This stucco farmhouse near Newtown Square has tall gables with arched windows. In July 2024 its weathered wood rake trim was replaced with white PVC.
Before
The July 9 photo shows the gable from the scaffold: stucco walls, arched windows and old rake trim that had lost its paint.
Newtown SquareJul 2024Built-up rakes and returns
The new rakes are built up from several PVC pieces to get a profile with some depth, like the original. At the bottom corners each rake ends in a return, the small boxed piece that turns the trim back toward the wall. Returns are where old rake trim rots first because they hold water on top.
Newtown SquareJul 2024Sealing to the stucco
Where PVC meets stucco, the joint is sealed with a sealant that tolerates the PVC moving in summer heat. The finished gable has crisp white trim against the stucco and the gothic arched window in the middle.
Newtown SquareJul 2024
