Wildlife intrusion and the subsequent need for professional removal may start many of the projects we take on, but a key to serving our client’s well and providing complete resolution of their wildlife issue is highly functional and highly aesthetic repair and wildlife exclusion work. So we continually train, innovate, and hone our skills as Jacks of all Trades (carpentry, masonry, metalwork, roofing, construction, fabrication, etc) so that we can provide uncompromising craftsmanship and quality in repair and exclusion work that exceeds the original conditions of structures that frequently were the condition that lead to wildlife intrusion. “Done Once, Done Right” has become a mantra for Team Trifecta where as dedicated craftsmen we take pride in our workmanship and back it up with a three year warranty. No bandaids, no shortcuts, we meet Challenging Wildlife, with Professional Solutions, “Done Once, Done Right!”
We thought we’d take an opportunity to share a recent project where European Starlings, an invasive yet well naturalized bird species, had entered a client’s soffit and made a mess as pictured below. Starlings are a cavity nesting species that will invade our homes where soffit vinyl droops, bathroom exhaust vents, dryer vents, gable vents, ridge vents, roof vents, gapped trim, soffit returns, poorly built and flashed roof corners, etc. Basically, if the home has a gap big enough for them to fit in, they will, and many homes and structures are riddled with such gaps from the day they’re built.
In the case of our recent project poor original construction was to blame. This picture shows where the soffit vinyl along the gable end of this home was completely out of the inner channeling that it’s designed to ride in, and the droop provided a large wildlife entry vulnerable gap for roughly eight feet along the side of the home. Starlings had found the vulnerability and commenced nesting, however, grey squirrels, raccoons, bats, snakes, mice, etc, all could similarly exploit vulnerabilities like this. Though it didn’t occur here, we regularly observe where a cavity nesting bird issue turns into a raccoon issue when the raccoon finds the nest and fills his belly, and then takes up residence himself, oh no…. bigger issue!
Once we removed the flashing and soffit vinyl it was clear that a lack of cross bracing in the soffit construction provided opportunity for the underlying rake board to warp along its length. The pictures below are after we’ve cut out the roughly eight foot run of severely warped rake board that pulled the vinyl out. At the location where we made our cut you can still visualize the beginning of the warpage relative to the square cross brace we’ve installed here before subsequently drawing the rake board to the new cross brace with fasteners in the second picture below.
Next, proper cross bracing was installed, and then a new 2″ x 6″ rake board was secured, resulting in a proper repair, with more strength, and superior resistance to warpage; thus preventing recurrence of this issue at this location in the future. The pictures below show the new bracing and rake board being installed.
Lastly, we re-hung the vinyl, and re-flashed the rake board. The picture below shows the finished work. All nesting debris removed from the soffit, the area cleaned, the carpentry repaired, and now no evidence there was ever an issue. There’s not much to look at with the final product because the home should have always looked this way, but the client now has complete peace of mind that this will not recur, and Team Trifecta can again say “Done Once, Done Right!”
