Van Nuys Structural Work at the Eaves and Roof Joints
Rafter tails, fascia, kickout flashing and gutters: Van Nuys structural work at the roof edge that keeps roof water out of the frame after a fire.
Roof water does much of its harm where the roof meets a wall. In a Van Nuys house being repaired after a fire, we look closely at those joints: the eaves, the rafter tails that form them, and any spot where a lower roof runs into a taller wall. A missing drip edge or a gap in the flashing lets water soak the rafter ends and the top of the wall out of sight, until the wood gives way.
Rafter tails, fascia and the drip edge
Rafter tails are the ends of the rafters that reach past the wall to form the eave. When they rot or char, the engineer may allow new tails sistered alongside or call for replacement back to the wall, with blocking between each pair. The fascia board is renewed on sound wood, and a metal drip edge goes under the roofing so water leaves the roof clear of the fascia. Gutters hung along that new edge carry the water to downspouts and on to outlets set well away from the walls.
Where a low roof meets a tall wall
Where a lower roof ends against the wall of a taller part of the house, rain running down the roof meets the wall and can slip behind the siding. A kickout flashing at the bottom of that joint turns the water out into the gutter, and step flashing along the joint keeps it out of the wall above the roofline. Where siding came off for the fire repair, new building paper laps over these flashings so water stays outside. Repairs to rafters, plates and wall framing are permitted through LADBS and inspected before roofing and siding go back on.
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Structural Work in Van Nuys: questions
Walk around the outside and look up. Peeling paint on the fascia, dark streaks below the eaves, gutters pulling loose and siding that bulges under a roof joint all mark places where water may have reached the frame. We probe those spots from a ladder and from the attic, check the rest of the structure, and list each finding with a photo.
Replacing rafters back to the wall, rebuilding a top plate or changing how the roof bears on the walls calls for engineered details for LADBS, since each of those changes how the roof weight comes down. Sistering short new tails onto sound rafters at the eave is often handled without full calculations.
Yes. While the bottoms of the walls are open, the plates on the slab or foundation can take new anchors, and the walls can take plywood and hold-downs where the engineer places them. Water near the base of those new panels matters too, so the siding laps over the sill flashing before the wall is closed.
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