Soffit and fascia repair in Tampa Bay.
The fascia is the board at the edge of the roof. The soffit is the ceiling under the overhang. Together they close the roof edge and let the attic breathe. In Tampa they rot from water trapped behind the gutter, not from the sun. Soffit and fascia repair is finding where the water is stuck before replacing the wood it ruined.
Priced by written scope, never by the hour.
Soffit and fascia repair is about trapped water and attic air.
Soffit pages sell aluminum wrap. None of them tells you why the wood rotted, or that the soffit is part of how your attic breathes. Here is what to ask before you hire anyone, including us.
The gutter is holding the water
A gutter that sags, overflows or was hung without a drip edge lets water run behind it. That water sits against the fascia for days. Tampa gets more than 50 inches of rain a year. The fascia behind a bad gutter never dries.
The drip edge is the missing piece
A strip of metal at the roof edge is meant to send water into the gutter, not behind it. Many older roofs have none, or the shingles stop short of it. Without it, every rain feeds the fascia. It is the roofer's part, and we look for it.
The soffit is ventilation, not trim
Air comes into the attic through the soffit vents and leaves at the ridge. The Florida code calls for about 1 square foot of vent for every 150 square feet of attic. With a balanced setup it is 1 in 300. Soffit that is painted shut or replaced with solid panels chokes the attic.
Wrapping rot is hiding rot
Aluminum wrap over a fascia is a fine finish on sound wood. Wrapped over rot, it hides the problem and traps more water. Ask what is under the wrap. If the answer is the old board, ask if anyone probed it.
The length of bad wood decides the price. The gutter decides whether it lasts.
Two houses can have the same roof line and price far apart. Here is what actually moves the number on soffit and fascia repair.
Feet of fascia, and how much of it is bad
Fascia is priced by the foot. Often one side of the house is rotten and the rest is fine. Probe along the gutter line. Soft sections get replaced. Sound sections get primed and painted. The count of soft feet is most of the number.
Wood, aluminum wrap, or a composite
New wood primed on all sides is the base case. Aluminum wrap over sound wood costs more and never needs paint. Composite or PVC fascia costs the most and does not rot. Each is a line, and the scope names which.
Gutters off and on
The gutter has to come off to get to the fascia behind it. Old gutters do not always survive that. Rehanging them with a proper pitch, or replacing them, is its own line. Skipping it is how the new fascia rots.
Height and access
A single story eave is a ladder. A two story gable is scaffolding. The same foot of fascia costs more 25 feet up. It is in the scope, not a surprise.
What gets found before the wood is replaced.
New fascia behind the same bad gutter rots again in 2 years. So the cause comes first, and each finding goes into the scope.
Every foot probed along the gutter line
We press the fascia behind the gutter with an awl, every few feet, all the way around. Soft sections get marked with tape. You see the map before you see the number.
The gutter and the drip edge checked
We look at the pitch of the gutter, where it overflows, and whether a drip edge sends water into it. Missing drip edge is the roofer's fix and it goes in the scope as that. Without it, we will tell you the repair is temporary.
The rafter tails looked at
Fascia is nailed to the ends of the rafters. If the rot went through the fascia, the rafter tail behind it may be soft too. That is a structural piece and it goes to the trade licensed for it, named in the scope.
The soffit vents counted
We count the vents and compare them to the attic size. If the attic is choked, the new soffit goes in vented. It is the same price and it keeps the attic from cooking the shingles.
The paint plan set
New wood gets primed on all six sides before it goes up, including the cut ends. Primed after it is up, the back stays bare and drinks water. The scope says which, and we do the first one.
What is included, and where it ends.
A written scope is only worth something if it says where it stops. These are the lines we put in writing before anything is ordered.
How long the ladders are up.
One side of a single story house is a day or two. The whole house is days, sometimes a week with paint. If the roofer has to add a drip edge first, that comes before us. Paint waits for a dry window. The eaves are closed every night. Your scope has the dates.
When we tell you not to do it
Fascia is a small job with a common shortcut. Here is where we say no, and why.
Wrapping rotten wood in aluminum
It looks new for a season. Under the wrap, the rot keeps going and the water has nowhere to dry. We probe first. If it is soft, it comes out. Then it gets wrapped, if you want.
New fascia behind the same overflowing gutter
If the gutter dumps water behind itself, new wood rots on the same schedule as the old wood. The gutter gets fixed in the same scope, or we will tell you the repair is short lived.
Solid soffit on a hot attic
Closing the soffit vents to make it look clean turns the attic into an oven. Shingles age faster and the AC works harder. New soffit goes in vented where the attic needs it. We will not seal it.
The rafter tails are gone
If the wood behind the fascia is soft, that is structure. It goes to the trade licensed for it before any new fascia goes on. We name that trade in the scope and we wait for them.
Lifetime warranty on our workmanship.
If the work we did fails, we come back and fix it. That holds for as long as you own the home. On soffit and fascia it means the wood we set and the way we set it. Primed on all sides, fastened to sound rafters, with the gutter pitched away.
A warranty is only worth what its exclusions say. Ours are above, in the same size type as the promise. Ask whoever you are talking to how long theirs runs, and get the number in writing.
Questions we actually get asked
What is the difference between soffit and fascia?
The fascia is the vertical board at the edge of the roof, the one the gutter hangs on. The soffit is the flat panel underneath the overhang. The fascia closes the roof edge. The soffit closes the underside and lets air into the attic.
Why does my fascia keep rotting?
Almost always water sitting behind the gutter. A sagging gutter, a missing drip edge, or shingles that stop short. All three send water down the fascia instead of into the gutter. Replacing the board without fixing that means replacing it again.
Can you just wrap the fascia in aluminum?
Over sound wood, yes, and it never needs paint again. Over rotten wood, no. The rot keeps going under the wrap. We probe every foot first. What is soft comes out, and then it can be wrapped.
Does the soffit really matter for my attic?
Yes. It is where the attic breathes in. Hot air leaves at the ridge and pulls fresh air through the soffit vents. The Florida code sets a minimum vent area. Blocked soffits mean a hotter attic, shorter shingle life and a harder working AC.
Do I need a roofer or you?
The fascia and the soffit are ours. The drip edge and the shingles above them are the roofer's. If the drip edge is missing, the roofer goes first and we come after. The scope names who does what.
How long does the repair last?
As long as the water stays out of it. New wood primed on all sides, behind a gutter that drains, lasts for decades. The same wood behind a gutter that overflows lasts a few years. That is why the gutter is in the scope.
The other exterior services
Where we work
Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties. If your town is not on this list, call and ask: the answer is often yes.
A walkthrough, then a written scope with one closed price.
Never hourly, never a verbal figure, and our workmanship carries a lifetime warranty. Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties.