American Prime General Construction is a veteran-led roofing contractor in Richardson, Texas, and the roof edge is part of the roof. Fascia, soffit, drip edge and gutters are the last few inches of a roofing system, and when one fails the others follow. We repair and replace all four, within a full roof replacement or as standalone work.
Most of the rotted fascia we are called to look at in Melissa, Murphy, McKinney and Garland is not a carpentry problem. It is a water-management problem that showed up in the wood, and replacing the board without fixing the cause buys a couple of years at best.
Schedule a Free Roof Inspection Call 469-888-8326
The Roof Edge Is One System, and Fascia Rot Proves It
Homeowners shop for these as four products. Water treats them as one assembly: rain crosses the drip edge, passes over the gutter apron, lands in the trough and leaves through a downspout. Every handoff has to work or the water finds wood.
- Drip edge carries water off the deck at eaves and rakes instead of behind the fascia.
- Gutter apron bridges the deck edge into the gutter so water cannot wick backward.
- Fascia closes the rafter tails and carries a loaded gutter through its hangers.
- Soffit closes the eave and provides intake ventilation.
- Gutters and downspouts move water away from the structure.
When we open a rotted eave the cause is almost always overflowing or undersized gutters sheeting water over the back of the trough, missing or wrongly layered drip edge, no gutter apron, or hangers driven into soft wood. We cut back to sound framing, replace the board, correct the flashing that caused the failure and reset the gutter into solid wood or rafter ends. If the roof covering above is also at the end of its life we will say so, because tearing the same edge apart twice is wasted money. That call belongs in a roof inspection.
Soffit Vents: The Intake Half of Attic Ventilation
Soffit is not trim. It is where the attic breathes in. The International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants notes that air should enter through soffit or eave vents and exit at or near the top of the attic, with roughly equal area at each level and intake at least equal to exhaust. Lower attic temperature helps optimize the service life of the roof covering and can reduce cooling cost, and venting moisture reduces the potential for mold and wood rot. Painted-over vent slots, insulation stuffed into the eave and solid panels added in a remodel all starve that intake.
IRC Section R806.2 sets minimum net free ventilating area at 1/150 of the vented space. An exception allows 1/300 when 40 to 50 percent of the required area sits in the upper attic, no more than 3 feet below the ridge, with the balance in the bottom one-third. The exception’s other condition, a ceiling vapor retarder, is tied in the published text to the cold Climate Zones 6, 7 and 8, which do not include North Texas. Local amendments vary, so we size intake and exhaust to the code your city has adopted.
Drip Edge: What the Code Requires
Drip edge is not optional on a shingle roof. In the 2021 International Residential Code, Section R905.2.8.5 requires it at eaves and rake edges with adjacent segments lapped not less than 2 inches; the parallel language at Section 1507.2.8.3 gives the rest of the geometry.
| Requirement | Code language |
|---|---|
| Where required | Eaves and rake edges of shingle roofs |
| Lap at adjacent segments | Not less than 2 inches (51 mm) |
| Vertical leg | Not less than 1 1/2 inches wide, extending 1/4 inch below sheathing |
| Extension back onto the deck | Not less than 2 inches (51 mm) |
| Fastening | Mechanically fastened not more than 12 inches on center |
| At eaves | Underlayment installed over the drip edge |
| At rakes | Drip edge installed over the underlayment |
That eave-versus-rake reversal is where most edge leaks start, and caulk does not fix it later. We build the edge in the correct order on every roofing job we self-perform.
Sizing Gutters and Downspouts
Gutter size is a drainage calculation, not a style choice. Capacity depends on the roof area draining into a run, its pitch, the number and size of downspouts, and your city’s design rainfall intensity. SMACNA-style planning values published by GutterCalcs:
| Profile | At 4 in/hr | At 6 in/hr | At 8 in/hr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-inch K-style | 3,750 sq ft | 2,500 sq ft | 1,875 sq ft |
| 6-inch K-style | 5,760 sq ft | 3,840 sq ft | 2,880 sq ft |
A 6-inch K-style carries roughly 50 percent more roof area than a 5-inch and plugs less easily. Pitch matters too, since a 12/12 plane catches wind-driven rain across roughly 41 percent more area than its footprint. We do not print a design rainfall intensity for Dallas here; that number should come from the intensity table your city has adopted or NOAA precipitation frequency data for your address. Downspouts are the other half: 2 by 3 inch is the default, while 3 by 4 inch pairs with 6-inch gutters, long runs and valleys.
Gutter Guards, Honestly
Guards keep leaves, needles and shingle granules from packing the trough and plugging outlets. They do not enlarge an undersized gutter, correct slope, seal a gap where the apron is missing, or eliminate maintenance, because fine grit still collects on the screen.
Hail and Wind Damage at the Roof Edge
The roof edge is often the clearest physical record that a damaging storm hit your address. Gutters, downspouts, valley metal and vent hoods are soft and exposed, which is why inspectors treat them as collateral or elevation damage that helps establish storm severity.
The InterNACHI hail damage inspection material is specific about the metal: aluminum gutters can be damaged fairly easily, copper is harder than aluminum but softer than steel, and steel gutters and downspouts are highly resistant to hail. Just as important is what is not hail: the same source states hail does not leave scratches in the material it hits and does not crease metal. We document the edge with directional photographs on every hail damage and wind damage inspection. We are not a public insurance adjuster and we do not negotiate claims on your behalf.
Moving Water Away From the Foundation
In North Texas the reason to care about where a downspout discharges is soil. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation bulletin on foundations on expansive soils explains that shrink-swell soils change volume with moisture content: wet soils heave and lift a structure, dry soils collapse and it settles, and both can cause extensive damage. The bulletin states water must drain away from the house on all sides, and that surface drainage and sprinkling practice matter for minimizing swings in soil water content. Whether your lot has expansive soil is a question for a soil report or the NRCS soil survey.
What we control is where roof water goes: downspouts discharging away from the slab instead of at its corner, extensions and splash blocks that carry water past the backfill, buried lines with pop-up emitters where grade allows, and consistent discharge on all elevations. This comes up constantly in Murphy, Melissa and Anna, where large roof planes meet tight grading.
Materials, Fabrication and Installation
We run seamless gutter on site, forming the trough from coil to the exact length of the run, so the only joints are corners, end caps and outlets. Material matters more than color.
| Material | Typical specification | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | 3105-H24 alloy, .027 in or .032 in nominal | Residential default. Light, will not rust. Dents easily in hail, so .032 in is the upgrade worth paying for. |
| Galvanized steel | G-40 sheet in 24, 26 or 28 gauge per ASTM A653 | Hail-prone exposures and long spans. Resists denting, heavier to hang. |
| Copper | 16 oz. conforming to ASTM B370 | Architectural work. Harder than aluminum, softer than steel, patinas rather than painted. |
Those figures come from published specifications from Custom-Bilt Metals and Englert. Installation decides whether the job holds: hangers no more than 24 inches on center, into rafter ends wherever possible and always where the fascia is less than 2 inches thick, plus real slope. Berger Building Products guidance calls for a pitch of 1/16 inch or more per foot, minimum 1/4 inch in every 10 feet. A gutter hung dead level holds standing water and pulls its own hangers out.
What We Do
Roof edge within a replacement
On a tear-off we replace compromised fascia and soffit, install new drip edge and gutter apron in the code-required order, and hang seamless gutters after the roof covering is on. Our shingle selection guide and financing options cover the rest.
Standalone repair
Rotted fascia sections, failed soffit panels and blocked vents, missing edge metal, sagging or leaking gutters, re-pitching a run, and added downspouts, on roofs that do not need replacing. Hail-damaged siding and windows are handled in the same exterior scope.
Storm damage documentation
After hail or high wind we photograph the edge along with the field of the roof, note impact direction and assemble an organized file as part of our insurance restoration documentation and storm restoration process. When a storm damages more than the exterior, we handle mitigation and remediation partner coordination and self-perform the build-back.
Where We Work
We work from 2100 N Greenville Ave Ste 106 in Richardson across the Metroplex. Roof edge calls come most often from the northeast growth corridor and the older east Dallas suburbs: Melissa, McKinney, Garland, Rowlett, Carrollton, Allen, Plano, Frisco and Dallas, plus Murphy, Anna, Prosper, Celina, Wylie, Rockwall, Mesquite, The Colony, Lewisville, Flower Mound and Addison. Full list on our service areas page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you replace fascia and gutters as part of a roof replacement?
Yes. On a tear-off we rebuild the whole edge in one mobilization: rotted fascia, damaged soffit, drip edge and gutter apron, then new seamless gutters last. Underlayment has to go over the eave drip edge and the apron tucks behind the gutter, so order matters.
How do I know if my fascia is rotted?
Paint blistering in a band along the eave, wood that feels soft when pressed, gutters sagging because the hangers have nothing solid to bite into, and dark staining behind the gutter. Rot starts on the hidden back side, so we probe the board and pull a section of gutter.
Does hail damage to gutters mean my roof is damaged?
Not by itself, but it matters. Gutter dents are collateral damage that helps establish hail of a damaging size fell at your address. InterNACHI notes hail does not scratch or crease metal. The roof is still judged on its own evidence.
Do I need 5-inch or 6-inch gutters?
It depends on the roof area draining to each run, the pitch, the number of downspouts and the local design rainfall intensity. Using SMACNA-style planning values, a 5-inch K-style handles about 2,500 square feet at 6 inches per hour and a 6-inch about 3,840.
Are gutter guards worth it?
For the right problem, yes. Guards cut how often debris packs the trough or plugs a downspout. They do not enlarge an undersized gutter, correct slope, seal a missing apron, or end maintenance.
Why do my soffit vents matter?
Soffit vents are the intake side of attic ventilation. Air enters low at the eave and exits high at the ridge. Painted-over or blocked vents leave the exhaust nothing to pull, so attic heat and moisture climb.
Do you repair siding damaged by hail?
Yes. Hail and wind rarely stop at the roof edge, so we handle siding, trim, soffit and window damage in the same exterior scope as the roof, documented with photographs.
Do you work in Melissa, Murphy, Anna and the rest of North Texas?
Yes. We are based in Richardson and work across the Metroplex, including Melissa, Murphy, Anna, McKinney, Prosper, Celina, Allen, Wylie, Rowlett, Rockwall, Mesquite, Garland, Carrollton and Lewisville.
If your gutters overflow, your fascia is soft, or hail left dents down one elevation, the first step is a look at the whole roof edge rather than a quote for one piece of it. We inspect the eaves, rakes, edge metal, soffit ventilation and gutter capacity, then give you a written scope for a roof repair or replacement with the edge included.