How to Repair Rotted Soffit and Fascia – Part 5

This project is continued from Part 4.

The mesh screen flip-up gutter covers weren’t doing the job, so I installed bullnose style metal gutter covers that slide under the shingles. These gutter covers cost about $1.35/foot and are available in 4ft and 10ft lengths from a local gutter supply company. Here I’ve got the main section installed and about to install covers on the outside corner. These things get almost too hot to touch on a sunny day!

Metal Gutter Covers

The gutter covers serve two purposes:

To keep debris out of the gutter while avoiding trash build-up on the roof like those flip-up metal covers I had on before.
To keep squirrels out of the attic. Recall the gap between the roof deck and fascia board I described in Part 1.

The gutter covers appear to be working well. What I’ve been able to observe so far is even heavy rain is wicked into the gutter and leaves go over the side. Fall and Spring will be the real test. See this article for a detailed gutter cover project writeup.

Painting the Soffit and Fascia

I painted the gutter, fascia and soffit with Sherwin-Williams Duration Exterior Acrylic Latex paint. The Duration paint is thicker than standard paints, self-priming, low odor and dries quickly. You get maybe 4 or 5 brush strokes before it starts to thicken. The texture when dry is like a coat of plastic – impressive. I think the quality is right there with Benjamin-Moore MoorGlo® paint.

Sherwin-Williams Duration Exterior Paint

The Sherwin-Williams Duration paint is expensive – wait for a 25% off sale if you can. Visit your local Sherwin-Williams store and have them put your contact info. in their database (it’s free), you’ll receive e-mail coupons and sales notices.

The new soffit and fascia look great after painting. The last thing to do is install a soffit vent.

Soffit and Fascia Repair after Painting

Another view of the finished job.

Soffit and Fascia Repair After Painting

The soffit repair is done. Might as well do some more painting while I’ve got the scaffold.

Roof Ladder and Scaffold

I took advantage of the scaffold to clean & re-slope the gutters, install new gutter covers and do some painting and caulking on the windows and trim.

The soffit and fascia repair required about 4 hours once all the tools, roof brackets, ladders and scaffold were in place. I did the work over two different evenings, stopping only because it got dark on me.

The materials cost were:

$21.97 for a 3/8″ x 4′ x 8′ sheet of sanded plywood for the soffit
$31.28 for an 18′ x 1′ x 8′ piece of TUF board for the fascia
$92.00 to rent the scaffold for 7-days
~$30.00 for gutter sealant, gutter screws, caulk and misc. supplies
$40.00 to rent a Home Depot trunk ($19.95 each trip) to pickup and return the scaffold
~$58.00 for a gallon of Sherwin-Williams Duration paint. I bought several gallons while it was on sale.

I already had a good stock of exterior wood screws and all the tools I needed.

Hope this helps,

Bob Jackson