Ely Roofers replaces and repairs fascias, soffits and guttering for homeowners in Histon, keeping roof edges watertight and structurally sound all year round.
The fascia board runs along the bottom edge of your roof, the soffit sits beneath it and faces downward, and the guttering hangs from the fascia to carry rainwater away. All three work together. When one fails, the others are usually under stress too, and water begins finding its way into the timber roof structure, the wall cavity or the eaves insulation before you see a single damp patch inside.
Rotten or cracked fascias are one of the most common reasons roof felt begins to deteriorate prematurely. The felt is pinned or rested along the back of the fascia board. Once the board softens with damp, the felt loses its support and eventually pulls away from the edge, letting water track inward. Catching a failing fascia early protects the felt and saves a much larger repair bill later.
Soffits seal the underside of the eaves. A cracked or missing soffit section is an open invitation for birds, squirrels and wasps to nest inside the roof space, and once wildlife is in, the damage they cause to insulation and wiring is a separate problem altogether. Solid soffits also ventilated types, which allow airflow through the roof space to prevent condensation build-up. Choosing the right type for your roof matters.
We work on all pitched roof types, including properties with clay or concrete tiles, natural slate and artificial slate, as well as homes with flat roof sections over extensions or garage roofs. Fascias, soffits and guttering on pitched roofs generally follow the same replacement process regardless of tile type, but the board widths and soffit depths vary between older and newer builds, so correct sizing at the survey stage prevents fitting problems on the day.
For guttering, we repair and replace standard half-round and square-profile uPVC systems as well as aluminium guttering. Aluminium is worth considering if your existing cast-iron guttering needs replacing and you want something that matches the original profile more closely than plastic. It is lighter than cast iron, does not rust, and can be powder-coated in a range of colours. Cast-iron guttering on older properties can sometimes be repaired and re-sealed rather than replaced, which is worth asking about if the sections themselves are structurally sound.
Common repair and replacement work includes:
A properly done fascia replacement starts with stripping back the existing boards and checking the rafter feet and wall plate beneath. If those timbers are damp or soft, they need to be dried out and treated before new boards go on. Fitting uPVC directly over wet timber stores the problem rather than solving it. Any rafter feet that have deteriorated need cutting back and splicing before the new fascia is fixed.
The roof felt should be draped slightly over the back of the new fascia so any water tracking back from the tiles runs into the gutter rather than onto the board. This detail is easy to get wrong and easy to miss if you are not looking for it. When the felt is old and brittle, this is also the moment to assess whether the whole felt layer needs attention, because the eaves section is exposed during the job anyway.
New uPVC fascias are fixed directly to the rafter feet or over a timber carrier board, depending on the system and the rafter spacing. Gutter brackets are set at a fall - typically around 1:350 - so water flows toward the outlet rather than sitting in the gutter bottom and overflowing during heavy rain. Joints and unions are sealed and clipped. Downpipes are checked for obstructions before the job is signed off.
This is the section most installers do not bother to explain, and it is the reason some homeowners are calling for another replacement within a few years. uPVC fascias and soffits need very little maintenance, but guttering does need regular attention to keep the whole system working.
Autumn leaf fall is the main culprit, but moss washed down from the roof surface builds up in gutters throughout the year. A partially blocked gutter does not overflow dramatically - it usually overflows at one low point, and that trickle of water runs down the same stretch of wall every time it rains, slowly soaking into the masonry, the cavity or the window frame below. By the time a stain appears on an internal wall, the water has been tracking in for months.
Clear gutters in late November after the main leaf fall, and again in spring if you have trees nearby. A garden trowel, a bucket and a sturdy ladder will do the job safely if you are confident at height and your guttering is at single-storey level. For anything above a single storey, use a professional with the correct access equipment. Blocked gutters at upper-storey level are exactly the sort of problem that stays invisible until the damage is done.
A blocked downpipe causes the gutter above to back up and overflow at the nearest joint or union. The blockage is usually a compacted plug of debris lodged at the bend at the bottom of the pipe, or at a swan-neck section where the downpipe angles out from the wall. Running a hose down from the top will dislodge a soft blockage; a solid plug may need the pipe to be dismantled at the bend. Downpipe clips that have pulled out of the wall also let the pipe flex in wind, which stresses the gutter outlet above and eventually cracks it.
uPVC guttering joints rely on rubber seals inside the union clips. Those seals harden over time, especially after prolonged sun exposure, and begin to let water through. A leaking joint shows as a persistent drip or stain on the wall beneath it. Re-sealing a union is a ten-minute job: open the clip, clean the channel, apply a strip of gutter sealant, and re-clip. If the union itself is cracked or the clip has lost its spring, replace it. Replacement union clips cost very little from a builders merchant.
uPVC fascias do not need painting, but they can discolour and become slightly brittle with age. A uPVC cleaning product once every year or two keeps them looking well and makes it easier to spot any cracking or distortion. If a section is beginning to bow outward, the fixing behind it has likely failed and the board needs re-fixing before it pulls the gutter out of alignment.
If a fascia board is soft to the touch, or if the soffit has dropped at a corner and left a visible gap, those are signs that repair has moved past the DIY threshold. A soft fascia means moisture has been sitting in the timber long enough to begin decay, and there is no surface treatment that reverses that. The board needs to come off so the structure behind it can be assessed. Trying to over-board a rotten fascia with a new uPVC cover simply seals the damp in and accelerates the decay of the rafter feet above.
If you want a straight assessment of what your fascias, soffits and guttering actually need, call us to arrange 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.
