Know Your Roof

Soffit and Fascia Terms Explained

Soffit and fascia finish the edge of your roof. Fascia is the board your gutters hang on, and soffit closes in the underside of the overhang and usually lets the attic breathe. These guides explain each part, how it fails and how it gets fixed.

Looking for a single word? See the roofing terms glossary, A to Z.

Soffit & Fascia guides

  • Soffit vs Fascia

    Fascia is the board along the edge of your roof, and your gutters hang on it. Soffit is the panel you see when you look up under the overhang, between the fascia and the wall. Fascia finishes the roof edge. Soffit closes in the underside and usually lets the attic breathe.

  • Soffit

    A soffit is the finished panel on the underside of your roof overhang, running from the exterior wall out to the fascia. It covers the open framing, keeps animals and weather out, and on most homes it has vents that let outside air into the attic.

  • Fascia Board

    A fascia board is the long, straight board that runs along the edge of your roof. It caps the ends of the rafters, gives your gutters something solid to attach to, and finishes the roof edge so water and animals stay out.

  • Soffit Vents

    Soffit vents are openings in the underside of your roof overhang that let cool outside air into the attic. They're the intake half of attic ventilation: air comes in low at the soffit, rises as it warms, and leaves through a ridge vent or other exhaust up high.

  • Fascia Board Replacement

    Fascia board replacement means taking off the damaged fascia and putting up new boards along the roof edge. Small rotted spots can sometimes be cut out and patched. If the rot runs along the board, or it won't hold the gutter anymore, replacing it is the better fix.

  • Rotted Fascia

    Rotted fascia is wood fascia that has broken down after water has been reaching it for a long time. It feels soft and crumbles or flakes when you poke it. The board is a symptom. The real problem is usually a gutter overflow, an ice dam or a leak at the roof edge.

Key terms in this topic

Aluminum Soffit
Metal soffit panels that don't rot and take paint well.
Attic Baffles
Baffles, also called rafter vents, hold an air channel open above the attic insulation, so insulation pushed against the roof deck can't cover the soffit vents.
Continuous Soffit Vent
A long slot along the overhang instead of separate round vents.
Fascia Wrap
Thin aluminum bent over the fascia board so rain and sun don't reach the wood. Also called fascia capping.
Fiber Cement Soffit
Cement-based soffit boards that hold up to moisture and pests.
Frieze Board
The trim board at the top of the wall, right under the soffit.
J-Channel
A trim channel that holds the ends of soffit panels at the wall and the fascia.
Lookout
A horizontal framing piece running from the wall out to the rafter tail. It supports the soffit panels.
Overhang
The part of the roof that extends past the exterior wall.
Rafter Tail
The end of a rafter that sticks out past the wall to form the overhang.
Sagging Soffit
Panels hanging down, usually from trapped moisture, rot behind them or loose fasteners.
Soffit Animal Entry
Gaps or damaged panels that let squirrels, birds, raccoons and wasps into the attic.
Soffit Replacement
Removing damaged soffit panels and installing new ones, often done along with new fascia or gutters.
Solid Soffit
Soffit with no openings. The attic then needs intake air from somewhere else.
Sub-Fascia
The structural board behind the visible fascia. Gutters are often fastened into it.
Vented Soffit
Soffit with holes or slots that let outside air into the attic.
Vinyl Soffit
Snap-in plastic soffit panels. Common and low maintenance.

See Soffit & Fascia terms in the A to Z glossary

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