Homeowner Forum / Construction / July 2006

lol!

By what standard is this a quality asset?

A big overhang, like a big canopy tree close to the house, is an asset for
shading.  That is until a really stiff wind comes up.  Either can badly
damage the house if either come loose.  Its a tradeoff, betting on lack of
severe inclement weather for the life of the home.  The odds are not in
favor for most locations.

I think that in Southern California you will actually want to make the
eaves wider, not narrower, for reasons provided earlier.  After you cut
off the rotten ends of the rafters, "sister" new (treated) lumber to
the remaining rafter to keep the same eave length, or possibly extend
the eave a bit wider.  I don't like the silly short exposed 2x4 eaves
put on most track homes these days for the problems you have faced.  I
have built on most of my older home soffett style construction with a
solid treated facia board, which allows for better protection of the
rafter ends, extends the attic space out over walkways and freeze
sensitive plants, and allows for underside eave vents.  These soffetts
are actually 2x4 knee joints off the ends of the rafter, and nailed
against a ledger on the house, eliminating the roof slope on the
underside.  Before I finished off the underside of these soffetts with
siding material, I spanned the bottom members with the aluminium film
type radiant foil, which is pretty cheap, to reflect an additional 10%
of the summer radiant heat back toward the sun.  This does help shade
the side of the house from the intense radiant heat we've had lately,
and in the winter the freeze sensitive plants fair much better than
simply under the usual flimsy eave of a track home.  Such a project
isn't very expensive nor difficult to do.