Most Portland-area soffit and fascia repairs run $600 to $6,000 with materials, and a typical one lands near $1,800 (market figures, November 2026) . A single bad length by a gutter end sits low in that spread. Long runs, second-storey eaves, soft rafter ends and a gutter that has to come down push it up.
The fascia is the board along the roof edge that the gutter hangs on; the soffit is the underside of the overhang, between that board and the wall. When either goes soft, it's the kind of work we handle as soffit and fascia repair. Slava has 7 years of hands-on experience, and this page is how he'd break the money down for you.
How much does soffit and fascia repair cost?
These are per-job ranges for the Portland area, not quotes from us. The first two rows are market figures; the other three are typical ranges worked out from local hourly rates. Our own numbers replace them once Slava signs off.
| Job | From | Typical | To | What the figure covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soffit and fascia repair (rotted boards replaced) | $600 | $1,800 | $6,000 | with materials |
| Rotted trim or fascia cut out, patched or spliced | $500 | $1,500 | $4,000 | with materials |
| Repainting trim and fascia only | $400 | $900 | $2,000 | labour only |
| Gutter rehung or resealed (hangers, sag, leaks) | $150 | $350 | $800 | labour only |
| Gutter cleaning | $175 | $285 | $450 | labour only |
The top row is wide on purpose. Its $600 floor is about one eight-foot board swapped near a corner. Its $6,000 ceiling is a whole side of a house, soffit included, with repairs behind the board. Neither end is a misprint, and a quote that doesn't tell you which end your eave is near isn't telling you much.
National cost sites quote per foot or per panel. You won't find those here. Wood repair at an eave is priced by what has to come apart, and our sheet tracks whole jobs, not footage.
Where does the money go on a fascia job?
The market row behind that $1,800 figure assumes roughly a fifth of the bill is materials and the rest is labour. On a typical job that's around $360 in boards, fasteners and primer, plus about 12 crew-hours. That split is the row's assumption, not one of our invoices .
Lumber is the cheap part. The hours go into moving the ladder, prying the old board loose without tearing the shingle edge, cutting angled joints where new wood meets old, priming, and hanging the gutter again. Height changes labour more than length does. A one-storey eave is ladder work; a second-storey one may need ladder jacks or staging . Corners, a bad soffit under the same run, and a gutter along it all add time.
The gutter belongs in the price. Nobody can change a fascia board while a gutter is screwed to it. The gutter comes down, then goes back up into fresh wood on new hangers. That step is ordinary gutter repair: a typical $150 to $800, around $350, labour only . If the old gutter is too bent or split to rehang, new gutters and downspouts run about $690 to $1,810 per house with materials, near $1,220 typical, by November 2026 market figures .
So does the paint. New boards get primer on every face and every cut end before they go up, then a finish coat to match the house. Painting trim and fascia by itself is a typical $400 to $2,000 job, about $900, labour only . Our exterior painting page covers the rest of the house.
Add the three typical figures and a fairly ordinary job reads $1,800 for the boards, $350 for the gutter and $900 for paint: about $3,050. That's a sum of market midpoints, not a quote. It shows why the first number you hear can be half the real one.
What raises the price once the old board comes off?
Part of the cost can't be seen until the fascia is off. A fair quote says up front how that part gets handled.
| What turns up behind the board | Why it matters | What it does to the job |
|---|---|---|
| Rafter tails soft at the ends (the rafter ends the fascia nails into) | The new board has nothing solid to hold | Tails get sistered or spliced first; the job moves toward the top of the range |
| Soft roof sheathing at the edge (the decking under the first row of shingles) | That's the roof itself, not trim | A short piece cut in, or a roofer |
| No drip edge or gutter apron (the metal strip that sends roof water into the gutter) | Water runs behind the gutter onto the new wood | Add it, or the repair comes back |
| Soffit backing or nailers rotted | Soffit boards have nothing to fasten to | New blocking and more hours |
Ask for those items priced before anyone starts: a figure per rafter tail, a stated allowance, or an agreement that you get photos and a number before extra work happens . If the soft wood reaches the roof deck, our roof leak repair cost guide covers that side. Rot in trim, sills and siding elsewhere on the house is priced in dry rot repair cost.
Why do fascia and soffits rot on west-side houses?
A fascia repair lasts only if whatever keeps soaking the board gets stopped too. The usual culprits:
- a gutter spilling over its back edge;
- no drip edge, so water rolls down behind the gutter;
- a leaky gutter seam or downspout outlet dripping on one spot;
- end grain that was never primed;
- cracked paint letting water in;
- a roof leak right at the edge.
Around Cedar Mill, plenty of houses sit under tall firs, and their needles fill a gutter fast. Once it's packed, rain has nowhere to go but over the lip and down the face of the board. So the gutter is part of the fix, not an errand for later. Once the new wood is up, regular gutter cleaning keeps it dry.
Our wet season is long, too. Wood that soaks up water in the fall can stay damp for months, which gives rot plenty of time. Soft spots also draw birds, squirrels and wasps, and they chew the holes bigger.
Should you repair a section or replace the whole run of fascia and soffit?
Fix a section when the rot is where it usually shows up (a gutter end, a roof corner, under a downspout outlet, below a valley) and the rest of the board is firm. Plan for the full run when the board is soft in several places along one side, or the rafter tails behind it are going too .
Can a new soffit or fascia cover go over the old one? Physically, yes. Aluminium and vinyl fascia covers and vinyl soffit panels are made to fit over existing wood. The catch is that a cover dries nothing. Wood that's already rotting keeps rotting underneath, out of sight, until the cover sags or the gutter pulls loose. Get the wood sound first, then cover it if you want covers .
Which board goes up matters less to the bill than the labour around it .
Do new fascias add value? Nobody can put an honest number on that. Home inspectors do write up soft fascia and holes in soffits, and buyers' agents often want them fixed before closing. Our home inspection repairs guide goes through that kind of list.
Who repairs soffit and fascia: a roofer, a gutter company or a handyman?
This work falls between trades, which is a big reason two quotes for the same eave can be far apart. A roofer often replaces fascia during a re-roof and folds it into the roof price. A gutter company swaps the board when it hangs new gutters. Siding firms tend to wrap it. A carpenter or handyman does the wood repair by itself. Each one prices the board around their main product.
What we're set up for is board-level repair: bad wood out, new wood primed and in, the gutter back up and the paint on, in one visit . A full re-roof is roofer's work, and we'd tell you so .
What should a soffit and fascia quote list, and what should you send first?
A quote you can compare line by line names:
- which runs, in feet or in board lengths;
- the board material;
- primer on all sides, and finish paint;
- gutter off and back on, or a new gutter;
- how hidden rafter-tail or sheathing damage is priced;
- drip edge, yes or no;
- whether the soffit and its vents are included;
- height and access (ladder or staging);
- what happens to the old boards .
People search for a soffit and fascia cost calculator. The closest honest thing is a few photos: a close shot of each bad spot taken from the ground, one wider shot of that side of the house, the number of storeys, and whether a gutter runs along it .
Once the gutter and paint are counted, plenty of these jobs end up in the low thousands, so get the scope and the price on paper. Our guide to Oregon contract requirements explains what that paper should cover. Fresh primer and paint need a dry stretch, so it pays to book before the painting weather fills everyone's calendar.
What about old paint, animals in the soffit and the attic vents?
Old paint. Fascia and soffits on older houses can carry lead-based paint under the newer coats. Cutting or scraping it is lead-paint disturbance work, and we don't take that on . Our lead paint guide explains how that works, and what we don't do says who to call instead.
Animals and insects. Once birds, squirrels or wasps are gone, we close the holes and replace chewed soffit pieces and vent screens. We don't remove wildlife, and we don't spray .
Soffit vents. On many houses the soffit vents are where the attic draws in its air. New soffit keeps its vents, and paint stays off the screens.
Does homeowners insurance pay for soffit or fascia damage?
That depends on your policy and on what caused the damage. A branch through the eave in a windstorm is usually treated differently from rot that built up over years.