Wymondham Roofers replaces rotting fascias, cracked soffits, and leaking gutters for homeowners in Attleborough, protecting timber and brickwork from the damp that follows when rooflines are left to deteriorate.
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Fascias, soffits, and guttering sit at the junction between your roof and your walls. When they fail, rainwater no longer runs off safely. Instead it soaks into the top of the wall, behind the render, into the rafter feet, and eventually through ceilings. By the time damp patches appear indoors, the underlying timber may already be rotten.
A common problem is that homeowners only notice the guttering is leaking, fix it with sealant, and miss the fascia board behind it that has already gone soft. The two are connected. Guttering hangs from the fascia, and if the fascia is failing, the gutter will pull away no matter how well it is sealed.
Soffits close off the eaves from the outside. On older properties they are often made of wood and have been painted many times over the years. Paint hides cracking, but once moisture gets behind it the board can rot from the inside out without looking obviously bad from ground level.
If you are considering this work, it helps to know what a proper job involves from first inspection to final clear-up. The sequence below describes what a thorough roofline replacement should look like, so you know what to expect and what to ask any contractor you speak to.
Before anything is quoted or booked, the roofline needs to be inspected properly. A look from the pavement is not enough. A ladder is needed to check the face of each fascia board, the soffits, the back of the gutter run, and the condition of the rafter feet where they meet the fascia. This matters because the visible surface often looks worse than it is in some places and better than it is in others.
The inspection should also check whether the existing fascia is a single board or has been overlaid with uPVC over the original timber, because overlaying hides decay and affects the proper fix.
An honest first look will tell you whether the job is a straightforward replacement, whether rafter feet need repair before the new boards go on, and whether the guttering itself is the right size for the roof pitch and catchment area. A proper inspection produces a clear scope of work, not a vague quotation range.
Roofline work requires safe, stable working at height. For a standard two-storey house, this usually means a scaffold tower or short-run scaffold along the eaves. The access method affects both the day rate and the total job time. A scaffold tower is fine for a single elevation; a full scaffold is more practical if all four sides of the house need doing at once.
Access equipment should be in place before the old material comes off, so nothing is left exposed to rain overnight if the job runs across two days. Ask any contractor how they handle access and what happens if rain stops work mid-job.
Once access is safe, the old guttering comes off first, then the fascia boards, then the soffits. The order matters because each component holds the next one in place. Removing guttering first gives full access to inspect the back of the fascia - the face that is hidden once the gutter is clipped on.
When the boards come off, the rafter feet are exposed. This is the moment the real condition of the timber becomes clear. Soft spots, blackening, or movement in the feet need to be addressed before new boards are fitted. Fitting new uPVC fascia over rotten rafter ends is a job that will need redoing within a few years.
Old timber and guttering should be loaded into a van or skip as work progresses. Leaving it on the ground overnight is a sign of poor site management, and on terraced properties it can block a shared access that neighbours rely on.
If any rafter feet have gone soft, the affected section of timber is cut back to sound wood and a new length spliced or sistered in. This is straightforward carpentry but it adds time and material cost to the job. A proper roofline contractor expects to do this; it is not an unreasonable extra if the condition genuinely requires it.
If the existing fascia was a direct-fix type nailed to the rafter ends, and the rafter ends are sound, new uPVC can often be fixed directly in the same way. If there was a timber sub-fascia, that is checked and replaced if needed before the new board goes over it.
Modern roofline systems use uPVC fascia and soffit boards that slot together into a channel system. The soffit typically slides into a channel at the foot of the fascia and is supported at the wall end by a vented or plain soffit board carrier fixed to the wall.
Vented soffits include small slots or a continuous vent strip that allows air into the roof void. Building regulations require adequate roof space ventilation, and replacing solid old soffits with unvented uPVC without adding ventilation elsewhere is not acceptable. Ask any contractor how ventilation is handled on your particular roof.
uPVC fascia boards are available in various profiles and widths. The width needed depends on the depth of the rafter feet and the overhang of the roof. Getting this right matters: a board that is too narrow will leave a gap above it; too wide and it will look out of proportion and may interfere with the first tile course.
Boards should be cut cleanly with purpose-made saws, not angle grinders. Joints need to use expansion couplers because uPVC moves with temperature change - a butt joint will open up in cold weather. Corners are made with moulded corner pieces, not mitre cuts, because a mitre joint in uPVC will crack over time.
The guttering clips to the fascia via gutter brackets. Bracket spacing matters: too far apart and the gutter will sag, hold water, and eventually pull away from its joints. A maximum of one metre between brackets is standard; closer spacing is better on long runs.
Fall is critical. The gutter must drop consistently towards the outlet. A long run that looks level to the eye is almost certainly not draining correctly. A string line or spirit level should be used to set brackets at the right height before the gutter is clipped in.
Downpipes need to be positioned where they can connect to an existing drain or soakaway. Moving a downpipe position is possible but adds cost. The connection at the foot of the downpipe to the drain or soakaway should be checked - a blocked or broken underground connection is a common problem that no amount of new guttering will solve.
Standard half-round and square-line gutter profiles are both widely available. Square-line carries more water and looks cleaner on modern properties; half-round suits older and period homes. Both are available in black, white, and grey.
Once the guttering is on, the joints and union pieces need to be checked individually. The proper test is to pour water from a bucket or use a hosepipe and watch the full run. Every joint should be dry on the outside once water has stopped flowing. Any drip indicates a joint that has not been pushed fully home or a seal that needs attention.
Fascia and soffit boards should be checked for square, for consistent colour match where different sections join, and for any gaps at the soffit-to-wall junction that could let birds or bats in.
All old material, packaging, and off-cuts should leave the site on the day. You should be left with a clear, clean roofline and no debris.
Timber fascias and soffits were standard until the 1990s and still suit some older property types well, but they require repainting every five to seven years and will eventually rot if that maintenance is missed. uPVC needs no painting and does not rot, which is why it has become the default for replacement work on most houses.
On a listed building or within a conservation area, you may be required to use timber or to match existing profiles. Check with the relevant planning authority before assuming uPVC is acceptable in your case.
For guttering, uPVC is the standard choice for most houses. Cast iron guttering on Victorian and Edwardian properties looks better and lasts longer when maintained, but it is heavier, costlier to install, and needs repainting. Steel guttering sits between the two - tougher than uPVC and lighter than cast iron.
Prices vary by property size, the number of elevations being done, and what the inspection reveals about the condition of the timber behind the boards. Rough figures for a typical semi-detached house are:
These are honest typical UK figures and not quotes. A properly specified price can only be given after an inspection. Be cautious of any price given without someone looking at the job.
When choosing a roofline contractor, check that they work in your own town and nearby villages before booking. Call us to arrange a roofline inspection and we will tell you honestly what needs doing and what can wait.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
