Ely Roofers handles fascia, soffit and guttering repairs and replacements for homeowners in Cottenham, stopping water damage at the eaves before it reaches your roof structure.
These three components sit at the very edge of your roof and take everything the weather throws at them before any other part of the building does. The fascia board carries the gutter and seals the end of the rafters. The soffit closes off the underside of the eaves. The guttering collects and channels rainwater away from the walls and foundations. All three need to be sound for the system to work - a failure in one creates a chain of problems in the others.
A common problem is that homeowners notice the symptom rather than the cause. Damp patches on a ceiling near the eaves, staining on an outside wall below the gutter line, or paint peeling away from the fascia - these are all signs that water has already got where it should not be. By that point, the timber behind the fascia or soffit is often wet and beginning to soften.
On pitched roofs, the roof felt runs back and drapes over the top of the fascia before dropping into the gutter. If the fascia is rotten or has dropped, the felt loses its drip edge and water tracks back along the underside of the tiles into the roof void. This is one of the less obvious ways a failing fascia contributes to a roof leak repair job that looks, from the inside, like a problem with the tiles rather than the boards.
Most replacement fascias and soffits fitted today are uPVC. They do not rot, do not need painting and are available in a range of colours and profiles. White is the most common, but woodgrain finishes are worth considering if the original boards were stained timber and you want a finish that looks in keeping.
Aluminium is the preferred material where cast-iron guttering profiles need to be matched on older properties, or where the homeowner wants a more durable system. Aluminium guttering can be powder-coated to match the existing colour scheme and will outlast uPVC in exposed positions. It does cost more than uPVC, but for a property where cast-iron is currently failing and original detailing matters, aluminium is the better long-term choice.
Replacing timber fascias with uPVC does not mean simply covering the old board. On a correctly done job, the rotten timber comes off, the rafter feet and wall plate are checked, any damp or decayed timber is treated or replaced, and the new boards are fixed to sound structure. Over-boarding - fitting uPVC capping over existing timber - is sometimes done where the timber is genuinely solid, but it traps any residual moisture and prevents future inspection. Ask any contractor which approach they are taking and why.
Not every gutter problem needs a full replacement. Leaking joints can be re-sealed. A gutter that overflows at one point during moderate rain may simply be running at the wrong fall and needs re-pitching on its brackets. A cracked union or split stop-end can be replaced in minutes. The test for replacement rather than repair is usually the condition of the existing plastic: if it has become brittle, has multiple hairline cracks, or is sagging between brackets because the fittings have pulled away from the fascia, repair becomes more expensive than replacement over any reasonable timescale.
uPVC guttering replacement in a standard half-round or square profile typically costs in the region of £40-£60 per metre fitted, including downpipes and fittings, though prices vary with access difficulty and the number of outlets and bends involved. Aluminium guttering runs higher. These are guide figures - an accurate price requires a proper look at the property.
When gutters are replaced, it is worth having the downpipes checked at the same time. A downpipe that discharges into a trapped gully or underground drain can back up silently if the drain is blocked. The gutter overflows long before any external sign of a blocked drain appears, so the drain is often overlooked when the gutter gets the blame.
If you have spotted a problem with your fascias, soffits or guttering and are waiting to get it assessed or booked in, there are useful things you can do to limit further damage, and a few things that look helpful but are not.
If the gutter is overflowing because it is blocked, and you can safely reach it from the ground or from a stable single-storey ladder, clearing the debris is worthwhile. Use a garden trowel or gutter scoop, collect the debris in a bucket rather than washing it down the downpipe, and check whether the overflow point is at a joint - which suggests a failed seal - or along a straight run, which usually means a blockage further down. This information is useful when describing the problem to a roofer.
If water is tracking down the outside wall from a gutter joint or a cracked section, a temporary repair with gutter sealant from a builders merchant will slow the problem down. Open the joint clip, dry the channel as best you can, apply sealant to the rubber seal channel and re-clip. This is not a permanent fix, but it will reduce the amount of water hitting the wall until the job can be properly done.
Photograph everything. A damp patch on an internal ceiling, a stain on the outside wall, a section of guttering that has pulled away - all of these are useful to show a roofer at survey stage. Conditions change between the fault appearing and the survey visit, and photographs taken at the worst point save time and help get an accurate assessment.
Do not attempt to re-fix a fascia board that has pulled away from the wall. The fixing has failed for a reason, and that reason is usually that the timber behind it is soft. Hammering new screws into wet, decayed wood does not hold, and it forces the board against the roof felt above it, which can crack older felt. The only correct repair is to strip the board and assess what is beneath it.
Do not paint over a blistering or peeling timber fascia as a way of sealing it. Moisture has already got into the grain, and sealing the surface traps it there, accelerating decay. If the paint is failing on a timber fascia, the board itself needs to be inspected rather than re-coated.
Do not use a pressure washer on soffits to clear algae or dirt. The pressure forces water into any crack or gap in the board and into the joint between the soffit and the fascia. If the boards are already slightly loose or cracked, pressure washing can push enough water into the roof space to cause ceiling damage. A soft brush and a proprietary uPVC cleaner is the correct approach for uPVC soffits.
Do not go onto the roof to investigate a suspected fascia problem from above. Fascia and soffit faults are assessed from the outside wall at eaves level, not from the roof surface. Walking on an older tiled or slated roof to look at the fascia risks damaging the tiles and dislodging fixings, creating a new leak in addition to the original problem.
Do not delay getting the job assessed if you can see daylight through a gap in the soffit or if the fascia board is visibly bowing. Open gaps let water in directly and are also entry points for birds and pests, whose nesting activity inside the roof space can damage insulation and cause a separate and expensive problem.
Ask whether the rafter feet and wall plate will be checked when the old boards come off. Ask whether any rotten timber will be cut back and replaced rather than covered. Ask whether the roof felt will be re-set to drape correctly over the new fascia. These three questions will tell you quickly whether you are talking to someone who understands the job properly.
If you need a straight answer on what your fascias, soffits or guttering need, call us to book a roof survey.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
