Please confirm (sooner rather than later) that you wish Tim to replace the white decorative blocks under the soffit, of which four have fallen off and two have been lost. In the process of removing the wooden gutters and repairing the soffit, Tim will have to remove all the remaining blocks. After having detached them, he plans clean the blocks with an electric paint stripper before replacing them. He hasn't said, and I haven't asked what he plans to do about the two blocks that have been lost. The circumstances are as follows: Tim, who has now gone home, has worked expeditiously. On the northern end of the west side, he has removed the rotten gutters, the rotten soffit and the decorative blocks attached to the soffit. He has installed a framework of 2x4's and temporarily attached to it the new soffit, whose appearance now is neat and pleasing. He plans to bring from his home or to buy from Home Depot an electrically heated paint stripper to clean of the encrusted paint on the decorative blocks, which he says he cannot replace until the thick paint has been removed, Then he plans to remove the soffit from its temporary attachment and to mount the blocks that he has (tried to) clean(ed) on the underside of the soffit, inserting nails or screws from above, and then to make the attachment of the soffit, now heavy and studded with decorative blocks, to the framework above. Tim did not ask me what to do about the decorative blocks. Perhaps he thought they should be replaced. But it occurred to me that the decision to replace the blocks should be deliberate and that it should be YOUR decision. It is a plausible argument (which I do not choose to make): a) that old blocks mounted below a new soffit will appear incongruous, b) that their presence will amplify the discordance between the old part of the house and the new addition c) that they will add to the cost of installation, and d) that they will add to the cost of maintenance. Conversely, it is a plausible argument (which I do not choose to make) that the decorative blocks are essential to the esthetic integrity of the house and that the absence of the decorative blocks will significantly impair its (resale) value. Please tell me your decision. I am under the impression that you would like to have the decorative blocks replaced, and unless I hear from you to the contrary, I will let Tim proceed to replace them as he has planned. I hope your day is going well. My day has been productive.