Painting Or Replacing Wood Soffits with Aluminum
If you plan to paint or replace wood soffits with aluminum you’ll want to read on and discover how to do so efficiently. Wood soffits are flat panels with slots that are located at the edge of your roof under the eavestrough. Wood soffits rot over time so it’s a good idea to replace them with a material like aluminum. We’ll go over the replacement costs, soffit and fascias prices, engineered wood soffits and installing plywood soffits below.
How to Paint or Replace Wood Soffits With Aluminum
Materials That You Will Need:
- Safety Goggles/Utility Belt
- Pry Bar
- Aluminum Soffit
- Jigsaw
- Ladder
- Tape Measure
- Sheet Metal Clippers
- Hammer
- Marker/Pencil
- J-Channel (Plastic or Metal channel shaped like a J)
- 1-1/2 Inch Nails
- 1 Inch Galvanized Nails
Costs:
Something to consider for D.I.Y projects such as these is that although you will save money on labour you will be paying for your own tools and supplies. So for this particular project, pressure treated or vinyl soffits and fascias range about $1 to $5 or more per linear foot. Aluminum can range around $2.50 to $15 or more per linear foot. Depending on how much you need to replace, aim to spend around $50 on just these supplies alone.
1. Prep and Remove
- If you need to, use a stepladder or a full length ladder and align it with the roofline. Make sure it is stable and secure.
- Put on your safety goggles and wear a utility belt if possible to keep your tools close by.
- Locate the thin wooden strip moulding and, using a pry bar, pry it free from the roof. Remove all of the strip/shingle moulding.
- Glance at the end of the fascia board that will be facing toward you and pry it from the seam where it attaches to the nails. Carefully pry it off.
- You’ll need to find the plywood soffit now, some may be the length of the entire roof and some may be spaced out. Find the nails on the edges of the wood soffit and pry them off with the claw part of your hammer. Carefully remove the wooden soffit.
2. Put up Your Aluminum Soffit
- Compare the aluminum soffit to the wooden one and gauge whether or not you need to widen the hole. You can use a marker or a pencil and sketch where it needs to be widened. Using a jigsaw cut along the sketched lines.
- With your J-Channel insert the aluminum soffit into the groove. Insert more nails to hold it in place. If you need an extra hand, have someone assist you by holding it up.
- With the 1 inch galvanized nails, install and attach the fascia board.
HINT:
- When replacing wood soffits with aluminum, make sure you also check the felt on the roof underneath so you know if it has worn down significantly or not. You may need to replace this as well, so incorporate it into your budget.
Learning how to paint or replace wood soffits with aluminum will have you prepared for future maintenance with your roof. Hopefully there won’t be a lot to be done, but in case there is you are prepared! If all this D.I.Y stuff just doesn’t work well with your schedule and you would rather sit back and relax in the warm weather instead of working on your roof – then HPT just might be the best call to make!
Call us NOW at 416-494-9095 or email brian@homepainterstoronto.com!
