We all love watching birds and get excited when they visit us at home. One instance where homeowners would rather not have birds is when woodpeckers look for bugs in their fascia boards, leaving ugly holes in the wood. What I can't tell you is whether bird houses will prevent this damage (but I love them). When my handyman business repaired a fascia board (and barge boards on the gable ends), we always recommended replacing the wood with a composite.
So here are photos showing where a fascia board is found on a house.
Where is the Fascia on a House?
When we look at a roof, we focus on what we can see. It's no different above where you can see the angled lumber making up the roof versus the horizontal boards that form the third piece of the trusses, which are triangles. The shingles go on the sloped sides of the trusses, on top of the roof deck (shown below).
Just below the sloped roof edge is a short vertical board that covers the end of the trusses (also called rafters) that support the roof. This vertical wood is called the fascia board. It may be painted to protect the wood or more often, the fascia board is covered with aluminum called the fascia cap.
When running my handyman business, I learned to question customers calling us to repair their roof because they found pieces of the fascia cap on the ground. That's because most homeowners consider all the roofing layers to be the roof. That makes perfect sense. When we buy a coat, we don't distinguish between the body of the coat from the collar, sleeves, buttons or zipper.
Materials Used for the Fascia Board
Traditionally fascia board has been made from the same material as your roofing deck, either plywood or oriented strand board (OSB). It means a builder doesn't have to order one more material when installing the roof. They can simply cut up the roofing boards into the required sizes. The problem with using wood or OSB is you've got to keep painting it to avoid wood rot, and that means checking your roof every year as the fascia might need more painting than other wood features on your home's exterior.
So the construction industry has come up with several alternative materials that can be used for your fascia boards.
| Fascia Board Materials | Advantages | Issues |
| Wood or OSB |
|
|
| Composite |
|
|
| Vinyl |
|
|
| Aluminum fascia cap |
|
|
Tricks to Remembering Homeowner Terminology
When I started my handyman business, learning the concepts behind home construction was a challenge. Even worse was remembering crazy words like a brake, drip edge or what's the fascia board versus the soffit. So I learned to come up with fun ways to remember things like …
Want to learn more about your home's roofing, especially if you're planning to tackle some repairs yourself …
Siding, Roofing, and Trim Revised
Roofing, Flashing, and Waterproofing
Or continue your research online with articles here at Home Tips for Women (let us know if there's a topic you need us to write about). Here are a few of the most popular articles or click the button to see all the articles.
- Roof Repairs vs New Roof, a Big Decision
- What is Drip Edge & Why It's Important
- Roof Decking, Shingles and Roofing Nails
What kind of caulk etc. do I buy to repair the wood trim on my roof?
Marlene, This depends on what part of the roof you need to repair – is it the trim boards just under the shingles? trim around skylights? Please let me know so I can give you the right answer … and please explain what the problem is because caulk is used to fill in gaps between 2 materials.