What causes fascia boards to rot?
Most fascia rot starts with water that gets behind the gutter. Missing or short drip edge lets roof runoff wet the top of the board, and clogged gutters overflow backward into the wood. Paint cracks in the summer sun, water soaks in at the joints, and the board softens from the inside out.
Roof corners and the ends of valleys get the most water, so rot usually shows up there first. We probe each section with an awl and replace only what's soft, scarfing new boards into sound wood. Fixing the cause is part of the job, so we add or correct drip edge and make sure the gutter is hung to catch water properly.
How do squirrels and raccoons get in through the soffit?
Squirrels look for any soft corner or gap at the roof edge and chew it wider. Common entry points are where the soffit meets the fascia at roof corners, gaps at roof returns on stucco and brick homes, and loose vent screens. Raccoons are stronger and will pull back loose soffit panels or rotted boards to get into the attic.
Once inside, they shred insulation, chew wiring and leave droppings. If animals are still in the attic, a wildlife removal company should handle them first, and we can coordinate timing. Then we close the openings with solid wood or fiber cement, metal flashing at chewed corners and heavy screen behind soffit vents so they can't chew through again.
Wood, fiber cement or aluminum wrap: which should you choose?
Primed wood is the most common fix and matches existing trim easily. It needs regular painting to stay protected. Fiber cement boards resist rot and insects better than wood, hold paint well and suit homes with fiber cement siding. They're heavier and need more careful cutting, which shows in the price.
Aluminum wrap covers new or sound wood fascia with a bent metal skin in a baked-on color. It sheds water, doesn't need painting and holds up well in our sun. Wrapping rotted wood only hides the rot, so we replace soft boards first and wrap afterward. Vinyl or aluminum soffit panels with built-in vents are an option on many homes too.
- Primed wood suits historic homes and trim that will be painted to match.
- Fiber cement resists rot and termites and holds paint for years.
- Aluminum wrap protects sound fascia from water and skips repainting.
- Vented soffit panels add attic intake while closing off old gaps.
How do soffit repairs affect attic airflow?
Soffits are where most attics take in fresh air. When we replace soffit boards or panels, we make sure vents are included and open, not painted over or blocked by insulation inside. Closing off an animal entry point should never mean sealing off the attic's intake, or the attic will run hotter in summer.
Where vent area is lacking, we can add vented panels or new soffit vents as part of the repair. If the whole attic is short on intake or exhaust, that's a bigger job handled under attic intake and ridge vent balancing. We'll tell you if what we see during the soffit work points that way.
What should happen to the gutters during fascia work?
Gutters hang on the fascia, so replacing fascia means taking them down. If the gutters are in good shape, we remove them carefully, replace the boards and rehang them with new screw-in hangers. That's also a good moment to fix sagging sections and leaking corners, which falls under our gutter repair and guard work.
If the gutters are old, dented or undersized, it often makes sense to swap them at the same time and avoid handling them twice. We can roll new seamless aluminum gutters on site right after the fascia is finished. Call (210) 750-1898 and we'll look at the roof edge and gutters together.
Which San Antonio homes see the most fascia and soffit damage?
Homes under large live oaks see the most animal activity, since branches give squirrels a direct path to the roof edge. Older homes with original wood trim and no drip edge tend to have the most rot, especially at corners that face the prevailing rain. Two-story homes often hide damage on upper eaves that nobody looks at closely.
Homes with stucco or stone walls have their own weak spot where the roof return meets the wall. Gaps there are easy for animals to find and hard to see from the ground. Trimming limbs back several feet from the roofline after a repair makes it much harder for squirrels to return.
