Are your soffits and fascia painted or are they clad in aluminum? If painted, would you consider having them sided so you don't have to do any more maintenance on them?

Painted. But ...

We just had a carpenter here this morning, some of the soffits/fascia need to be replaced because they're rotting.

He did mention different kinds of materials to replace with, is that what you're referencing in terms of "siding"? I'm not sure I know what that means.

"Siding" might be the wrong word; in this specific instance I used it as a verb to describe the application of aluminum over wood soffit and fascia to protect the wood and to eliminate the need to paint. Maybe "cladding" is a better term? Not sure.

I'm not up on current construction, so I don't know what kinds of materials other than wood are being used for the soffit and fascia. I found this overview.

Did he identify why they rotted? Would be good to know so you can be assured that the underlying problem has been addressed when you're having all this other work done.

P.S. Welcome to the joys of home ownership.

WTG, that's actually super helpful! So he mentioned "Nichiha" which I believe is a kind of "fiber cement," which is mentioned in the article you linked.

So I think the rotting is because of a combination of factors that are sort of a shopping list of maintenance issues that we inherited and are slowly working our way through correcting. Some of the problems will be resolved when we re-do the roof and gutters, but I do think using something other than wood would be good. He said "nichiha" is expensive, but it sounds like the price should be manageable....

Also, I think we might go with everything that we purchase/install/replace being white, and then we'll deal with the color mismatch next summer. I'll take some photos when the sun comes out, but I don't think it will be that terrible....

Ugh, we're getting ready to lay out a huge chunk of money. I know it's worth it (esp. in the long run), but I think it's going to be a lot more than I expected. Phooey.

I am a fan of matching gutters to fascia color to make them disappear. Also I would be the type who would paint the down spout to match the siding to do the same. Gutters are NOT an architectural feature generally (except...see last comment).

SK, I just sided my entire house in cement fiber board, in my case Hardie Plank. It is rot proof, insect proof and color is guaranteed for 15 years. I had an eyebrow built to go over a window and its little fascia and soffit were clad in the plank.

Another option might be PVC. There are some nice lumber looking types that hold paint pretty well and good to use in places where there is water or chewing animals.

I have to admit, I am considering a short bit of copper gutter. I have an old one that is over the entry stairs that needs to be replaced. I am bringing my 1925 bungalow back closer to its Craftsman DNA so am thinking a 8 foot length (with a rain chain) would be both functional and a bit of jewelry for my little red house.

quote:

Also I would be the type who would paint the down spout to match the siding to do the same.

My house is brick though, so if we don't do black gutters, ... well, rather, the downspouts will be the same color as the gutters because I think red downspouts would look very funny!

I wanna see the eyebrow on your window!!

I better copper on a Craftsman would be nice btw!

Replace some wood siding with hardy board about 10 or 15 years ago it has been amazing. Looks good, doesn’t need to be painted. Some of the best money we ever spent.

So I paid attention to the color of the fascia, gutters, and downspouts on the houses as I took my walk tonight.

The vast majority of homes have matching fascia and gutters, mostly white (probably 99% of the total), a few tan, and a few dark brown.

I saw a few homes with black gutters on white fascia. The white fascia ends up looking very narrow. Not good or bad, but has a definite architectural impact.

On a long run of gutter, the fact that it is pitched is less evident when it is matched to the fascia. If they are contrasting colors (black gutter/white fascia) you tend to notice the slope of the gutter because the reveal on the fascia becomes narrower. I saw some gutters that were so sloped that the fascia was evident above the gutter by the time you got close to the downspout. Those were white/white so it wasn't obvious till you really looked. Would have looked pretty odd if the gutters had been black...

Some houses I saw on my walk:

The house that I posted a few weeks ago that is for sale has black gutters and roof, with light color fascia. Everything on this house is nicely executed and the black gutters looked good. The narrow reveal on the fascia gives a slightly contemporary look and seems to lower the visual height of the house. I think that's because it basically gives the roof more mass and makes it look lower.


Black gutters on white fascia. You can see the slope of the gutter, and the return around the corner on the first floor in the second picture looks kind of odd to me.





I photographed this one because the had dark brown gutters on white fascia and they ran a medium tan downspout down the side of their tan brick house. It's hard to see because they have a shrub there, but the tan color definitely camoflauges it even more.




The front of the same house. They did a dark brown downspout here:



House with black gutters on light fascia on the right. I didn't notice it till I uploaded these, but the house on the left has a tan roof with tan gutters, but white fascia. Not as much contrast, so it doesn't have the impact of black on white.

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My house is brick though, so if we don't do black gutters, ... well, rather, the downspouts will be the same color as the gutters because I think red downspouts would look very funny!

The people behind us, two story house that is red brick first floor with white siding on second floor had a white downspout coming down from the gutter, across the white siding, but then painted the section that ran across the brick red. It looked kinda weird to say the least. That was the previous owners, an elderly couple. The current owners had the gutters replaced and everything is now white.

Oh my gosh this soooo helpful!!! Thank you!
Gonna show Mr. SK now!!

So, seeing these photos, I don't think black gutters are necessarily a no-go...

The question for me to ask the gutter guys now is, is it possible that black gutters might end up being cheaper. Because if we don't do black, we probably want to do the color-match, and our trim is not white... I'll try to take some photos tomorrow now that the weather is better.

BTW I am reminded of that house in the first photo you posted, as I recall, I really liked the inside. Gonna see if I can find it in Steve's thread....

Still had it open in my tabs.

https://www.realtor.com/reales...s-detail/M8306141820

You just wanna look at the piano again, don't you....

One thing to consider is the availability of black vs white. I have never seen black downspouts at the home improvement stores. It's white or dark brown, very occasionally tan. If you crush your downspout when you're plotzing around in the landscaping you'll have to go to a gutter company to get a replacement.

That, and window in that room, and the kitchen, and the range hood... and, and, and....

Funny how some houses kinda stick in your memory (like the Blue House Steve didn't buy...)

I noticed that the houses with black gutters generally had dark colored roofs so the gutters tended to blend in with the roof color. I don't know what color roof you are intending to have installed, but that may factor into your choice.

My house is a tan brick with brown window trim and fascia. The roof is a light tan shingle and there is a raised portion of the walls with siding that is painted a light tan color. Dark brown gutters to match the windows and fascia was a natural choice. My gutter guards are natural aluminum and stainless steel, but with the 3:12 roof pitch, they are not visible from near the house and only a narrow band of color from a distance which does not seem disturbing to me between the roof shingles and the gutter and fascia.

My soffits are an off-white color, but they are not visible in any reasonable viewing angle of the house. The soffits are about two feet deep and I think the light color permits more reflected light an opportunity to come in the windows. With the deep soffits, the house can be rather dark on many days when it is overcast and there is not too much sunlight to make its way inside.

One comment regarding copper gutters and downspouts - they do not stay copper colored. The university I attended had copper gutters and downspouts on most of the buildings, particularly on the older part of the campus, and they had all taken on the sort of greenish verdigris shade of weathered copper. It blended very well with the pale brick that most of those building were constructed of. The same is true of copper roofs where that constructions was employed.

Big Al

If I were to do it all over again... I'd never paint anything that is color-solid. Because you will need to repaint, and repaint!

So for siding or gutters, purchase the color you want in aluminum or whatever material.

Good point about painting Ron!

Well now I have to figure out the roof tiles. The roofer said something about how one brand that was more expensive pre-covid, is now cheaper, and the most popular brand is unavailable because of covid-related (or possible Ever Given?) supply chain problems.

Anyway, we want something black-ish bc that will look best with our house I think.

So the choices are either be black, charcoal black or black but less black than the first option.

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Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
Good point about painting Ron!

Well now I have to figure out the roof tiles. The roofer said something about how one brand that was more expensive pre-covid, is now cheaper, and the most popular brand is unavailable because of covid-related (or possible Ever Given?) supply chain problems.

Anyway, we want something black-ish bc that will look best with our house I think.

So the choices are either be black, charcoal black or black but less black than the first option.

Does a black roof make your house hotter inside in the summer? Or do you have enough insulation that it’s not a problem?