Ely Roofers carries out fascia, soffit and guttering replacement and repair for homeowners in Upwell, handling every stage of the job from the first inspection to final clear-up.
Homeowners in Upwell often ask us what replacing fascias, soffits and guttering actually entails. It looks straightforward from the ground, but there is more to a well-done job than swapping old boards for new ones. Here is a plain account of how a proper replacement should run, from arrival to leaving the site tidy.
Before any boards come down, a thorough look at the existing roofline is essential. Working from a ladder or scaffold, a roofer should check the condition of the existing fascia and soffit material, note where rot has taken hold, look at how the guttering is fixed and whether it is falling correctly towards the downpipes, and assess the rafter feet and wall plate visible once the boards are removed.
The inspection also needs to cover the condition of the roof covering itself at the verge and eaves - the lowest courses of tiles or slates, the mortar bedding, and the lead or felt underlay visible at the edge. Problems at the roofline rarely exist in isolation. A roofer who looks only at the fascia board and quotes immediately without checking the wider picture is missing part of the job.
At this stage, the specification for the replacement is agreed - material choice, colour, guttering profile and size, ventilation approach and whether overboarding or full removal is appropriate. Full removal is nearly always the better option because it allows the timber structure behind to be inspected and treated if needed.
Safe working access is the foundation of a roofline job. On most standard two-storey homes, a combination of ladders and a scaffold tower, or a mobile elevated work platform, is used. On larger or more complex properties, full scaffolding may be needed. The access method should be agreed before work starts and should allow the roofer to work safely along the full length of each elevation without stretching.
Good access also protects your property. Tools, off-cuts and old boards dropped from height cause damage. A properly set up working platform means the job is done more carefully and the site is easier to keep clean as work progresses.
Guttering comes down first. Downpipes are disconnected at each bracket and removed in sections from the top. Running gutter lengths are unclipped from their brackets and lifted away. Old cast-iron or steel guttering is heavy and awkward and needs to be lowered carefully rather than dropped. The brackets fixed to the fascia are then removed - old screws in soft timber sometimes bring the fascia board with them, which is useful information about the extent of the rot underneath.
At this stage, water from the roof has nowhere to go until the new guttering is in place. If rain is forecast, a temporary arrangement should be discussed with the homeowner, particularly above doorways or where water running down the wall could cause immediate damage.
Once the guttering is clear, the fascia and soffit boards are removed. On timber buildings, this typically means cutting through old nails with a saw or pulling them with a bar. The rafter feet - the ends of the roof timbers that sit on the wall plate and project to support the fascia - are now fully visible for the first time in many years.
Rafter feet are a common place to find rot, particularly where the original fascia board had cracked or where the guttering had been overflowing. Any soft or punky timber needs to be cut back to sound wood and either spliced with a new section or treated with a preservative consolidant before the new boards go on. Fitting new fascias directly over rotten rafter feet is poor workmanship and the rot will continue unseen.
The wall plate and any exposed brickwork at the eaves should be checked at the same time. Minor gaps or open joints in the brickwork at this level let in moisture and should be pointed up while the area is accessible.
The soffit goes on before the fascia. On uPVC installations, a J-channel or receiver is fixed to the wall and the soffit panel slides into it at the back. The front edge of the soffit slots into a groove or channel on the back of the fascia board. Getting this sequencing right matters; fitting the fascia first and then trying to slide the soffit in is a common shortcut that results in a poorly-fitted joint.
If the existing soffits were ventilated, new ventilated soffit boards or individual vent inserts must be used. Modern building regulations require adequate through-ventilation of the roof void to prevent condensation. The free area of ventilation must meet the requirement for your roof's pitch and span - for a standard 15-25 degree pitched roof this is typically a continuous equivalent gap of 25mm. A roofer who installs a plain unventilated soffit without asking about this is cutting a corner that can cause real problems later.
Fascia boards are fixed directly to the rafter feet. On uPVC systems, the boards are cut to length and joined with expansion couplers that allow for thermal movement. uPVC expands and contracts significantly with temperature changes - a 3-metre board can move by several millimetres between winter and summer. Expansion joints must be included at the correct intervals and at all internal and external corners; without them, boards buckle in warm weather.
External corners and joints are finished with purpose-made angle pieces. The quality of these details is what separates a neat job from a shoddy one. Badly fitted corners let water in at exactly the point where it does the most damage.
On aluminium systems, the fitting process is similar but aluminium has significantly lower thermal movement, so the expansion allowances are smaller and the finished result tends to look tighter and neater on longer runs.
Guttering brackets are fixed to the new fascia at the correct centres - typically no more than 1 metre apart for uPVC half-round guttering, closer for heavier systems. Critically, the brackets must be set to give the gutter a continuous fall towards the downpipe, usually around 1:600 (roughly 1.5mm per 900mm run). A gutter that is level or that has low spots will hold standing water, which leads to moss, leaks at joints and eventually bracket failure.
Gutter lengths are clipped into the brackets and joined with sealed union pieces. Every joint should be checked for a positive seal. Downpipes are refitted from the top down, with offset bends where needed to bridge the gap between the gutter outlet and the wall face. Downpipe clips fix the pipe to the wall at no more than 1.8 metre intervals.
Where downpipes discharge to an underground drain, the shoe at the bottom of the downpipe should be checked and the drain rodded or cleared if there is any sign of blockage. An unblocked drain that flows freely is as important as the guttering above it.
Before leaving the site, a roofer should run water along the full gutter length - either from a hose or by using buckets at the high end - to check that the fall is correct, all joints are watertight and the downpipe runs freely to the drain. Any drips at joints should be fixed before packing up.
All old boards, guttering sections and packaging should be removed from the site. Nails and fixings on the ground around the property should be swept up or collected with a magnetic bar. The homeowner should be walked around the job and shown the finished work, including the ventilation arrangement, before the roofer leaves.
While the roofline is accessible, it makes practical sense to carry out any other small roof repairs that need attention. Loose or slipped tiles on a pitched roof, failed pointing on a chimney stack, or a leaking felt lap on a flat roof are all jobs that are much more straightforward to address while scaffolding or access equipment is already in place. Ask your roofer to cast an eye over the roof covering and chimney while they are up there - a separate call-out later will cost more for the same access.
We cover Upwell and nearby villages, as well as Ely, Downham, Littleport, Soham and the wider area. If your fascias, soffits or guttering are showing signs of deterioration, call us to arrange an inspection at the roofline - not just a look from the ground.
No obligation · We usually respond within 2 hours
Storm damage, active leak, damaged ridge - we aim to be on-site within 24 hours.
