What’s usually hiding behind the old soffit and fascia
Most GTA homes built between the 1950s and 1990s have wood fascia boards underneath whatever aluminum or vinyl cladding was added later. When we pull the old cladding off, the first thing we check is the condition of that wood.
In roughly 40% of GTA jobs, the wood behind the fascia is soft or visibly rotted – most often at the corners and wherever gutters have been leaking. That’s expected on a 30- or 40-year-old home, not a reason to panic. But it does add to the cost, because the rotted wood comes out before the new aluminum goes on. If a quote doesn’t mention wood fascia board replacement as a potential line item, they haven’t looked at the job closely enough.
The same goes for the roofline where soffit meets the rafter tails. Carpenter ant damage shows up in this zone more than anywhere else on the exterior. We open it, check it, price what we find.
The ventilation requirement most quotes skip
Soffit does two things: it covers the underside of the eave overhang, and it’s the primary air intake for attic ventilation. Ontario’s building code (OBC) requires a minimum net free ventilation area – roughly 1 square inch of net free area per 300 square inches of attic floor – and that intake has to run across the soffit line, not just at one end.
Vented soffit panels have perforations. Solid panels don’t. Get the ratio wrong – all solid, or too few vented runs – and attic airflow drops. Over a few seasons in the GTA climate that means moisture accumulation, then mold, then premature roof deck failure. It’s an invisible consequence that shows up years later.
Most quotes don’t specify which runs get vented panels and which get solid. Ask for it in writing.
Gauge and profile: what matters, what doesn’t
Aluminum soffit and fascia comes in different gauges – typically 0.019" or 0.024" for residential work. The thicker 0.024" gauge dents less, handles paint better if you ever want to repaint, and expands and contracts through freeze-thaw cycles with less oil-canning (the wavy bulge you see on cheaper installs in summer). On exposed GTA fascia runs, the gauge difference is worth it.
Profile – smooth, wood-grain embossed, or beaded – is purely aesthetic. It doesn’t affect longevity or performance in any meaningful way.
Colour matters more than profile and gets less attention than it should. A white fascia against red brick looks different from clay or bronze. Worth spending ten minutes on before the order goes in. Correcting colour after installation means tearing the job apart.
Combining with eavestrough: when it saves, when it doesn’t
If your eavestroughs are in good shape, leave them. The aluminum wrap installs behind the top lip of the existing gutter – the gutter stays put.
If the gutters are also due (leaking at seams, pulling away from the fascia, older vinyl showing brittleness at the elbows), doing soffits, fascia, and eavestroughs in one shot saves two mobilizations and one scaffolding setup. In practice that’s 15-20% cheaper than coming back separately for the gutters.
The honest answer on whether to combine: it depends on the gutters. We’d rather come back in five years for the eavestrough than sell you work the house doesn’t need yet.
2026 GTA price ranges
Soffit and fascia only, no eavestrough: $4,500 to $8,500 for a two-storey detached, $3,000 to $5,500 for a bungalow. The spread comes from linear footage and how much wood repair turns up once we’re inside the old cladding – there’s no way to know until we look.
Combined soffit, fascia, and eavestrough: add $2,000 to $4,000 to the above for full seamless aluminum gutters.
GTA labour runs 10-15% above general Ontario rates. We don’t quote by the linear foot in isolation because the per-foot numbers assume clean framing underneath, and they’re often wrong.
What a complete quote should specify
The gauge (0.019" or 0.024"), panel profile and colour selection, what happens if wood rot turns up (fixed rate per board, or time and materials – know before you sign), the soffit ventilation plan by run (vented vs. solid, and why), eavestrough status (in scope, out of scope, or priced as an add-on), disposal of removed material (GTA tipping fees are real; some contractors charge separately), and labour warranty terms.
A quote that gives a single number without specifying gauge, ventilation spec, or wood replacement scope isn’t a fixed price. It’s a starting number that can move once the job opens up.
What are you seeing?
If you’ve had soffit or fascia work done in the GTA recently or you’re collecting quotes right now, share what you’re seeing on pricing and spec. Some contractor approaches vary more than they should, and the forum is a useful place to compare. Helpful contributions earn $RENO – track your rewards on the leaderboard or check the welcome guide to get started.