I’m having a roof replaced but before the roofers come I have to repair an eave and need some advice on the proper way to do the repair, depending on what I find. I removed a gutter that had pulled away from the house, allowing rain runoff to get behind the gutter, rotting the fascia, shingle mold and soffit. The soffit is only about 3″ wide. When I pull this apart, if there is damage to a rafter but it is only at the end and the part of the rafter sitting on the plate is not affected, is it ok to just ignore it or, at the most, scab a piece on to the end so that I have a solid nailing surface for the new facia?
If the part of the rafter that sits on the plate is compromised, is it ok to sister a new section of rafter to the damaged rafter, going say, 3 or 4 feet up on the solid part of the affected rafter ; should it be bolted in addition to being nailed? Or, would I need to run a new rafter all the way up to the ridge?
The photo shows the damaged area before the gutter was removed and the slope of the roof, if it matters.
George
Replies
I think both repair techiniques are acceptable.
IMO The gutter pulled away from the facia because of water... not vice versa. The detail involved roofing/flashing a rake wall (above that gutter) is simple, but is rarely performed well because of the extra time involved.
You roofer can check the flashing as he installs.
Troy Sprout
"Don't forget the screws"
I agree with Hackinatit--with the rotted rafter tail, nail a piece alongside so you'll have something to nail the fascia to. Any that are rotted further up, sister a liece alonside and nailing is fine--quite a few nails (not just two ar three). I think you'd find that sistering a whole new rafter going up to the ridge would be very difficult. I would try to get three nails (depending on how deep the rafter is--don't want to split it by nailing too close to the edges) one above the other (more or less perpendicular to the direction the rafter runs) and each set of three something like a foot apart.
I love it when the answers you get are the answers you want. I wasn't looking forward to having to install a new rafter. Thanks
George
Just a thought... if you specify drip edge when you get your new roof installed it will likely help prevent the kind of eave damage I think I'm seeing in your pic. From what I see on the pic, it looks like there is no drip edge now. You also need to have a pointed conversation with your roofer about other flashings such as the step flashing at the roof/second floor wall intersection.
Good luck
If the gutter pulled away from the house , there is a good chance it never got nailed to the rafter tail to begin with, i have seen alot of guys just nail into the fascia and think that that is good enough.....not so...aim for the rafter tails with the gutter fastners . I think at best you might have a little fascia and possibly a small section of soffit to replace. I think the rafter tail will be fine unless of course, someone did`nt flash the gable end properly, and you did`nt say there was any leaks so allshould be fine as far as the rafter tail is concerned.
Edited 5/17/2006 9:09 am ET by Shavey
One alternative, if the rot is not too extensive, is to use some epoxy consolident and putty to repair the rafter tail. I like the Abatron stuff, but I'm sure there are others. I feel like rot should be stopped in some fashion, and not just left there.
Personally, I don't like having any fasteners in the ends of rafter tails. It seems that water often works it way in, from the expansion and contraction of the metal fastener and the wood drying out. Of course, having a trim board over the rafter tails (as opposed to open eaves) helps a lot, I imagine.