I have a house that was built in 1970 that has exposed rafter tails. Most of the are begining to rot. I am looking for a way to remove the rot without destroying the look of the house. The house has torchdown gutters so there is already a 6″ facia so I don’t want to cut the rafters flush and add another 3.5″ of facia. I think a 9.5″ facia on a one story rambler would look silly.
My next thought was to cut the tails back at an angle toward the house starting at the existing facia but my concern here is that I would weaken the rafter too much to support the torchdown gutters.
Another idea is to round off the ends and just leave then exposed but underneath the roof now.
Does anyone have any other thought or ideas on the best way to get rid of the rot on my exposed rafters while keeping the house looking good?
Thanks,
Tmoo
Replies
i'm in s, ts & never heard of torchdown gutters, post back & explane. as to your problem, only two ways i can come up with, {1} repair whats needed & box them in w/ soffit {2} cut them flush , build ladder to proper angle & install. jmo.
Sawman - Perhaps the name is wrong but it is what was given to me by the home inspector. Basically they are built-in gutters which have a heavy rubber lining "torched" or tarred together to seal them. There is a 1x6 placed on top of the rafter tails to give rise for the gutters. I had never seen anything like this before but now that I know they exist I have seen many other houses which have them.
As far as cutting them flush and building a ladder...will that be strong enough to support the gutters?
Tmoo - You've got a sort of 'poor-man's' Yankee gutter and, likely, the very reason why your rafter tails have rotted. If the tails aren't too bad there is a good epoxy system available to patch the ends - click here for more details.
Consider changing to hung gutters, say a copper half-round gutter system, which looks better with exposed tails than an ogee-type.
T. Jeffery Clarke
PS - Read your post again - do I understand that they extended beyond the roof overhang? ('exposed tails' can also be under the roof). If so, cutting them back to sound wood as you suggest, allowing them to finish under cover and patching any rotted wood remaining is the way to go.
Quidvis Recte Factum Quamvis Humile Praeclarum
Edited 4/1/2002 2:03:36 PM ET by Jeff Clarke
Edited 4/1/2002 2:04:42 PM ET by Jeff Clarke
Thanks Jeff - Yes...my rafters do extend past the edge of the roof. I like the look but nearly every tail has begun to rot. I appreciate to info on the patch material and I will consider using it. Can you point me to info on the copper gutters. That could look very nice on this JapaneseCraftsman inspired house.
Thanks,
--Tom
Typing "copper gutters" into a search engine gets you lots of hits, but here are a few to get you started, DIY and not. There is also a copper look-alike made of aluminum by Alcoa in a color called "musket brown", in case you need an alternative to the sticker shock--real copper is pretty spendy.
http://www.slateandcopper.com/half_round.htm
http://www.masterpieceguttersystems.com/
http://www.contractorlocate.com/diy/gutters/coppergutters.html
With the Japanese look, consider the rain chains with little buckets in place of average downspouts:
http://www.rainchain.com/
Edited 4/1/2002 9:56:28 PM ET by splintergroupie