What is the Fascia?
Fascia is an important element of your home’s exterior design.
The fascia is the board that runs under the edge of your roof overhang, and which you attach the gutters to. If you didn't have a fascia you would be able to see all of the structures that make up your roof, and the way it attaches to the walls of your home. And of course, if you can see it then there is also nothing to prevent the weather from getting in and causing damage, or birds from making nests and wreaking havoc inside your roof cavity.
Fascia provides support for your home’s gutters, which is especially important when there is heavy rain. The fascia help hold up all the extra weight of the deluge. It also provides support against wind, ice or snow.
The finishing touch
Fascia provides a clean, finished look to the exterior of your home and can be used to cover up unsightly nails or screw heads.
Weatherproofing your home
But more than aesthetics though, Fascia provides weatherproofing and is a great way to protect your home, keeping water from penetrating into your ceiling and walls. By sealing the cracks and gaps in your home’s exterior, you can keep rot, mould, and even draughts from causing damage.
Energy Efficiency
As an added bonus, Fascia can improve your home’s energy efficiency. By sealing the cracks and gaps in your home’s exterior, you can keep the warm air inside during the winter and the cool air inside during the summer. This will help you save money on your energy bills.
What is the Fascia made of?
Historically fascia in New Zealand have been made from treated and pre-painted pine boards. As good as treated pine is, this kind of fascia does not last as long as newer materials.
Fine Line use fascia made from protected and painted steel from manufacturers like ColorCote and ColourSteel. These are very durable and come with an outstanding warranty on both the paint finish and from perforations and rust.
Steel fascia have steel brackets that fix to the truss tails, and then the fascia clips onto the brackets (See picture).
As an example of the quality of these products, the following describes ColorCote's paint and protection:
Substrate
Hot-dipped zinc/aluminium/magnesium alloy coated steel coil.
Pre-treatment
Corrosion resistant conversion coating.
Primer
Flexible corrosion resistant primer. Nominal film thickness 7µ on the top side and 5µ on the reverse.
Finish Coat
Flexible exterior acrylic, polyester or modified polyester coating. Nominal film thickness 18µ.
Backing Coat
Shadow Grey (standard colour) wash coat, 5µ nominal thickness.
ColorCote say that the superior corrosion resistance of MagnaFlow means it is an ideal choice for more demanding environments, such as roofs 100m from the coastline. The magnesium in the aluminium/zinc/magnesium alloy coating ‘magically’ helps zinc flow over cut edges, sealing them and providing long term protection against corrosion.
