How to Install Maintenance-Free Aluminum Soffits (page 6 of 6)

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How to Install Maintenance-Free Aluminum Soffits: Creative Solutions

Instead of the flat “boxed” soffits shown in this article, older (and some newer) homes may have a soffit style that features either exposed rafter tails or enclosed soffits that follow the slope of the roof.

Aluminum soffits can also be angled to follow the slope of the roof. Or you can convert sloped soffits to flat with 2x4s to provide a nailing form for the aluminum trim. Since there won’t be a soffit to nail J-channel to, it has to be fastened to the wall. Cut 1-in. wide notches every 2 ft. in the long leg of J-channel and bend it up. These tabs can then be nailed to the wall. An alternative is to nail F-channel (serves the same purpose as J-channel, but the F-shape lets you nail the flange to the wall) flush with the line, upside down to receive the soffit.

If yours is a classic old home with elegant detailing on the eaves, think twice before you hide all that innate beauty behind manufactured materials. If the eaves can be restored, you may want to roll up your sleeves and do it the old-fashioned way.

This isn’t the time to be a cheapskate. Rent scaffolding for high areas.
If you’re blessed with a one-story home, you can do the whole job with stepladders. But if you have loftier ambitions, like working on second-story soffits, you’d best get to the rental yard and order up section-style, steel scaffolding. Measure the height of your soffits and the rental clerks will help you put together the right parts. You’ll pick up speed when you conquer the basics of soffit installation, but for the average-sized house you should plan to rent the scaffolding for at least a week. Before you rent it, take care of the low soffits with ladders to save rental costs.

CAUTION:
Be careful not to contact overhead power lines. Call the power company for help with electrical lines that are near or pass through soffits or fascias.

Click image to enlarge.

Tricks of the trade for a quality job

Drip Edge Tips
Drip edge goes on last—over the fascia and under all roofing material, including starter shingles, felt and ice barriers. Sometimes you’ll need to score and peel off some of the width of new drip edge to make it easier to shove it under all the roofing materials. Nail the face of the drip edge through the fascia every 2 ft.

How to handle soffit corners on hip roofs

Hip roofs are pyramid-shaped, so all the roof surfaces slope up from the eaves. All the roof edges are eaves (no gable ends), so flat soffits continue around corners. Fit soffit around corners by installing back-to-back J-channel or miter divider to handle the splice. Make 45-degree cuts on panels using the 45-degree feature on your soffit table.