The edges are where water gets in first
Exterior trim finishes the look of a house, but its real job is closing the gaps at windows, doors, corners and the roofline.
Every place two materials meet is a place rain can find. Exterior trim covers those joints and turns water back out onto the face of the siding. When the trim is right, the wall stays dry. When it isn't, you get soft sills, rotted fascia and paint that won't stay on.
We install CertainTeed® exterior trim in two families: Vinyl Carpentry, color-matched to CertainTeed siding, and Restoration Millwork, a cellular PVC that cuts and mills like wood but doesn't rot. Most of it goes on during a siding replacement, when the walls are open and every joint can be flashed properly.
We also replace trim on its own: a rotted window casing, a split corner board, or fascia that's pulling away from the rafters.
- No scrapingPVC and vinyl trim never need repainting to stay protected.
- No rotNeither material absorbs water or feeds insects.
- Since 1960Three generations trimming Miami Valley homes.
Six places we trim, and what each one does
Some exterior trim is there for looks. Most of it is there to keep water out.
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Windows and doors
Casings and head trim frame each opening and cover the flashing behind it. The head piece sheds water past the top of the window. New windows and doors get trimmed as part of the install.
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Outside corners
Corner boards cover the end cuts of the siding where two walls meet. A wide corner board also gives a plain house a stronger outline.
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Gables and frieze boards
A frieze board runs along the top of the wall under the eaves and closes the gap between siding and soffit. Gable trim adds detail where the roof peaks.
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Fascia and rake
Fascia caps the rafter tails and carries your gutters. Rotted boards get replaced before anything is wrapped. We cover fascia with the soffit in one pass.
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Columns and porches
PVC column wraps, beadboard porch ceilings and railing trim replace wood that needs scraping and painting every few years.
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Transitions
Where siding meets stone, brick or a different siding, a trim piece closes the joint and gives the change a clean line instead of a caulk bead.
Two CertainTeed trim lines, chosen for the job
Which one goes on your house depends on the siding next to it and the detail you want.
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VinylVinyl Carpentry™
Pre-formed vinyl exterior trim made to go with CertainTeed vinyl siding: J-channel, starter strips, utility trim, window and door surrounds, corners and crown moulding. It's color-matched to the siding, so the trim and the walls read as one surface.
- Best withCertainTeed vinyl siding
- ColorMatched to your siding color
- WarrantyCovered under the same CertainTeed warranty as the siding
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Cellular PVCRestoration Millwork®
Cellular PVC exterior trim that looks and cuts like top-grade lumber. It comes as trimboard, fascia, corners, columns, moulding, beadboard and sheets, so we can build details on site that stock vinyl pieces can't make.
- Best withAny siding, stone or brick
- ColorWhite as it comes, or painted with approved vinyl-safe paint
- Warranty25-year limited warranty from CertainTeed
PVC trim grows and shrinks with temperature more than wood does. On long runs we glue the joints and follow the manufacturer's fastening pattern so seams stay tight through an Ohio winter. Fine Homebuilding explains why PVC moves if you want the details.
Wrapping rot only hides it
Fascia carries your gutters and caps the ends of the rafters. When it goes soft, water follows it into the roof deck.
A lot of fascia in the Miami Valley is wood that was wrapped in aluminum years ago. The wrap looks fine from the driveway while the board behind it rots. We pull the gutters, open the fascia, and replace every soft board before anything new goes over it.
If the gutters are near the end of their life, this is the time to replace them. See our gutter installation page.
Pull and inspect
Gutters come down and the fascia gets probed board by board. We show you what's soft before we price it.
Replace the wood
Rotted fascia and damaged rafter tails are cut out and replaced with sound lumber or Restoration Millwork PVC fascia.
Cover and seal
Wood fascia gets a bent aluminum trim coil cover in the color you pick. PVC fascia can stay as it is.
Rehang and check
Gutters go back on with new hangers, pitched to the downspouts, and we run water through them before we leave.
A few of the colors we bend on site
Screens shift color, so we bring physical samples to your estimate and hold them against your siding in daylight.
Questions we hear at the estimate
Straight answers, including when the fix is bigger than the trim.
What is exterior trim?
Exterior trim is the finish material around windows, doors, corners, rooflines and porches. It covers the joints where siding meets other materials and turns water back onto the face of the wall, so it protects the house as much as it decorates it.
Should I replace exterior trim when I replace my siding?
Usually, yes. With the old siding off, we can see the wood behind the trim, flash every opening properly and match new trim to the new siding. Putting new siding against old trim often leaves you replacing the trim separately a few years later.
What's the difference between Vinyl Carpentry and Restoration Millwork?
Vinyl Carpentry is pre-formed vinyl trim color-matched to CertainTeed vinyl siding and covered under the same warranty as the siding. Restoration Millwork is cellular PVC that cuts and mills like lumber, comes white or painted with approved vinyl-safe paint, and carries a 25-year limited warranty from CertainTeed.
Does PVC exterior trim rot?
No. Cellular PVC doesn't absorb water and gives insects nothing to eat, so it won't rot the way wood trim does. The wood behind it can still rot if water gets past the trim, which is why the flashing underneath matters as much as the trim itself.
Can you just wrap my old fascia in aluminum?
Only if the wood underneath is sound. Wrapping rotted fascia hides the problem while it keeps spreading into the rafter tails and roof deck. We probe every board, replace the soft ones, and then cover them.
Can PVC trim be painted?
Yes. Restoration Millwork can be painted with vinyl-safe paints approved by CertainTeed, such as Sherwin-Williams VinylSafe colors. Most homeowners leave it white, since it never needs paint to stay protected.
Can you replace exterior trim without new siding?
Yes. We replace window casings, corner boards, fascia and porch trim on their own. If we open a section and find rotted sheathing behind it, we'll show you before we go further.
Let’s look at your exterior trim
We check every window, corner and fascia board, show you anything that's soft, and give you a written price before work starts.
