Repair for a Rotted Eave

Today, I was helping some clients by repairing a rotted eave above the porch on the Victorian home in one of Nashville's older neighborhoods. It has an interesting design where the porch roof has a valley that directs water to the sides of the home without having gutters along the front.

It may have worked well when it was installed, but now there are a couple very small places where the roof is beginning to let water through and it's rotting the fascia board.

Expecting the worst, I began removing the rotted portions until I found solid wood. It's worth noting that this exact repair seemed to have been done before, so it may be a recurring problem with this roof's design. Whatever the case, my job was to just repair the eave, not replace the roof.

With the rotted fascia boards off, I 'sistered' some new nailers on the side of the rafters that were weakened. (Sistering boards means that I nailed one member along side of another to strengthen it.) With this done, it was time to add the new boards.

Let's remember that this is an OLD house. Not only that, but one with some unconventional parts. As best I could, I ripped some 1x10s to match the old fascia and got it all put back together.

Tomorrow, I'll putty,caulk & paint and seal up those pesky holes in the roof. Maybe this repair will last a little longer than the last one.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com