Sorting out the terms
Three words come up constantly and most homeowners have never needed them before. The fascia is the flat board facing you at the edge of the roof. The soffit is the underside, the panel you see when you stand under the overhang and look up. Eave is the general term for that overhang.You will not need this vocabulary often, but it appears in every estimate, and quotes are hard to compare when you are not sure what is being described. When somebody says the run follows the fascia, you know exactly what they mean.
What the eave gives you
Permanent lighting gets installed along rooflines and eaves for reasons that are mostly practical. It is continuous, which matters because a light line that stops and restarts reads badly. Height gives you reach down the facade, and the overhang gives the hardware cover from the worst of the weather.
Under the overhang versus on the fascia
Where exactly the channel sits is not arbitrary. Tucked underneath, the light falls down the elevation. On the face, you see the line. Neither is automatically better, and the answer depends on your roof and your goal.Where the channel sits decides the reach down the wall, and that turns out to matter more than the brand of the hardware.
Deep overhangs, shallow ones, and no overhang at all
Overhang depth is not standard, and it changes the plan. Deeper is better for concealment, and can work against the wash you wanted. With little overhang, the fascia often becomes the answer. None of it can be judged from a photo.
What the eave line is worth on an ordinary night
Set to warm white, the run is exterior lighting rather than decoration. It puts a
https://pastelink.net/moy5fn8l soft wash on the approach to the house, so people can see where they are going. It also keeps the house from disappearing after sunset.
A practical scheduling note
A lot of things live at the roof edge: the gutter, the drip edge, and the track. Any planned roof work changes the sequence. Doing it out of order costs a second visit. It is worth mentioning even if the roof work is only a maybe.
What happens above the first floor
A single story house has one line to consider. A two story has more than one option. The top edge is the one that defines the house. The lower run lights the approach. Running both is common, though it does not have to happen in the same year.
Getting a plan
Somebody has to see the eave to draw a plan worth anything. EverCrest Lighting installs permanent lighting along rooflines and eaves for homes and businesses in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, from Greenville. Consultations are free, and the design is drawn for your house. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].