Fascias and Soffits,and the Gutters They Hold Up.
The fascia is what your guttering is screwed to. When it softens, the whole run starts to pull away, so the two jobs belong together.
Fascias & Soffits in South West London, Surrey and West Sussex.
The fascia is the board along the edge of the roof, and the soffit is the panel underneath it. Between them they close off the roof edge, hold the guttering up and let the roof space breathe. They are easy to ignore until the guttering starts sagging, which is usually the first sign the timber behind it has gone.
Rot in a fascia starts where water gets in and stays: behind a leaking gutter joint, at the ends where the board meets the wall, or under a gutter that has been overflowing for years. Once the board is soft, the bracket screws have nothing to hold on to and the run drops.
We take the old boards off, look at the rafter feet behind them, replace what has gone and fit new uPVC fascia and vented soffit. The guttering comes off and goes back on to a proper fall. Keeping the soffit vented matters. A sealed roof edge traps moisture in the roof space.
Sagging guttering is usually a timber problem wearing a plastic disguise.
What a Fascia Replacement Looks Like.
Rotten boards, the timber behind them, and the finished edge. These are the three stages, photographed on our jobs.
What Rotten Fascia Looks Like
Soft, flaking board behind a gutter that has started to drop.
Stripped Back to the Timber
Old boards off, the timber behind checked and made sound.
New Boards and a Vented Soffit
White uPVC fascia, vented soffit and the gutter hung straight.
What the Work Involves.
New uPVC Fascia
Fitted over sound timber, with the joints and corners finished properly rather than filled.
Vented Soffit
So the roof space can still breathe. Sealing the eaves completely is how condensation problems start in a loft.
Rotten Timber Replaced
The board behind the fascia and the rafter ends where they have gone soft, before anything new goes on.
Guttering Re-Hung
Taken off, and put back to a proper fall on new brackets into sound timber, or replaced if it has had its day.
Bargeboards
The sloping boards on a gable end, which weather harder than the flat runs because they take rain straight on.
Cappings Over Sound Timber
Where the existing boards are genuinely sound, capping is an option. We will tell you when it is and when it is not.
How to Tell You Need It Looked At.
The Guttering Is Sagging
The most common signal. The brackets have lost their grip on the board behind.
The Board Looks Stained or Swollen
Water has been sitting on or behind it, usually from a gutter that has been leaking above.
Paint Flaking Off Timber Boards
On painted timber, flaking is the surface giving up before the wood does. It is a warning.
Birds Getting Into the Eaves
A gap has opened where the soffit meets the wall or the fascia, and something has found it.
Fascias & Soffits We Have Done.
Why Two Fascias & Soffits Jobs Cost Different Things.
We give a written price for the work we have looked at. These are the things that move it.
How We Reach It
A bungalow off a properly secured ladder and a three-storey terrace needing a scaffold are two different jobs before anyone touches the work itself.
How Much of It There Is
Front only, front and back, or the whole property including the returns. We measure it rather than estimate from the pavement.
What We Find Underneath
If the timber or the mortar behind the visible part has gone, that has to be put right too, or the new work fails exactly the way the old work did.
Guttering at the Same Time
Most people replace the guttering while the fascia is off, because it is already down and the access is already paid for.
The Questions We Get Asked About Fascias & Soffits.
The fascia is the upright board along the edge of the roof, and it is what the guttering is fixed to. The soffit is the panel underneath it, closing off the gap between the wall and the roof edge. The bargeboard is the equivalent on a sloping gable end.
Not always, but usually it makes sense. The guttering has to come off to replace the fascia, so if the gutter is old you are paying for the access twice by doing them separately. If the guttering is newer and sound, we take it off carefully and put it back.
Only where the timber underneath is genuinely sound. Capping over rot hides it and it carries on rotting behind the plastic, so we look first and tell you which you need.
Roof spaces need airflow. If the eaves are sealed up completely, moisture from the house collects in the loft and condenses on the underside of the roof, which causes its own set of problems. Vented soffit keeps the air moving.
It depends on the size of the property, how much timber has to be replaced and whether we are working off ladders or a scaffold. We will give you a realistic idea when we quote, and agreed dates before we start.
Tell us what you have got. White is the standard, but fascia and soffit come in a range of colours and woodgrain finishes, and if you are only doing one elevation it matters that it meets the rest properly.
Four Steps From Your Call, to the Job Done.
You Call or Send the Form
Tell us your town and what you have noticed. A photo from the ground helps more than you would think.
We Come and Look
At the actual thing, where it is safe to get to it. You hear what has failed and what it takes to put right, in plain words.
You Get a Written Price
For the work we have described, with time to think about it. If there is a word on it you do not recognise, ask and we will explain it.
We Do the Work and Clear Up
Agreed dates before we start, and everything off the drive when we finish.
Fascias & Soffits Across Fourteen Towns.
South West London, Surrey and West Sussex. There is a local number for each area, plus a mobile. If you are just outside, ask anyway.
Other Things We Get Called Out For.
Tell Us About the Fascias & Soffits, and We'll Come and Look.
Your name, a number, roughly where you are and what you have noticed. That is all we need.