To cap or not to cap - that is the question..?

[shabbaranks]

Hi guys

Just doing an extension on our place and with the scaffolding up its a good opportunity to sort the old tired soffits and fascias out with new ones. The builder says cap the old ones as they are ok but Ive always been of the impression never to cover and just replace (I think this is down to someone capping my place and it was really bad wood behind).

So what do you guys generally reccomend (obviously the new wont be capped)?

Thanks as always

 

[^woody^]

Cap

 

[Coopa]

Rip it off ,replace with new . Trouble with going over the top is you can’t see the problems occurring underneath

 

[ETAF]

I had the same discussion
Not sure how much cheaper it works out to cap
But the guy said it was all good to cap
I just went up to a section and put my finger through it ,as I knew one end of the bungalow was rotten
Matched them off the premises
When we did get some to do it with all details of what I wanted done documented
We found a few of the rafter ends rotten
Which we had also separately quoted in case he found

So personally I would replace
This is the 3rd house I have had done now all replaced
And all found issues after removing

 

[datarebal]

Matched them

Frog marched ? Lol

 

[ETAF]

Frog marched

Yep
I have done that with a couple of cowboy trades now
Pleasantly ,assertively and politely asked them to now leave

 

[^woody^]

Rip it off ,replace with new . Trouble with going over the top is you can’t see the problems occurring underneath

What problems would they be?

 

[Coopa]

Rotten fascia doesn’t show itself when covered with plastic ,it just falls off . Any problems on roofline damaging wood fascia will be hidden by plastic and will eventually seep into wood that it’s capped onto then eventually up the rafter feet that the covered wood is nailed onto leading to sagging fascia or possibly falling down . Plus it’s not vented and can lead to condensation water in between plastic and wood which can also lead to rot and unnecessary trouble . Rip it of do it properly

 

[^woody^]

Rotten fascia doesn’t show itself when covered with plastic ,it just falls off . Any problems on roofline damaging wood fascia will be hidden by plastic and will eventually seep into wood that it’s capped onto then eventually up the rafter feet that the covered wood is nailed onto leading to sagging fascia or possibly falling down . Plus it’s not vented and can lead to condensation water in between plastic and wood which can also lead to rot and unnecessary trouble . Rip it of do it properly

Capping is doing it properly.

Fascia doesn't randomly rot. If it experiences wet rot, the damp is clearly visible externally. However, when fascias are capped and the eaves protector fitted, that's good for the life of the roof.

There's a lot of uninformed misconceptions about capping and the occurrence of rot. Especially around condensation affecting eaves timbers, which is nonsense.

More importantly, plastic fascia has a limited life - less than timber. Trying to replace plastic fascia that is holding up the eaves tiles every 20 years is not as easy as replacing capping.

And capped fascias with timber backing is not as fire resistant as capped timber

 

[Coopa]

I’ve done this job for 26 years everyday day in day out same things everyday ,
when ever I come across capped fascias they are 99%of the time damaged under the plastic.

So please Shabba asked what people recommend .... through my experiences of seeing what the damage of what you deem Nonsense and uninformed misconceptions can cause then

. Shabba . I would recommend to take if off. My opinion

 

[shabbaranks]

Totally agree with both comments - wood can stay pristine for a number of years under a plastic capping. But also Ive experienced rot under a capped fascia which led me to ask the question. Realistically cost wise its not that different ripping down the old and replace with new 16mm rather than capped 9mm. Im tempted to go down the rip and replace only because then we know where we stand..... I think this is a case of differenced of opinion both of which are valid.