Eaves

The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building.

The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural style, such as the Chinese dougong bracket systems.

[6] Aesthetic, traditional, or purely decorative considerations may prevail over the strictly functional requirements of the eaves.

The Arts and Crafts Movement influenced the American Craftsman tradition, which has very wide eaves with decorative brackets technically called modillions, for which there is not necessarily a real functional need; likewise the Italian-style eaves.

The eaves may terminate in a fascia, a board running the length of the eaves under the tiles or roof sheets to cap off and protect the exposed rafter ends and to provide grounds on which to fix gutters.