Quoted:
What's a return in this context?
I did felt, then drip edge (under felt on the eaves, over felt on the rakes), now I'm working on F-channel, next will be soffit nailed or screwed to fascia board (planning on one fastener per piece of soffit, fascia should provide the real holding ability), then fascia, then off to do siding.
CTbuilder, you're recommending face nailing the fascia, I've seen that and I've seen people recommend bottom nailing it while calling face nailing crazy. I was planning on predrilling and using 1 1/4" aluminum nails with large flat heads and nailing from the bottom. Will nails that long hold? If I face nail, should I slap a little silicone on them? I am a bit concerned about splitting the fascia board with nails running into the edge very far, or running them out the side or something. Roofing nails and I don't get along right now.
If I face nail, please tell me how many nails per 12 foot length. Please don't say "not too many", that's what gave me so much trouble with the stupid felt: "just use enough staples to hold the felt down" -my shed book. FML!!! Enough staples to hold felt down on a calm day is not nearly enough to hold it down in a 10-15 mph wind.
This is what I am talking about when I say returns - the boot at the bottom. In this case we did not do a shingled section there.
I nail into the side of the fasia with small head, white trim nails. As for spacing - you just develop a feel for it. I know you don't want to hear "not too many," but that's what I would tell you. I have a 10' siding brake. So in my 10' section of facia, I would probably use 4 nails. I don't know how windy your area is, so that may change it and also determine if you were going to use dabs of adhesive on the back side of the facia.
The facia in my picture is a simple L bend. You could also do a safety edge L or a doble safety edge L. You can even add a piece of firring strip to the facia board to give the aluminum and extra bend on the rakes. The more bends you add, the stronger the piece will be.
For securing the felt, I agree with brickeyee - the less holes the better. The roofing will hold it down. You can also use caps (metal or plastic) which have a lot more holding power than staples if the paper is exposed for any lenth of time. Some of the newer roofing underlayments require caps.