The majority of properties have timber boards below the roof with the guttering attached to them. These boards are the fascia’s, and any boards underneath are soffit’s.

These fascia & soffit’s cover the ends of the roof timbers, and are quite important for the roof, as they:

• Protect the timber rafters from the weather.
• Provide a solid fixing board for the guttering.
• Prevent birds and insects from entering the eaves and your loft space.

Despite the roofline being one of the most exposed parts of your property, quite often the materials used in their construction are not the best, which means even on modern homes they can deteriorate quite quick.

I completely remove the old boards and guttering, and replace them with low maintenance uPVC. I never ‘cap over’ the existing timber, which is a cheaper option, but a false economy in the long term.

I also inspect the roofs ‘underfelt’, which is prone to thinning and tearing at the eaves. Holes or worn out underfelt, can allow rain to soak through roof tiles, and get into your eaves, which can potentially run down your internal walls. I insert a plastic membrane above the new fascia boards, which goes under the existing underfelt, preventing this problem occuring in the future.

The original timber fascia & soffit & gutter gets completely removed.

The timber rafters are inspected for rot or any defects. Once any of this is dealt with, I create a straight fixing surface across the eaves, by using stringlines, and fixing pieces of sawn timber and plastic packing pieces. This is quite a crucial part of the job, as the plastic board will bend easily, if it isn’t nailed to straight surfaces.

The new soffit and fascia boards will be cut to size, and nailed to the rafter feet with coloured stainless steel nails. The plastic membrane will then be slid under the tiles roofing felt, but overlapping the fascia, so any water soaking through the tiles, will drip into the gutter.

Gutter brackets will then be fixed to the fascia boards with stainless steel screws.

The guttering is clipped into place and any drainpipes connected.