Waukee area can avoid repair needs in their soffit and fascia with the aluminum panel covers we install on homes at Allstate Gutter & Siding. Contact us to learn more about how our soffit and fascia covers improve the condition of homes.