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What material to use? - Randy C - 08-09-2019

I am having a problem with wood rotting near the soffit even  Though I am pretty diligent about keeping it painted.

Can anyone suggest a good material to use instead of wood? I thought about hardie board but it is somewhat difficult to work with, thought about pvc, not sure how it is to work with.

Any other materials I should consider to fix this problem?

Thanks


RE: What material to use? - R Clark - 08-09-2019

For the application you pictured, I'd use PVC.  PVC is not difficult to work with; use regular wood tools to cut and work with it.

Can be a little pricey, but it's good for applications that are exposed to the weather.  A quick look online shows that a 1 X 12 X 16' stick of PVC is priced at about $75.


RE: What material to use? - Robert Adams - 08-09-2019

PVC is a really good way to go but only if you can get it locally. If you have Menards you should have a decent selection of widths. Here we just have Despot and Blowes so it's hard to get.  It works like wood for the most part. 

     Houses in the 80s here had all that trim made with cedar and that spot is a royal PITA to do. IMO if you can frame the roof without those spots do it as I have had little luck with them. Unfortunately the best approach is to totally retrim that area with PVC glued together. It's expensive to do and allot of work and it doesn't look as good as wood (especially cedar). I like the look of the rough sawn painted cedar.


RE: What material to use? - packerguy® - 08-09-2019

(08-09-2019, 06:35 PM)Randy C Wrote: I am having a problem with wood rotting near the soffit even  Though I am pretty diligent about keeping it painted.

Can anyone suggest a good material to use instead of wood? I thought about hardie board but it is somewhat difficult to work with, thought about pvc, not sure how it is to work with.

Any other materials I should consider to fix this problem?

Thanks

Wrap it in aluminum.


RE: What material to use? - Robert Adams - 08-09-2019

(08-09-2019, 08:57 PM)packerguy® Wrote: Wrap it in aluminum.

           That's a somewhat regional thing. It is extremely rare here since houses are brick there are few siding/aluminum contractors. I haven't seen aluminum put on a house in 20 years or more... Here you would have to find a commercial trim guy and they don't want to mess with residential.


RE: What material to use? - MstrCarpenter - 08-09-2019

We used to call those rake returns "Pork chops"; that's what the shape resembled. The vertical cut changed to a radius that flowed into the bottom of the rake trim. (Originally these ends were one piece and a scarf joint mated to the rake further up.) The purpose was to direct the flow of water coming down the rake away from where it would cause damage. On your house that water is slamming right into the joint and getting behind the paint. You can keep the joint sealed with a good caulk but the joint has to be kept wide so the caulk has enough thickness to stretch and shrink while still sticking to both parts. In other words, a small bead of caulking covering a small gap is purely cosmetic and it won't last very long.

I would make the replacement out of P.V.C.. There's a good chance that there's a 1/2" gap between the rake and the rafter tail; if so, you can back up the joint with plywood and construction adhesive to try to keep the joint tight.


RE: What material to use? - Snipe Hunter - 08-10-2019

PVC Board.

I really hope to see exterior wood trim go the way of the dinosaur in my lifetime.


RE: What material to use? - Stwood_ - 08-10-2019

I guess you've ruled out cedar


RE: What material to use? - Enigmatic - 08-10-2019

Try Cypress wood instead.


RE: What material to use? - daddo - 08-10-2019

This is what I do. I use treated lumber and let it dry in the hot sun for a week. I then cut it to fit. I then sand it and coat it with a primer and two thin coats of paint. Before placing it up against the face board, I run caulking along the edge that meets the face board to seal it- let it squeeze out and then wipe it. Then give it one more coat of paint.