How to repair and re-clad fascia with asbestos eaves?

uhuman

Hey everyone,

I’m due to settle on my first property soon and wanted to get some advice. I have trade experience as a Cert IV plumber, so I’m handy with tools.

As you can see in the photo, the fascia has started to fall apart. I’ll be repairing the leaking gutter; however, the eaves are asbestos, and pulling the fascia out to repair it would be too dangerous. The eaves are in great condition, and I want to avoid replacing them.

Is it possible to bog the fascia?

Also, I’ll be recladding the property in James Hardie planks. The current cladding is timber slip lap and runs behind the eaves, with the smaller end sticking out (where the next piece joins on)

What I’m considering is leaving the last piece of cladding in place, as it is in good condition, and cladding up to it, with the last James Hardie plank going over it as a termination piece, then sealing it.

additionally, with the front verandah it runs over the edge and may pose difficult when putting in the corner box mould, how would you attack this?

Regards,

EricL

Hello @uhuman

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about fascia repair and cladding.

Congratulations on the property purchase, you’re definitely thinking about this the right way, especially with asbestos eaves. From what I can see, the fascia has failed at the end grain and likely stayed wet from the gutter leak. The good news is you don’t need to remove the eaves to repair this. Bogging is absolutely possible, but only if the remaining timber is still structurally sound. First fix the gutter leak so the area stays dry, then dig out all soft/rotted timber back to firm material. Once you’ve got solid timber, you can rebuild the missing section using https://www.bunnings.com.au/turbo-175ml-builders-bog-flexipack_p1670144 . These cure hard, can be shaped, and hold screws if needed. This works well for end grain rebuilds like this. If the rot goes deeper than about 20 or 30 mm or the fascia is soft along its length, a better approach is to sister a new fascia section over the top or laminate a new timber strip to the face rather than relying purely on filler. That avoids disturbing the asbestos while still giving you structural integrity.

Your cladding plan is a very practical approach. Leaving the last shiplap board that runs behind the eaves in place is commonly done when you want to avoid disturbing asbestos. As long as that board is straight and well fixed, you can treat it as a backing/packer and run the James Hardie planks up to it. The final plank acting as a termination piece over the top works fine, just make sure you maintain the correct clearances and don’t trap water. I’d recommend slipping a small flashing (even thin aluminium) behind the last plank and over the retained edge before sealing that way the sealant isn’t your only defence. Sealant alone tends to fail over time, especially at eaves lines.

However, with the front veranda, I'll have to ask for some assistance from our more experienced members.

Let me call on our experienced members @Nailbag , @Dave-1, @Remarka6le and @Dons-Glenno for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric