When we talk to homeowners about their roofs, they often forget about their soffit and eavestroughs, even though they are key to keeping your home safe. We at Professional Roofers Toronto consider these two as partners that need to work together to keep your home in good shape. Many people only think about the roof itself and forget about what’s happening at the edges. That’s where a lot of the protection happens.
The material that covers the bottom of your roof overhang is called the soffit. If you stand in your yard and look up at the spot where your roof meets your walls, you can see the soffit. It has two main uses that most homeowners don’t know about. First, it protects the wooden beams and rafters that are exposed from bugs and bad weather. Second, and this surprises people, it allows air to flow into your attic. Most modern soffit materials have small holes that allow air into the attic. This works with roof vents to keep the temperature stable and prevent moisture from building up.
People sometimes call eavestroughs “gutters”. They run along the edge of your roof and catch all the water that runs off during rain and snow melt. These channels send water away from your foundation through downspouts, which prevents the kind of water damage that can cost thousands of dollars to fix. You probably don’t even notice your eavestroughs when they work right. But when they don’t work, you’ll see water pooling around your foundation, staining your siding or even flooding your basement. You might not think that the connection between the soffit and eavestroughs is important but it is. We always check both systems at the same time during a Roof Inspection because problems with one can affect the other. For example if your eavestroughs are full or clogged, water can splash back and hurt your soffit. This moisture will cause the soffit material to rot, bend or grow mold over time. On the other hand, a damaged soffit can let water and bugs into your roof which can change how well your eavestroughs are attached to the fascia board.
We work on homes all over Etobicoke and see all kinds of soffit and eavestrough problems. Older homes often have wooden soffit that has gotten worse over time especially in areas where the air doesn’t flow well or where the eavestroughs have leaked. The good news is that modern aluminum or vinyl soffit materials last longer and need less maintenance than the old wooden ones. These new materials don’t rot, don’t get damaged by pests and come in colors that match the outside of your home.
Aluminum is the most common material for eavestroughs for many reasons. It doesn’t rust like steel, it’s light so it doesn’t put too much stress on your fascia and it can be shaped into seamless pieces that fit your exact measurements. We can match the color of your eavestrough to that of your soffit and trim giving your home a look that seems planned rather than an afterthought.
Both systems need to be installed with care so they work well. Soffit needs to be installed with the right ventilation gaps and fastened properly so it doesn’t sag or come loose when the wind blows hard. Eavestroughs need to be hung with enough support brackets, have the right slope towards downspouts and be sealed well at corners and joints. These aren’t jobs where cutting corners saves money in the long run. If you don’t do it right the first time it will cost you more to fix the problems that come up later. We often see homes where the soffit and eavestroughs are in different states and ages. The eavestroughs may have been changed 10 years ago but the soffit is still the same as it was when the house was built in the 1980s. This mismatch can cause problems because newer eavestroughs may be attached to fascia that is hidden behind a soffit that is falling apart. When we do Roof Maintenance on these properties we often suggest that both systems be fixed at the same time so everything works right.
When we look at your soffit and eavestrough needs Professional Roofers Toronto takes a full approach. We check for hidden damage behind visible surfaces, look at the current state of the item and give you honest advice on whether to repair or replace it. We can sometimes patch up a damaged section of soffit but if we find rot in the wood underneath we’ll let you know because ignoring it will only make things worse.
The ventilation part of the soffit needs special attention. In the winter good attic ventilation keeps ice dams from forming. In the summer it lowers cooling costs and makes your roof shingles last longer. When we put up new soffit we make sure that insulation and other things don’t block the ventilation holes. This may seem like a small thing but it has an effect on how well your whole roof works.
If you see that your soffit paint is peeling, there are water stains, parts are sagging or the eavestroughs are pulling away from your house you should call a professional to look at it. We work in Etobicoke and would be happy to come to your home to look at your situation and explain your options in simple terms. To keep your home safe you need to pay attention to these systems before small problems turn into big ones.
