How to remove a roof finial?

Nham

Dear Bunnings community,

My neighbour has a damage roof finial and I am trying to remove it for him. Does anyone have any advice on this. I can't see any external screws or attachment points and I don't want to use brute force in case I cause damage to the fascia.

MitchellMc

Hi @Nham,

Is the finial proud and on top of the gable fascia, or does the fascia butt up against its sides? It looks like the back of it has been cut away to sit over the gable.

I'd suggest that there are fixings through the front face of it that have been filled with timber putty. Take a close look at the front of the finial and try to detect any areas of paint that look slightly raised or distorted. If you find any you can remove the paint to see if there is putty underneath. You can dig the putty out with a screwdriver to reveal the fixing.

If the gable fascia butts up against the side of the finial, it's likely that there are fixings holding it to the finial as well. You'll need to find these and remove them too, or damage to the gable could occur when you remove the finial.

How rotted is the top of the final? If it's not too decayed, is there any reason to remove it? Could you cut the top square and paint it? You could even go as far as to replace the top section of it instead of going to all the work of removing it entirely.

Since you'll be working at heights, I'd encourage you to read through this article on How to use ladders safely.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell