Author Topic: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?  (Read 3885 times)

vwDavid

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how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« on: October 11, 2018, 06:49:13 PM »
Hi All, not sure what to call this - I guess its the end trim plate on the roof. House is 12 years old and this small bit shows excessive rot from PNW moisture.

What are my options for

a) arresting deterioration (if its an option)
b) fixing the problem

it seems to me that that entire 8-10 foot board will need to be removed off the house, but how is it tied in? It looks like the plastic soffit holders are probably attached to it?

Will this be a major pita? How can I badass this without having to hire a 'professional'

I am not a professional, but a jack of all trades...

lthenderson

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2018, 06:47:51 AM »
It's hard to diagnose with the pictures you attached. It could be a fascia board but it could also be a beam with lots of structure tied into it. The latter would be worse case to replace. Even if it is a fascia board, I would guess your shingles are nailed to it which will make it fall in the PIA category to replace. It would be helpful to show some pictures from underneath and showing the beam in relation to the rest of the roof's structure.

Jon Bon

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2018, 08:28:03 AM »
This one is hard to say.... obviously that is way to much rot, heck any rot is too much on things that are supposed to be covered from the weather. So you have a leak.

From the pictures.... The rotted section it does not look load bearing, just the rafter cantilevered out over the house to create an eve? If it is truly not load bearing I would just pay a guy $200 to wrap it in aluminum.  matter of fact I would check the other corners of my house and probably have him do those too! If that is the rafter for the side of your house, I dont think replacing it is even feasible.

Good luck.

index

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2018, 08:58:11 AM »
Bondo, then wrap it in aluminum. The rot is from your gutters overflowing and wetting the wood.

radram

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #4 on: October 12, 2018, 09:17:48 AM »
I would agree that overflowing gutters is the most logical cause.

I think you need confirmation of that prior to a full blown fix.  If you just repair, but do nothing to find out why it happened, it will just happen again.

Does your gutter slope the wrong direction, or not enough to drain before filling up?

Can you add a downspout  on that side?

vwDavid

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #5 on: October 12, 2018, 09:30:47 AM »
Thanks guys. I think fascia was the term I was looking for but couldn't remember. Here are some better pictures. I don't believe there is load bearing on this at all, but it seems it could be messy to remove since it could be attached to the plastic soffit bits and perhaps the roof and roof underlayment etc....

More photos:
« Last Edit: October 12, 2018, 10:53:33 AM by vwDavid »

vwDavid

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #6 on: October 12, 2018, 09:31:44 AM »
Generally the gutters have been keep totally clear, though in the early days they did overflow on two occasions...
« Last Edit: October 12, 2018, 11:04:04 AM by vwDavid »

Jon Bon

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #7 on: October 12, 2018, 11:43:38 AM »
Generally the gutters have been keep totally clear, though in the early days they did overflow on two occasions...

Do you have an extra shingle or 2?

The setup looks a bit on in the picture but in that section the roof hangs and bit past the gutter, so you could have water dripping over the side of the shingle and onto the wood. So put a larger shingle on with more overhang and throw some aluminum on there and you might be fine?

Always hard to say by the pictures. Pour some water above that spot, does the water run down over the shingles and down your fascia board? Should be pretty easy to test. 



lthenderson

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #8 on: October 12, 2018, 11:54:50 AM »
Yes, that is just a fascia board and not structural. It can be replaced but you may have to replace some shingles if they are attached to it. Like someone mentioned above, a quick fix would be to apply a filler to the rotten area and then wrap in metal.

BDWW

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #9 on: October 12, 2018, 12:58:04 PM »
IMHO, a wood hardener or epoxy wood be a better solution than filler*.

First, try to remove all the really loose and soft rot.
Then, you can get really thin penetrating hardener that soaks into the wood and stabilizes it. Often called wood petrifier or something similar.
Finally, there is viscous wood epoxy for sculpting and and building up the final shape.

*Maybe thats what the previous posters meant, but bondo is not a great option for exterior. Fiberglass bondo might work, but traditional bondo absorbs moisture and is meant to be underneath a water tight layer (car paint).

Fishindude

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2018, 08:07:12 AM »
I don't like that detail where the gutter dead ends against the wood fascia.   Would rather see the fasica cut off and gutter extending past it.

ChpBstrd

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2018, 09:40:22 AM »
I don't like that detail where the gutter dead ends against the wood fascia.   Would rather see the fasica cut off and gutter extending past it.

I agree. It's an interesting architectural detail, but inherently prone to rotting off and being a PITA. The question is, are these protrusions part of the house's architectural style? Are the historically significant? If they were just some dude's cool idea at the time, I'd hack them off, have the corners wrapped in aluminum, and be done with fixing them forever.

vwDavid

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #12 on: October 13, 2018, 10:48:10 AM »
Thanks everyone, I am going to investigate the wood hardener, petrified, and epoxy to fill the rotted area.

This is certainly the style of the home and is carried through on the second story and garage. Hacking them off for ease of maintenance is certainly appealing but a big job including the fact that on the back side they are 20-25 feet up.  yikes...

I'll keep you updated how it goes.

A question, with using epoxy to fill, what can I use as a form that will peel off and the epoxy won't adhere to on an outside edge? In other words what should I use to hold the epoxy in? Wax paper? Maybe something biodegradable that will just dissolve next month?

ChpBstrd

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #13 on: October 13, 2018, 12:05:08 PM »
Now that I see the big picture I agree you need to keep them. They function to hide the gutters.

I'm thinking you'll need to hack them off and then recreate them - this time with treated wood - and use long screws to attach the new extension to the old extension. You'll have to cut back far enough to reach solid wood. Consider wrapping some roofing paper between the board and the gutter where all that splashing is occurring and you can't see it anyway.

The other option is to have it all aluminum-wrapped. I paid $5k for a similar job many years ago, so make that a $10-15k estimate. You cannot use treated lumber under aluminum though. It'll corrode the aluminum.

Personally, I'd manufacture a replacement piece, hack off the old one at a 45 degree angle, and splice it into place where the old one was using long screws. Then putty, patch, and repaint. Consider whether some little pieces of flashing or roofing paper could be used to protect the inside of the board from gutter splashes.

Something like:
https://dengarden.com/home-improvement/How-Not-To-Fix-Your-Eaves-Fascia

lthenderson

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #14 on: October 15, 2018, 07:44:05 AM »
A question, with using epoxy to fill, what can I use as a form that will peel off and the epoxy won't adhere to on an outside edge? In other words what should I use to hold the epoxy in? Wax paper? Maybe something biodegradable that will just dissolve next month?

I work with wood and epoxy to create "live edge" objects. I use melamine which you can buy in 4 x 8 feet sheets (sometimes half sheets as well) in just about any big box hardware store to make my molds. Once you have the mold form screwed together, I use some silicone to seal up all the seams. Once that sets up I pour the epoxy in and let it set up. Generally if it sticks up beyond the fill level, a couple of small taps with a hammer is all that is needed to break the melamine mold loose from the epoxy. If there is nothing sticking up to hit with the hammer, I find a few quick taps on the end of the chisel, (put the chisel flat side up against your epoxy work at a joint) is sufficient to break it free.

BDWW

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #15 on: October 15, 2018, 11:49:22 AM »
A question, with using epoxy to fill, what can I use as a form that will peel off and the epoxy won't adhere to on an outside edge? In other words what should I use to hold the epoxy in? Wax paper? Maybe something biodegradable that will just dissolve next month?

I work with wood and epoxy to create "live edge" objects. I use melamine which you can buy in 4 x 8 feet sheets (sometimes half sheets as well) in just about any big box hardware store to make my molds. Once you have the mold form screwed together, I use some silicone to seal up all the seams. Once that sets up I pour the epoxy in and let it set up. Generally if it sticks up beyond the fill level, a couple of small taps with a hammer is all that is needed to break the melamine mold loose from the epoxy. If there is nothing sticking up to hit with the hammer, I find a few quick taps on the end of the chisel, (put the chisel flat side up against your epoxy work at a joint) is sufficient to break it free.

Sculpting epoxy for wood repair generally doesn't use a mold. It's a very high viscosity.

edit:

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-repair-rotted-trim-epoxy
« Last Edit: October 15, 2018, 11:50:56 AM by BDWW »

lthenderson

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #16 on: October 15, 2018, 02:22:00 PM »
A question, with using epoxy to fill, what can I use as a form that will peel off and the epoxy won't adhere to on an outside edge? In other words what should I use to hold the epoxy in? Wax paper? Maybe something biodegradable that will just dissolve next month?

I work with wood and epoxy to create "live edge" objects. I use melamine which you can buy in 4 x 8 feet sheets (sometimes half sheets as well) in just about any big box hardware store to make my molds. Once you have the mold form screwed together, I use some silicone to seal up all the seams. Once that sets up I pour the epoxy in and let it set up. Generally if it sticks up beyond the fill level, a couple of small taps with a hammer is all that is needed to break the melamine mold loose from the epoxy. If there is nothing sticking up to hit with the hammer, I find a few quick taps on the end of the chisel, (put the chisel flat side up against your epoxy work at a joint) is sufficient to break it free.

Sculpting epoxy for wood repair generally doesn't use a mold. It's a very high viscosity.

edit:

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-repair-rotted-trim-epoxy

Yes but lower viscosity epoxies give you a much better bond since they can be absorbed into the good wood a little bit. With some of the higher viscosity ones, if water ever gets behind it, it can pop off with a freeze.

Adam Zapple

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #17 on: October 16, 2018, 01:30:52 PM »
I agree with others who say chisel/cut out the rotten part as cleanly as possible.  You can try to slide in a new, smaller piece of pressure treated, then wrap with flashing and paint to match.  Check the rest of the house and wrap with flashing where this will likely happen as well.

Nothing wrong here, just splashing and natural consequence of being next to a wet gutter and at the bottom of a pitched roof with no flashing.  DO NOT replace the whole thing, you will risk making the roof leak for what is now just a cosmetic issue.

vwDavid

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #18 on: October 16, 2018, 08:16:11 PM »
Ok, this project is starting soon. It was very difficult to find the wood hardener and a suitable pour in 2 part epoxy. NONE of the big box stores in my area (Canada) listed these products. Home Depot, Lowes, Rona, Windsor Plywood and even specialty wood working tool shops didn't list the product. In the end a 2nd tier home store in my area did- they always seem to have a larger variety of hard to find products.

It is still a conundrum on what to use for forms to keep this epoxy in. I investigated the melanine products and what Home Depot lists on line are all melamine covered fibre board 3/4 inch thick for use in kitchen cabinetry. I need thin plastic cause it has to slide behind the gutter on the eve and what I ended up buying was a flexible plastic kitchen cutting board. It is textured which is bad but inside its retail packaging it is behind a film of acetal packaging. Here's hoping I can even use it as a cutting board after- well at least stick it in the garage tool kit...

On the other hand on my bike ride home from the elementary school today I saw many homes in our area with similar design feature and some accelerated weathering.

Can I do the metal myself? I will check the home stores I have bought angle aluminum there for projects before so hopefully they have thin sheets. Bending will be a problem...maybe 2x4s ripped to have a sharp long edge?

vwDavid

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #19 on: October 16, 2018, 08:19:32 PM »

lthenderson

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #20 on: October 17, 2018, 07:30:13 AM »
It is still a conundrum on what to use for forms to keep this epoxy in. I investigated the melanine products and what Home Depot lists on line are all melamine covered fibre board 3/4 inch thick for use in kitchen cabinetry. I need thin plastic cause it has to slide behind the gutter on the eve and what I ended up buying was a flexible plastic kitchen cutting board.


Here in the States, I can buy melamine in 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 increments but I think in your case, the cutting board would work just fine. If in doubt, you can always rub some paste wax or similar lubricant to act as a form release to help out.

Personally, if you get the rot off and do an epoxy repair, I would probably just put a few coats of primer and paint on it to seal things up and call it good. It won't last as long as metal might but it will certainly last many many years that way especially if you touch it up every handful of years. How old is your house now? It lasted that long already. The big advantage of covering it with metal in my opinion is that it will cover the repair job up if it ends up looking really ugly.

ChpBstrd

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #21 on: October 18, 2018, 12:47:24 PM »
You can build yourself a little metal brake with 2x4s and door hinges. With that, you could bend a U shaped aluminum shield to go over the repair (and then all your other fascia extensions too).

I tried doing this for a much larger 4' piece with thick metal and it didn't go well because the wood bowed and eventually broke. For a small job like this it would definitely work.

Or if that's too much effort, you local sheet metal shop would happily crank out pieces to fit your design. That's what I ended up doing after my homemade brake broke!

Also, I can attest that Bondo works well as a weatherproof wood filler. I used it on some porch columns just recently. Get plenty of it though, as most is wasted in the mixing process.

vwDavid

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #22 on: October 20, 2018, 02:52:12 PM »
Ok so my fix is in process and I think I am in for a nightmare releasing my forms, anyway I came across this YouTube video for anyone with a similar or larger challenge.

https://youtu.be/NPhBtsWW9Yw

vwDavid

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #23 on: October 23, 2018, 06:24:21 PM »
Ok, here we go if you want to follow along. Rain is coming so it's been a bit difficult with the cooler outside temps- you can see I eventually got out the hair drier..

1) no pictures of the first form, but it didn't work great- mostly because my 2 part resin was a little too liquid and gravity did its nasty thing. 1st photo shows the first application of resin

2) 2nd photo shows construction of the 2nd form with a dollar store plastic garage sale sign.

3) photo shows funnel to add the resin

4) 4th photo shows removal of the 2nd form and beginning to use to Le Page brand interior and exterior wood filler. Yah I know Getting desperate, weather forecast changing, hard to get liquid to flow up hill and all...
« Last Edit: October 23, 2018, 06:36:41 PM by vwDavid »

vwDavid

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #24 on: October 23, 2018, 06:27:09 PM »
Part two:

1) sanding the mostly patched fascia board

2) using a hair drier to help cure the Lepage filler

3) primer

4) paint - but not complete because part is still drying out.

TODO - I have a few shingles to cut and some sticky asphalt stuff on a roll to apply to hopefully keep it dry.

lthenderson

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #25 on: October 24, 2018, 06:28:40 AM »
On the first attempt, you must have missed the step where I said to seal up all the seams with silicone caulking? I too have learned from trial and error that given the long set times of epoxy, if it can find a way, it will leak out of your forms. But it looks like your second attempt was successful. Good job!

DoNorth

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #26 on: October 24, 2018, 08:31:00 AM »
wow.

In the future, get a recip saw and cut out the rotted material.  buy yourself a kreg jig, kreg new treated lumber to the old stuff, then cover it with ice and water shield or window flashing tape and reshingle.


ChpBstrd

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Re: how to DIY roof eve rot repair?
« Reply #27 on: October 24, 2018, 08:55:29 AM »
Looks great to me!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!