We were going to have all of the fascia boards (they are along the roof line at the gables and overhangs) replaced at the same time as the roof (see that Gallery page here); but since it appeared that some of the boards only needed painting, only a few of the really bad boards were replaced at that time.

In hindsight, we should have done it all at once; because in the last three years, the boards that only needed painting became boards that had to be replaced.

And since this roof system is special, we decided that the best course of action was to have the same people who put on the roof replace the rest of the fascia boards.

The new fascia boards are a PVC product: AZEK. You may know by now that I am NOT a fan of PVC products... the manufacturing process is toxic and it's just bad (environmentally speaking).

HOWEVER, if there is one place where I can tolerate it... it is as fasica boards because of their immense durability. This is an expensive product; but it is unlikely that they will ever need replacing.

(FYI: the label at right came off one of the AZEK boards, and I just stuck it on the OSB so I could take the picture.)

As seems to happen whenever this crew comes out, it started to rain soon after they arrived.

So, they started on the porch where water wouldn't enter the house even with the fascia boards removed.

Since they were tearing stuff out, I also had them remove the plastic ceiling panels on the porch. I had hoped to leave the rafters visible and just paint the exposed wood; but that is not possible. The construction is odd and there is water damaged plywood caused by the OLD roof. That means we'll be putting up a ceiling, but this time it will look nice and not have lots of places for bugs and wasps to get into it.

This is the pile of plastic panels that came off the ceiling.

We don't have any use for them, so when one of the crew wanted them, I was more than happy to pass them along.

We LOVE recycling/repurposing!

This paper-wasp nest is about 7 inches across. It was one of 5 nests that were in that ceiling area of the porch. There were also several mud-dabber homes.

No wonder we had so many wasps around this house!

The new ceiling will be caulked and painted to keep the wasps out.

Removal is really loud. Banging hammers, splintering wood, etc. It makes the house vibrate...

It's a bit unnerving.

I just kept telling myself these guys know what they are doing and they don't want to cause any damage... heck, they'd have to repair it for nothing!

There was minor damage along the soffit (that is the wood perpendicular to the wall under each overhang) each place they used the angle iron to 'pop out' the old fascia. But it was easily caulked during the painting prep.

And the metal flashing got a bit beat up, but not so badly that it would need to be replaced. Once it's painted, you won't even notice.

I love the 'arms' of these ladders... didn't mar the roof or the walls at all.

It's not obvious, but the white board at the right next to the gutter was replaced with the roof. Looks brand new, doesn't it? Even though it's been three years, you won't be able to tell the new fascia from the older.

After deconstruction comes construction.

Shannon had the crew put mitered joints on all the boards. (Mitered joints means the ends are cut at an angle, e.g. 45 degrees, and fitted together.)

This is from on the porch looking out. The structural board just this side of the new fascia was so rotten it had to be replaced.

Water damage is a serious strutural problem. It's not just about mold, it's about strength. This particular board may not seem to be a big deal, but it holds the substrate of the roof and ties the rafters together.

I cannot stress enough making your structure safe before thinking about upgrading your systems to more environmentally friendly ones. What good are they if your house falls down?
To me, it just makes sense to fix the structure keeping an eco-friendly attitude while doing it.

The porch done... Nice tight joints.

The joints and nail heads will be caulked before painting. Don't want rusting nails!

This gable is on the north side and it gets beaten on by wind and rain in the winter. The cementatious fiber siding and AZEK boards will make a tremendous difference!

Unfortunately, the staggered shingle pieces along the edge sustained a bit of damage. (You can see at the peak one of them is broken.)

Luckily, all the pieces that broke off were recovered and were adhered and nailed back on.

This pile is all the old boards. The crew was able to put it all in their van to haul it away.

And no one had to ride on the top (ha ha).

Thanks Shannon et al!

Now the painters can finish up. You can see the whole house being painted at this Gallery page.