# Adding Gable End Overhang



## jwith (Feb 19, 2012)

I am looking at replacing my roof this spring. My house is 25 years old and is in need of a new roof. I didn't think much about it when buying my house, a few years ago, but there is no gable end overhangs. I have had a lot of water damage on my corner boards and window sills on the gable ends, but not much under the eves.

From what I've read it is critical for homes to have overhang to protect the siding, windows, and sills from sun, water, and snow. I live in the MA, NH area and we receive a significant amount of snow. I've noticed only about 10-20% of homes in my town actually have gable end overhangs. Mostly newer homes are adding 6-12" overhang. Some older homes seem to have about 6" overhang built from ornate rake boards.

I am looking for advice on whether overhang on gable ends are really necessary in my area, and if it is worth trying to add them when I have the roof done? Would the cost/effort of the modification out-weight the benefit of adding them? I would have to do a total of 3 gable ends about 100'. I can post pictures if necessary.

Thank you in advance!


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Really need those pictures.
Whole lot of work and money but if you plan on staying in the house I feel it's worth it.
I feel this is the strongest way to frame the gables.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...CC448464CC1DDC14524BF301B34AD&selectedIndex=1

To get rid of all that maintaince replace those boards with vinyl lumber, install vinyl soffits and get someone to wrap all the fashia boards in coil stock.


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## jwith (Feb 19, 2012)

thanks for the quick response Joe. I will post some pictures tomorrow when there's day light. I was planning on having all the fascia, rake, soffits, and corner boards replaced with PVC AZEK or similar. The rake boards are rotted badly because the builder didn't install any drip edge on the the rakes, and the fascia is bad because the gutters were attached to fascias and home owners didn't keep up with painting them.

I don't think it would be too hard to add that framing into the gable ends. I would think the toughest part would be updating the decking. My decking is 4x8 plywood and I would assume I would want to stagger the decking so there isn't a straight seem right along the gable end, providing a stronger seam.

If you have experience with this construction, please let me know what you think would be involved in modifying the existing structure.

Thanks


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

I would not use the PVC for the fashias, just to expencive and you would first have to put up a layer of wood then attach the PVC to that so it's twice as much work. Just cheap spruce wraped in coil stock will last a few life times.
Not that big a deal to weave in the new plywood.
I use one of these to remove sheathing.
http://www.thegutster.com/


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Jwith....I totally agree with you on what your wanting to do. I'm in the middle of a 2-story addition and one of the things we did was install 24' eaves....(click on the link in my signature for pics). 

In fact, the example Joe gave you is almost exactly how mine look.

If your going to re-roof, it's wise to do a tear off anyway....that way you can inspect everything and repair as necessary. You are right, you want to stagger the decking....but that part is not really that hard...if your pulling decking off....going 1-2 stud bays more is not a big deal. I think it's well worth the effort seeing how your doing a roof anyway.

Side note....when the roofer was doing my house we got into a conversation about tear-off....he said that for the money...doing a tear-off each time you roof is wise....the typical cost is $800 and up (depending on size)....but allows you to inspect closely for any wood damage...and the end result looks a whole lot better. I've walked around my neighborhood and looked at houses that had 2 layers on....looks like crap....sort of like painting over a bad paint job.


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## jwith (Feb 19, 2012)

Joecaption, that tool is awesome. I could have used that on so many home projects already. I am hoping the decking is not tongue and groove plywood. They used tongue and groove plywood throughout the interior of the house (all the subfloors), and I had to replace a few and it added a lot of extra work. That's good to know about PVC as well, I guess I will look into the coil wrap. 

ddawg16, thanks for the feedback. I am definitely going to strip the old roof off. I have spoken with a couple of roofers and wanted to just lay new shingles over. I said no way. I already know of a couple of pieces of decking I want to replace. I can see damage from the attack. one of the roofers told me I would have to hire someone to come out and strip it before they would roof and they estimated it would cost 2-3k, which I thought was high for 25 squares.

Should I be looking for a roofer or GC to do all the fascia and decking repair?


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## OldNBroken (Jun 11, 2008)

Tearoff is part of the roofing process. Seems odd to me that your roofer tells you you gotta find someone else to tear it off for you. A decent contractor should be able to handle everything you are asking for no problem. When you get multiple contractors involved in a single project like that it only leads to delays and the chance for mother nature to get involved in the mix.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Somethings very wrong if they suggested getting someone else to tear off the old shingles!


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

My roofer says he never tears off....he hires companies that do it....they are cheaper than what he could do it for....they come in with a crew of 4-5 guys....tear it all....clean everything up....leaving him a clean bare roof to work with.

He also discourages homeowners to roof over existing shingles....for the little overall extra cost....well worth the money....

So, if a roofer is discouraging you from doing a tear off....time to find a different roofer.


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## OldNBroken (Jun 11, 2008)

ddawg16 said:


> My roofer says he never tears off....he hires companies that do it....they are cheaper than what he could do it for....they come in with a crew of 4-5 guys....tear it all....clean everything up....leaving him a clean bare roof to work with.
> 
> He also discourages homeowners to roof over existing shingles....for the little overall extra cost....well worth the money....
> 
> So, if a roofer is discouraging you from doing a tear off....time to find a different roofer.


But does HE take care of it or leave it to the homeowner? Big difference. Nothing wrong with subbing out the tearoff. The contractor is still in charge of it. It's odd that a roofer says "I don't do tearoffs."

Also, one should never "discourage" a tearoff, but anyone who says they refuse to ever do a recover is dealing in absolutes and that's never good. Be honest, give them all their options and give them your recommendations and why you recommend them. I always HIGHLY recommend tearoffs but will do recovers in certain situations. It's their property, let them make their own decisions but make sure they are properly informed before they do make the decision.


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...B_DH7R&sig=AHIEtbQHfQZ5743BqrGMCZm6mjEVjqoD5Q

Gary


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## jwith (Feb 19, 2012)

ddawg16 said:


> My roofer says he never tears off....he hires companies that do it....they are cheaper than what he could do it for....they come in with a crew of 4-5 guys....tear it all....clean everything up....leaving him a clean bare roof to work with.
> 
> He also discourages homeowners to roof over existing shingles....for the little overall extra cost....well worth the money....
> 
> So, if a roofer is discouraging you from doing a tear off....time to find a different roofer.


Yeah he said I could use a GC that he knows to do it, but it sounded like two separate contracts, which concerns me. He did say it would be cheaper for the GC because his insurance is cheaper and he has cheaper labor to clear it.


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## jwith (Feb 19, 2012)

Gary in WA said:


> https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...B_DH7R&sig=AHIEtbQHfQZ5743BqrGMCZm6mjEVjqoD5Q
> 
> Gary


Thank you for that link. I find it interesting that that document says many home owners don't like gable end overhangs. This may explain why most houses in my town don't have them. I would assume practicality would out weigh appearance. 



> Rake
> (gable end) overhangs also deserve special consideration
> because more costly “outrigger” framing
> methods will be required for overhangs exceeding
> ...


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## AndyWRS (Feb 1, 2012)

Pretty common here where i live to sub the T/O out, those guys are very fast but also charge more than my in house guy. Some of my roofers do thier own T/O some do not. Tearing off is actually good money, its just a very dirty job. In a pinch we sub it out, but most of the time we can just move the start date 1 day and do it in house. 


We lost one of our t/o guys end of last yr, disgruntled g/f shot him 5 times in broad daylight while he sat in his truck. RIP Martin...he was a good person.


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## jwith (Feb 19, 2012)

*Here's some pictures*

Here's the pictures I said I would post. You can see there is absolutely no gable end overhang. I have touched up the rake boards, but they are fairly rotted. I even had large holes on the the back rake boards where bees where nesting. 


back rake boards


Garage and front rake boards

I have a total of 3 sets of rake boards that need to be updated.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Here is what mine look like....


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## OldNBroken (Jun 11, 2008)

I don't see any reason to modify those. Tearoff, repair as needed and re-roof.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

The biggest regret I have with my garage was not putting on a longer gable end........If I'm still in this house 20 years from now about which time the garage will be ready for a new roof....I'm going to lengthen the gable end....


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## jwith (Feb 19, 2012)

ddawg16 said:


> Here is what mine look like....


Are your rake boards metal wrapped? That looks really good.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

jwith said:


> Are your rake boards metal wrapped? That looks really good.


No....but the wood was primered prior to install...then primered again...then painted....I have a drip edge that was installed 'after' the painting....I have found that to extend the life a bit....

Metal Wrapped? Have not heard of that....most likely worth looking into....but then again....I live in California....the hardest thing on my paint is the sun.

I know I'll have to paint them in about 5-8 years.

This pic is about 2 months old....but will give you a better idea of the overall look.


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## PatChap (Nov 17, 2012)

Looks to me like the rake boards are rotting because of little to no shingle overhang, adding drip edge up the rakes would help, too.


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## jagans (Oct 21, 2012)

First of all, you dont need to go through all the work that you are going to get into. Your problem has to do with how your rakes were handled originally. You did not mention cladding of your fascia and rakes with white aluminum. 

What you need to do is to replace your rotten wood with pre-primed pine,
Clad your rakes and fascia with white aluminum, Install a decent drip edge which is properly enveloped with ice dams flashing, and make sure your shingles overhang drip 1 inch minimum. 

Considering the height of your roof from the windows, the overhang will not keep wind blown rain from hitting them, and properly detailed siding with a proper secondary protection will not leak.


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## jwith (Feb 19, 2012)

PatChap said:


> Looks to me like the rake boards are rotting because of little to no shingle overhang, adding drip edge up the rakes would help, too.


I know on the rakes the biggest problem is that there is no drip edge or shingle overhang. I am not sure if that wasn't common 25 years ago. I noticed new attachments (covered porches) all have drip edge and shingle overhang on the eaves. The other problem with the fascia is that the gutters prevent anyone from maintaining the paint. I am not sure if they were improperly installed, but lots of water gets behind the gutter and soaks the fascia boards. 

I will try and take a close picture of the drip edge and gutters later this week.


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## jwith (Feb 19, 2012)

jagans said:


> First of all, you dont need to go through all the work that you are going to get into. Your problem has to do with how your rakes were handled originally. You did not mention cladding of your fascia and rakes with white aluminum.
> 
> What you need to do is to replace your rotten wood with pre-primed pine,
> Clad your rakes and fascia with white aluminum, Install a decent drip edge which is properly enveloped with ice dams flashing, and make sure your shingles overhang drip 1 inch minimum.
> ...


I guess that is a good point. The first window is probably about 8 feet away from the nearest rake. 

What do you mean by secondary protection for the siding? If you are talking in regards to house wrap, I do not believe there is any. 25 year old home. I have replaced siding and some of the sheathing because the home owners let the corner boars rot all the way through and through the sheathing.

Why I was thinking that I need a gable end overhang was because all of my corner boards are in horrible shape. They seemed to keep up with the paint, but lots of rot on the corner boards. I have replaced 3 corners already (out of 6) and I didn't want it to continue. I figured protecting any of the exterior from rain would be good!


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