A quick glossary
The roof edge comes with vocabulary, and knowing them helps you read a quote. Fascia: the board at the edge. Soffit: the underside. Eave: the overhang itself.Knowing the words will not be on a test, though it helps when a quote uses them. So when the plan says soffit mounted, it is a location and not jargon.
Why the track goes there
Permanent lighting runs along the roof edge and the eaves for reasons that are mostly practical. The eave is continuous across the elevation, so a run there has length to work with. Height gives you reach down the facade, and the roof above it takes the direct weather.
Two mounting choices
The channel can go beneath the overhang or on the vertical face, and the choice changes what the light does. Mounted under the soffit, the light washes downward across the wall, which lights
https://rentry.co/4usfn7cw the building itself. Mounted on the fascia, the run itself is what you see from the street. Which one is right comes out of the design conversation.The eave line also determines how far down the wall the light reaches, which is why the same house can look very different depending on where the channel ended up.
Deep overhangs, shallow ones, and no overhang at all
Overhang depth varies a lot, and it changes the plan. Deeper is good for protection, 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
A lit eave line is genuinely useful after dark. The practical version is being able to see the steps, which is not a small thing in February. A house with a lit edge reads as occupied and cared for.
A practical scheduling note
A lot of things live at the roof edge: the gutter, the drip edge, and the track. If a roof or a gutter replacement is coming in the next year or two, say so during the consultation. Doing it backwards costs a second visit. It is worth mentioning even if the roof work is only a maybe.
Two story houses have two eave lines
A single story house presents one eave. A two story has a choice to make. The upper roofline is the line that reads from furthest away, since it sits against open air. A lower eave over a porch or a garage puts light nearer where people actually are, which does more practical work. Running both is common, and it can be phased.
The next move
Somebody has to see the eave before the plan means anything. EverCrest Lighting installs permanent lighting along rooflines and eaves for homes and businesses across Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, working out of Greenville. Consultations are free, and the design is drawn for your house. Reach them at (864) 252-1732 or
[email protected].