I removed some rotted soffit from one side of my garage this afternoon. I also ended up removing the fascia board (what the gutter mounts to) and the 2x4 that was behind the fascia because they were completely eaten away by some combination of carpenter ants, termites and water damage.
Fortunately the rafter tails, while a bit soft, seem to be in good enough condition to reuse. I do believe one of them will need sistered. Unfortunately, the last 6-12 inches of the roof deck is rotted. I would like to know the proper way to not just repair the damage, but make sure the problem that led to the moist environment is fixed, too.
I don't know much about roofing, but I think the root cause is on of two things:
- The roofing underlayment (tar paper?) didn't seem to have been covering the last portion of the roof deck. But that is hard to tell because it might just be rotted away also.
- The last row or two of shingles (closest to the gutter) seem cracked and maybe let water get through.
I'm looking for general advice, but I do have some specific questions:
- I'm planning on letting the moisture air dry for a few days before doing anything. Is this necessary? There is a bit of rain in the forecast for the next two days which will impact the efficacy of this I'm guessing.
- One bit of framing is rotted enough that it should really be replaced, but that would require removing a whole lot of trim that I would like to avoid. It is a 12" section of 2x4. If I just leave this wood in place will the rot grow? Or once the moisture problem is taken care of will that stop the spread?
- Is there a way to repair the deck and just shingle that area without redoing the whole roof? Somehow chop off the foot or so of bad deck and re-shingle just the two courses that seem to be letting the moisture in? The rest of the deck is in great condition and the other shingles seem to be working just fine.
- When replacing the fascia and soffit are there better materials to use than just untreated 1/2" pine? Would some of that composite trim eliminate the need to deal with this problem again down the road?
Pics below. Thanks for any help!