What Are Soffit and Fascia?

You may be asking yourself, as I was back in the day, what exactly are Soffit and Fascia?  For some, you may have never even heard the terms before. Although these items aren’t well known, they are still essential to your home as pretty much every house has them. 

What Are Soffit and Fascia?

Soffit: is the exposed siding underneath your roof’s overhang. 

Fascia: goes hand-in-hand with your home’s soffit. Fascia is the area of siding directly above the soffit. It’s the exposed horizontal board you see on the front of your roof’s overhang. 

See the images below for a visual picture. 

Why Are Soffit and Fascia Important? Here are the reasons; 

1. They protect your home from strong weather like rain and wind. Soffit also guards under the eaves of your house and prevents outside things from blowing inside.
2. They prevent water from accumulating, allowing it to sheet off and away from the house. 
3. Soffit ventilation helps keep a steady airflow between your roof and attic. Your attic needs to be well ventilated or else moisture can build up causing mold to form. 
4. They can keep the house more insulated from conditions outside.
5. Soffit and Fascia Board draw heat away from the house.
6. Your gutters are installed on your Fascia. Your Fascia needs to be able to hold up the gutters during sunshine and rain. 
7. Fascia is visible to everyone who sees your house because it sits on the edge of the roof. You can get maximum curb appeal by painting or replacing it.

When Is It Time To Replace Soffit and Fascia?

Now that you know what Soffit and Fascia are, where they sit on the home, and why they are important, it’s time to ask yourself if it’s time to repair or replace your boards. How do you know when it’s time to replace your boards? That requires a ladder and some old fashioned inspection work. It’s easy to spot if your Soffit and Fascia are worn down even from a distance. If you can see clear paint cracking, this is an indication itself you need to replace these items.

Upon closer inspection if you discover warping or water damage, the time is now to replace your Soffit and Fascia. Old wood has this common type of water damage. Other types of Soffit like Aluminum can become rusted, causing holes and damage. It’s easy for this type of damage to allow critters to enter. Old Soffit and Fascia can be rotting and decaying right before your eyes. You don’t want to wait until the water damage is so bad it is structurally damaging the roof line or exterior walls. 

Furthermore, once you’ve inspected the Soffit and Fascia, concluded if you need to replace it or not, then you can move on to deciding if you want to clean the gutters out while you’re up there (I mean you are already on the ladder and got all the stuff out, right)?

In Conclusion, Soffit and Fascia are key items in keeping your house looking new, holding up gutters, insulating and protecting your home from storms. Do a self inspection on the Soffit and Fascia and see yourself if there is cracking paint or warped panels. If these things are apparent upon inspection, it’s time to replace the Soffit and Fascia. Lastly, you can inspect the Siding while you’re up there because people tend to replace that when they do the Soffit and Fascia.