wood (fascia/soffit) immediately next to chimney wall is rot out

[hiba]

I noticed the fascia/soffit immediately next to chimney wall is rot out.
Please see the picture here:





I have two questions hope you can help:

1) I am going to hire a guy from angie's list. who should I call to fix the wood rot: roof guy, gutter guy, chimney guy, or other?

2) should I redesign the chimney counter flashing: either direct the water toward downslope, or extended the flashing over so that water will not drip on the fascia/soffit? Thank you very much!

 

[sportbikerider78]

Can't see pics. Drag and drop them in.

 

[hiba]

Can't see pics. Drag and drop them in.

Hi sportbikerider78,

I fixed the picture. Sorry about that

 

[bcrtops]

Flashed wrong -- roofers still haven't figured out that water runs downhill.

Get an "old-timey" carpenter that truly understands construction, & knows how to fix youngsters mistakes!

Yes, water should be to the downslope, not over the edge like that (creating your problem).

 

[begreen]

paging @Hogwildz for some flashy advice.

 

[bholler]

Honestly the flashing doesn't look to bad at all and it looks fairly new. The flashing may have been fixed due to water issues but the rot wasn't. It does look like you could use a diverter though I see evidence of water running down the face of the chimney. It should be diverted back onto the roof to avoid that.

It is hard to say from that pic though there could be a flashing problem.

And bc there are plenty of younger guys who know what they are doing and plenty of old guys who are hacks.

 

[hiba]

Get an "old-timey" carpenter.

Thank you for replying!
how do I find "old-timey" carpenter? angie's list is a good start?

Many thanks

 

[hiba]

paging @Hogwildz for some flashy advice.

Sure, thank you for your advice

 

[hiba]

Honestly the flashing doesn't look to bad at all and it looks fairly new. The flashing may have been fixed due to water issues but the rot wasn't. It does look like you could use a diverter though I see evidence of water running down the face of the chimney. It should be diverted back onto the roof to avoid that.

It is hard to say from that pic though there could be a flashing problem.

And bc there are plenty of younger guys who know what they are doing and plenty of old guys who are hacks.

Hi @bholler,

Thank you very much for your reply.

I wish I took a better picture when I am up there. basically the water run into two directio
1) down slope to north side
2) to east side (where the rot happening)

How can I divert the water.
I read this site （http://www.jwkhomeinspections.com/kick-out-flashing-san-antonio-home-inspections.html), and it contains this picture:
http://www.jwkhomeinspections.com/system/files/userfiles/Kickout.jpg
is this what you envisioning of diverting the water?

Many thanks

 

[bcrtops]

Not a "kick-out" you need as that not a fascia with gutter. (Its a verge rafter (like fascia rafter, if you please))

What you need, is the flashing to be angled, so as to have all the water flow back onto & down the roof (& dressed/folded nicely so it looks good from the ground). A half of a saddle-back. Proper term being 1/2 of a cricket (which you almost never see these days, as current builders, just don't know how to do thinks right -- or don't care, or get paid by the sq.ft., so the sooner they are done the sooner they get paid!).

 

[Sodbuster]

Yes, just a raised piece of metal, (like a drip edge) that tucks under the shingles at an angle that allows the water to run out and around your chimney, not right into the edge. Hope this makes sense.

 

[Destructor]

How old is your house? Two potential problems regardless of flashing. The wood used on newer homes doesn’t last the way it did on old homes, the end grains abutting the chimney exposes it to moisture and it just isn’t going to dry out quickly. If the flashing is leaking than that makes matters worse. Also any insulation adjacent to the chimney should be removed, it’s just going to absorb moisture.

 

[hiba]

How old is your house? Two potential problems regardless of flashing. The wood used on newer homes doesn’t last the way it did on old homes, the end grains abutting the chimney exposes it to moisture and it just isn’t going to dry out quickly. If the flashing is leaking than that makes matters worse. Also any insulation adjacent to the chimney should be removed, it’s just going to absorb moisture.

Hi Destructor,

Thank you very much for your reply. the house is 20 years old, I plan to change the roof this year or next. With that wood rot, I might consider change roof sooner. One thing I'd like to clarify about "any insulation adjacent to the chimney", what kind of insulation could exist between the fascia/soffit and chimney wall?

Once again, Many thanks

 

[hiba]

Yes, just a raised piece of metal, (like a drip edge) that tucks under the shingles at an angle that allows the water to run out and around your chimney, not right into the edge. Hope this makes sense.

Hi Sodbuster,

do you mean add raised piece of metal, so that all water will flow in direction of 1, instead of 2?


Many thanks!

 

[hiba]

Not a "kick-out" you need as that not a fascia with gutter. (Its a verge rafter (like fascia rafter, if you please))

What you need, is the flashing to be angled, so as to have all the water flow back onto & down the roof (& dressed/folded nicely so it looks good from the ground). A half of a saddle-back. Proper term being 1/2 of a cricket (which you almost never see these days, as current builders, just don't know how to do thinks right -- or don't care, or get paid by the sq.ft., so the sooner they are done the sooner they get paid!).

Hi bcrtops,

I am intrigued by "1/2 of a cricket", is it something like this (but only left half)


so that all water flow to direction of 1


Many thanks for your suggestion

 

[Destructor]

Twenty years isn’t bad for today’s wood, which would include wood used 20 years ago. Do you have insulation in your roof or ceiling. If you have cathedral ceilings insulation may be between your rafters and possibly your soffit. One of those pictures looks as though batt insulation is exposed. If not and the soffits are hollow then no worries.

 

[Sodbuster]

Yes hiba direction 1, out into the center of your roof, keep it as far away from the chimney flashing as possible. I would also look for some bad caulking (probably gone now); by that I mean caulking that was installed in an ill advised way thereby keeping water trapped and not letting the area dry out. It's like caulking the inside of a leaking wall, that water has to go somewhere.

 

[hiba]

Yes hiba direction 1, out into the center of your roof, keep it as far away from the chimney flashing as possible. I would also look for some bad caulking (probably gone now); by that I mean caulking that was installed in an ill advised way thereby keeping water trapped and not letting the area dry out. It's like caulking the inside of a leaking wall, that water has to go somewhere.

Hi Sodbuster,

Thank you for your suggestion. I was intrigued by your comment "It's like caulking the inside of a leaking wall, that water has to go somewhere."

 

[hiba]

Twenty years isn’t bad for today’s wood, which would include wood used 20 years ago. Do you have insulation in your roof or ceiling. If you have cathedral ceilings insulation may be between your rafters and possibly your soffit. One of those pictures looks as though batt insulation is exposed. If not and the soffits are hollow then no worries.

Hi Destructor,

Thank you for your suggestion. From ground, it's hard to say if it's batt insulation, I am going to hire someone to take a look. When the roof so high, everything start to get complicated.

 

[bcrtops]

Hi bcrtops,

I am intrigued by "1/2 of a cricket", is it something like this (but only left half)
View attachment 197281

so that all water flow to direction of 1
View attachment 197282

Many thanks for your suggestion

Yes, but not nearly so extreme of angle -- you only need 1/8" per ft. for water to flow, though I'd give it a bit more. End needs to be "boxed" so no water goes over that verge & closed off to look good from the ground.

 

[hiba]

Yes, but not nearly so extreme of angle -- you only need 1/8" per ft. for water to flow, though I'd give it a bit more. End needs to be "boxed" so no water goes over that verge & closed off to look good from the ground.

Hi bcrtops,

Thank you very much spending time to help me out. really appreciate!

 

[xman23]

That roof doesn't look to bad. Still laying flat. If the roof has more life I would fix up that area with a cricket to run the water downhill.

 

[bholler]

All you need is a peice of metal like sodbuster said to divert the majoity of the water coming doen the roof back doen the inside of the chimney and down the roof to the gutter yes doing half of a cricket would be a little better and when you reroof you might want to do that but the metal will work fine. And yes new growth wood will not last as long with water leaking onto it. But if that flashing is good there would be no issue.

 

[jatoxico]

Cricket is a good way to go. Had a similar situation on my old house and its not just rain you need to worry about but snow that caused the problem. It would build up freeze and refreeze then find its way into any weak point. Cricket solved the trouble.

 

[billb3]

flashing could have extended further to help keep the area under it drier.
a cricket of some sort would also help
neither of the above will be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Plastic wood up against the chimney and vented soffit.