Soffit & Fascia near you

Table 10.8.3 is worth understanding even if you never read it, because it explains a lot of eaves detailing that otherwise looks arbitrary. For roofs below ten degrees, the required openings are provided at each of two opposing ends. From ten degrees to under fifteen, most of the area is provided at the eaves with a smaller amount at high level. From fifteen degrees to under seventy-five, the eaves and high-level areas are smaller again, with a substantial additional allowance at the eaves where the roof has a cathedral ceiling. The requirement applies in climate zones 6, 7 and 8, the cooler parts of the country.

The exceptions are as informative as the rule. The provisions do not apply to concrete roofs, to structural insulated panel roofs, or to roofs subject to the requirements for bushfire attack level flame zone. In other words, the Code stops asking for eaves ventilation exactly where the bushfire rules make an open eave unacceptable.

For a homeowner, the practical consequence is that eaves vents are not decoration and must not be blocked. Insulation pushed out over the top plate, packing installed to stop birds, a soffit relined without reinstating the vents, or a mesh that has silted up will all close the roof space's main air path. In the cooler zones that shows up as condensation, damp timber and mould rather than as a leak, which is why it is so often misdiagnosed.

Ember attack is the mechanism that burns most houses, and the roofline is where embers accumulate. The gap between the top of the wall and the roof covering, the joint between the eaves lining and the fascia, the penetrations for downlights and exhaust fans, and any vent that is not screened are all openings at the exact height where embers land and lodge.

The CFA's guidance for existing homes is specific and it is all eaves work. Seal gaps using compressed mineral wool insulation, which the CFA describes as a cheap and effective solution for existing homes. On new homes, install non-combustible sarking under the roof to stop embers. Cover skylights with non-combustible fire screens, and cover gaps in evaporative coolers with metal mesh. For openings elsewhere on the building the CFA specifies corrosion-resistant bronze or steel mesh with a maximum aperture of two millimetres, and metal window screens, not aluminium, with holes of one and a half millimetres.

Where the site is on designated bushfire prone land, the construction requirement is AS 3959 or the NASH standard at the bushfire attack level assessed for the address, and the eaves detailing tightens as that level rises. Have the assessment before you specify the lining material, the vents or the fascia, because retrofitting an eave is far more disruptive than specifying it correctly once.

The gutter comes off first, and it should not go straight back on. This is the one moment when the whole eave is visible, so it is the moment to check the rafter ends for rot, to see how the roof covering finishes over the fascia, to check what the previous gutter was fixed to, and to see whether the eaves ventilation is real or has been blocked at some point.

Then the substrate. Rotten rafter ends are repaired or spliced, not covered. This is the step that quotes leave out and variations are made of, so ask up front what happens if the rafter ends are gone, because the answer determines whether you are buying a fascia or a small piece of carpentry.

Then the new fascia, the lining, the vents and the gutter, in that order, with the gutter set to the required fall and bracketed at the required spacing. Where the site is bushfire prone, the ember detailing at the roof and wall junction is done as part of this sequence rather than afterwards, because once the lining is fixed the gaps are inaccessible. Finish by confirming that the ventilation openings are open and that no insulation has been pushed into them.

Queensland names this work directly, which is useful because it settles the argument about which trade it belongs to. The QBCC's metal fascias and gutters class covers fabricating and installing rainwater goods including and associated with metal fascias and gutters, and fabricating and installing external flashings and associated soffits, fascias and gutters. The roof and wall cladding class also covers designing, fabricating and installing external flashings, metal ceilings and associated soffits and fascias. A QBCC licence is required for building work above the state threshold.

In New South Wales the gutter and flashing side is roof plumbing, which covers fixing, installing, renovating, altering, repairing and maintaining guttering, downpipes, roof flashing and roof coverings, licensed above the Home Building Act threshold. The carpentry and lining side falls under general building work. On a full eaves replacement you may be dealing with more than one class, so ask how the job is split.

Approvals are a separate question. Like-for-like replacement is often treated as maintenance, but changing the eave on a heritage item or inside a character overlay, or altering the eaves construction on designated bushfire prone land, can bring the work into the approval system. Your council or a registered building surveyor gives the answer for your address.