Soffit and Fascia Demolition and Reconstruction

A view of the exposed soffit, after demolition.

The next phase of the project is well under way. Over the past couple weeks, demolition was completed on the soffit. When we took down the old beadboard, we found significant rot on the beadboard as well as the fascia and soffit supports. The soffit was also previously supported by 1x4 material and was sagging. The house looked a bit like Droopy.

We always wanted the soffit to be varnished beadboard so that the wood character was visible but if the soffit wood were in good condition, we were willing to save it and paint it. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough to save to make it worth it so we are sticking with the plan of replacing the soffit board with new that matches the old exactly.

Rotted beadboard, ready for the dump.

Rotting soffit with squirrel nest above.

One "discovery" during demolition of the soffit was that the eaves had been filled, by squirrels, with a mixture of insulation and mulch to create huge squirrel nests. The mess and smell were nauseating. I am glad that the squirrels never made it into my attic and I am glad that we removed this problem from the house.  

Reconstructing the eaves.

A detailed view of the front gable and eaves during construction of the new supports and fascia.. 

The soffits were reinforced with new 2x4s and were leveled as much as possible. The fascia boards were also rotted so those needed to be replaced on most of the house as well. These too were replaced with boards that matched the size of the existing ones.  

The straightened out eaves on the front of the home.

The Droopy look is now gone and it makes a huge difference to the appearance of the house. I am happy with the work so far but can't help but still have that anxious feeling about the project. The weekend weather does not look like it is going to cooperate so I am not sure how much we will accomplish this weekend.   

Meanwhile, my basement and garage have become a staining and finishing area for the new beadboard. We are using a light "cedar" color for the stain and I am using the same brand of stain and varnish that I used on the interior of the home. I have about 2/3 of this work done now but am not sure when we will put it up.