Rotten fascias, blocked gutters and cracked soffits cause real damage to the roof edge of homes in Fulbourn - here is exactly what good replacement and repair work looks like, from the first inspection to the final clear-up.
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Most homeowners notice the guttering only when it overflows or pulls away from the wall. But the fascia board behind it and the soffit panel beneath it are just as important. The fascia is the vertical board fixed to the ends of the roof rafters - it carries the gutter and closes off the roof edge. The soffit is the horizontal board that runs underneath the overhang between the fascia and the wall, keeping weather and wildlife out of the roof space.
When either board rots or cracks, water tracks behind the guttering, soaks into the rafter ends and can work its way into the roof structure long before you see a stain on a ceiling. Replacing them before that point is far cheaper than repairing the timber damage afterwards.
This is the angle homeowners in Fulbourn most often want explained. What does a roofer actually do when they turn up, and in what order? Here is a straightforward account of how a full fascia, soffit and guttering replacement runs.
A proper survey is done from a ladder, not just from the ground. The roofer checks each length of fascia board by pressing it firmly - soft spots reveal rot beneath any painted surface. The soffit panels are checked for sagging, cracking or gaps. The gutter fixings are tested for play, and the fall (the slight downward slope toward the downpipe) is checked by eye or with a spirit level. The rafter feet behind the fascia are inspected where visible, because rotten rafter feet need addressing before new boards go on.
At this stage a good roofer will also check the first few courses of tiles at the eaves to make sure the tile lap over the fascia is sound, and look at the condition of any lead or mortar at the verges. These are not extra jobs to sell - they are checks that prevent wasted work if something more urgent is missed.
Once the survey is done, the roofer measures every run of fascia and soffit and counts the gutter lengths, angles, stop ends, outlets and downpipe sections. Nothing is ordered by eye. If you are having uPVC boards fitted, the colour and profile are agreed at this point. Standard ogee guttering in white or black suits most houses; round-profile half-round guttering is preferred on older or period properties. Square-profile guttering shifts more water per metre and is often chosen where the roof area is large or where overhanging trees mean the gutters fill quickly.
If any lengths of timber sawn to size are needed - for example to pack out a section of rafter foot or to form a new backing board - these are noted and sourced before the job starts. Arriving on site without the right materials adds a day to every job.
The existing guttering comes off first, section by section, lowered to the ground rather than dropped. This matters because a falling gutter bracket can crack a path, damage a conservatory roof or split a water butt. The downpipes are disconnected at each joint and removed whole where possible.
The old fascia boards are then carefully levered away. If the boards have been capped over previously (see the section on capping below), there may be two or three layers of material to remove. When the fascia is off, the rafter feet are inspected properly for the first time. Soft, punky timber is cut back to sound wood. In some cases short sections of new timber are spliced in and fixed to the side of the rafter with structural screws - this is called a rafter foot repair or a sister board and it is standard practice. If the rafter feet are sound, they are treated with a timber preservative before the new boards go on.
The soffit panels come off after the fascia in most cases, because the fascia board often holds the outer edge of the soffit. On some older houses the soffit is fixed differently and comes off first - a roofer should be ready for either.
For uPVC installations, a timber backing board is usually fixed to the rafter feet first. This gives the uPVC fascia a solid, even surface to clip to and makes it easier to achieve a straight run on an old house where the rafter feet have moved over the decades. The uPVC fascia board clips or screws to this backing board. Joints between lengths are made with connector pieces that allow for thermal expansion - uPVC moves with temperature and a tight joint will buckle in summer.
The soffit panel fits into a channel on the back of the fascia and is supported at the wall by a uPVC or timber fixing strip. Where ventilation is needed - and in most modern and post-1990s installations it is a building regulations requirement - ventilated soffit panels with a mesh insert are used. These allow air into the roof space and prevent condensation building up in the insulation. Solid soffit panels are used where the roof already has ridge or tile vents providing sufficient airflow.
Timber fascias and soffits are fitted in a similar sequence but require primer, undercoat and topcoat painting before the guttering goes on. Timber boards are typically 25mm planed softwood; hardwood is available but less common and considerably more expensive.
Gutter brackets are fixed to the fascia board at intervals of around 900mm to 1 metre, with closer spacing at angles and outlets. The fall toward the downpipe outlet is set using a string line or laser level - typically around 1:350 (roughly 3mm of fall per metre of run). An insufficient fall means water sits in the gutter and freezes in winter, accelerating joint failure. Too steep a fall looks wrong and can leave the far end of the gutter too high to catch run-off from the tile edge.
Gutter lengths clip together at the joints with rubber seals. These seals are the part most likely to fail in older guttering - they dry out and crack over 15 to 20 years. New guttering fitted correctly should not leak at the joints for many years. Downpipes are fixed to the wall with pipe clips at each joint and at mid-span on longer runs, and are connected at the bottom to the drain or soakaway.
Before leaving, a hose or a bucket of water is run into the gutter at the far end from the downpipe. This checks the fall is working, confirms there are no joint leaks, and makes sure the downpipe outlet is clear. Any sealant at stop ends or external angles is checked while wet. The roofer should also check that the tile or slate edge still laps correctly over the new fascia - if the fascia is slightly thicker than the old one, the drip edge may need adjusting.
All old boards, guttering lengths, brackets and fixings are cleared from the garden. Gutter debris and old sealant strips do not belong in your flowerbeds. A job is not finished until the site is tidy.
Capping (also called cladding or overcladding) means fixing new uPVC boards directly over the existing timber fascia rather than removing it. It is quicker and costs less on the day. The problem is that it traps moisture against whatever is already there. If the timber underneath is already soft or if there is any rot beginning, capping seals it in and the rot continues unseen. By the time it shows again, the rafter feet may be affected.
Full replacement - stripping back to the rafter feet and fitting new boards - costs more but lets the roofer see exactly what is there and fix any timber damage before it spreads. On a house in Fulbourn or the surrounding villages where the fascias have already been capped once, full replacement is almost always the better choice. Many roofers will only quote for full replacement for this reason.
uPVC dominates the market for a straightforward reason: it does not rot, does not need painting and is cheaper to maintain over its lifetime. White is the most common colour but anthracite grey, black, rosewood and oak foil finishes are all widely available. The foil finish is applied to the uPVC surface in the factory and does not need painting, though it cannot be repainted if it fades over time.
Timber fascias suit properties where uPVC would look out of place - certain listed buildings or houses in conservation areas sometimes specify timber. They need repainting every five to eight years and the paint edge where the board meets the gutter bracket is always the first place moisture gets in. If you choose timber, using a good quality microporous paint system and keeping the gutters clear so they do not overflow onto the board will extend the life significantly.
For most houses, uPVC is the practical answer. It is lower maintenance, the colour range is wide enough for most tastes and it performs well in the British climate.
Not every gutter needs replacing. If the profile and colour are in good condition and the brackets are still sound, a gutter that is leaking at a joint usually only needs the old sealant stripped out and fresh sealant or a new rubber seal fitted. Sagging sections can often be corrected by repositioning a bracket or adding an extra one where the spacing has opened up.
Gutters should be cleared of leaves, moss and compacted debris at least once a year, or twice if your house is near trees. A blocked gutter does not just overflow - it holds water against the fascia and causes the rot that leads to a full replacement job. The cost of a gutter clear is typically in the range of £60 to £150 depending on the size of the house and the number of downpipes, which is considerably less than a fascia replacement.
Common causes of gutter leaks include dried-out joint seals, brackets that have pulled away from a rotten fascia, and downpipe outlets that have been half-blocked by moss or a bird nest. Clearing and resealing is a straightforward repair that extends the working life of an otherwise sound gutter system by several years.
Prices vary by the size of the house, the condition of the existing timber and the profile and colour of materials chosen. As a general guide for typical UK properties:
These are indicative ranges. A quote based on a ladder survey of your specific property will be more accurate than any figure given over the phone or from the ground. Always ask whether rafter foot repair is included or quoted separately, and whether VAT is included.
Knowing the right questions saves money and avoids disappointment. Before agreeing to any roofline job, ask:
A roofer who cannot answer these questions clearly is worth being cautious about. The work itself is not complicated, but the details matter.
We carry out fascia, soffit and guttering work across Fulbourn and the surrounding area, including nearby villages and towns. We also take on work in Sudbury, Halstead, Braintree and Great Dunmow.
If your gutters are overflowing, your fascia boards look soft when you press them, or you have noticed staining on the wall below the roofline, do not leave it. Call Haverhill Roofers to arrange a ladder survey of your roofline in Fulbourn. We will tell you honestly what needs doing and what can wait, and give you a clear price for the work.
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