Replacing facia boards behind gutters

The facia boards have rotted out in several spots on my 1921 house.

I replaced them all a number of years ago, but was unable to prime and paint them properly at the time. Most of the boards are in fine shape, but in some spots -- because of problems in the drip line -- they have rotted. They are easy to remove (just grab 'em and pull them out by the handful!).

However, these rotted boards are behind the seamless aluminum gutters. Nothing at all wrong with the gutters and I'd sure rather not pay someone to replace them.

The gutters are the larger commercial size (the roof is very tall and made of tile, so they collect a lot of water during rainstorms). And there are a number of riveted-and-siliconed corners to accommodate the perimeter of the house -- it's not a straight shot, especially in the front of the house. Removing the rivets and taking the gutter down is possible, I suppose, but would be dirty, fussy work and is likely to damage the gutter channel. And I'm working alone.

I'm thinking I can pull the long nails from the gutters (they go through the facia board into the ends of the rafters) so the gutters are loose, then prop up the whole line above the roof edge with poles or braces, then sneak in behind them and install new primed and painted facia boards.

Does this sound feasible? Can I get away with it? Or is there some other technique I should consider? Or is saving the gutters a pipe dream?

Reply to
Tom Miller
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I think it would be better to remove the gutters, altho with seamless, you have a real awkward and fragile/bendable bundle to remove, if you have long runs. Probably a multi-person job. I kinda like your idea, tho, of sequentially removing then propping up the gutters onto the roof edge, perhaps with bricks on the downhill side of the gutters. Also, think about the fascia material. Trex or some synthetic may be a better choice than wood. Whatever you choose, you don't want to mess with removing the gutters again. The fact that the wood is rotting off suggests the lips/troughs of the roof tiles do not clear the drip-edge,causing water to curve around - search google for the "coanda effect" , which turns the water directly onto the fascia and rafter-ends.. That may have to be addressed to keep even the eave rafters from rotting; let alone the attached fascia.

Reply to
Roger

Before the roofers installed the new commercial gutters on my old house, they sided the fascia and installed soffit vents. We had the whole house sided and roofed.

How expensive could hiring a pro be?

Reply to
New & Improved - N/F John

propping, which might get in your way.

instead see if you can hang a board from roof peak just above the gutter, then hang gutter from teh board? something like that.

Reply to
Choise76Smu

Thanks to those who replied for the comments and suggestions. I probably should have mentioned in the original post that these gutters run around an apron roof between the first and second floors.

I'll probably try pulling the long nails that hold the gutters and using a combination of ropes to the second floor windows and prop poles to the ground to try to lift the gutters off the facia boards enough to replace the boards without completely removing the gutters.

Hey, no harm in trying. If it doesn't work, I have lost only a little time. It's even possible that by pulling the fasteners in sections I can even pry out the old boards and slip in the new ones from underneath without removing the gutters at all. Again, worth a try.

I originally posted in hopes that there might be some clever trick to this that I had not thought of. Apparently not.

I will probably use some kind of pre-primed and painted boards or something like Trex, as suggested by one responder. I haven't got that far yet.

I'll let you know next summer when this job probably will become a reality.

Thanks again to the posters who replied.

Tom Miller

Reply to
Tom Miller

snipped-for-privacy@xxoptonline.net (Tom Miller) in news:415dad91.3721851 @news.optonline.net:

is warpey and heavy

to hang from above, maybe could hang from rope tied around sticks which are trapped across the indoor framing of 2nd floor window openings. (such as a fabled daughter would tie sheets to, when she wants to climb to the ground and elope)

Reply to
Choise76Smu

I was thinking of raising the gutters and hanging them above the rafter ends so I can get to the facia boards, not installing the facia boards from above. I would work from a ladder when installing the new boards.

Reply to
Tom Miller

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