How to Attach Fascia Board on Gable End Trusses
A fascia is a trim or facing board installed on the outside ends of rafters or trusses on a roof. It sometimes forms the outside of a soffit, a covering to enclose the bottom of the trusses from the end to the house wall. A fascia also may be installed just to cover the ends or tails of the trusses. Fascia is placed along both sides of a gable roof and on all four sides of a hip roof and usually is wood painted to match the rest of the exterior trim.
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Measure the depth of the truss ends with a tape measure to get the width of fascia needed; most will by 1-by-6-inch lumber, but 1-by-4 can be used if the truss rafter is a 2-by-4. A fascia board can extend below the truss end and usually does if a soffit covering is being installed. Measure the length of the roof to figure the number and length of fascia boards needed; a single board usually will not cover the full length.
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Use a circular saw to cut a square edge on one end of the fascia board for a gable roof. Cut a 45-degree miter for a hip roof. Mark the other end of the fascia board to end at the center of a truss end and cut a 45-degree angle across it, facing away from the house front. Do this on either gable or hip fascia, to make a connection with the abutting board.
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Nail the end of the fascia to the end truss with a hammer and 8-penny nails. Place the square edge at the end of the roof and the top of the board flush with the roof sheathing. Put the inside edge of the miter on a hip roof fascia at the end of the corner truss tail. Have help and ladders for this installation. Lift the other end of the board in place and nail it to the center of the truss. Drive two nails through the fascia into each truss end.
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Cut a matching 45-degree angle across the end of the next fascia board, to overlap the end of the first one installed. Measure it and cut it to fit the other end truss; cut it square and flush with that truss end for a gable roof, mitered for a hip roof with the inside edge of the miter flush with the side of the end truss. Install it with two nails in each truss. Put two nails through both boards at the mitered joint.
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Repeat the process on the other side of a gable roof, always working from back to front, so the overlapped seams form a smooth joint. Make similar installations on the other three sides of a hip roof, with the mitered ends making 90-degree corners. Drive two medium finishing nails through each side of the miter to secure the corner.
References
Writer Bio
Bob Haring has been a news writer and editor for more than 50 years, mostly with the Associated Press and then as executive editor of the Tulsa, Okla. "World." Since retiring he has written freelance stories and a weekly computer security column. Haring holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri.
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