Fascia, soffit and guttering replacement in Bransgore

The boards. Fascia, soffit, bargeboard and the capping over a gable ladder are one assembly. On the older properties in Bransgore they are painted softwood, and softwood behind a gutter never really dries out.

It rots at the end of a length, under a weeping union, and along its top edge where the felt has been shedding onto it. Peeling, blown paint is the warning sign, and a screwdriver is the test: if the point goes in, the board is finished whatever the paint looks like from below.

What sits behind them. Off come the boards and you can finally see the rafter feet, the wall plate and the bottom course of tiles. Soft rafter ends get cut back and spliced. The tilt fillet that kicks the bottom tile up goes back in, and a tray goes under the felt so it carries out over the lip of the gutter instead of stopping short and shedding behind it. That is the whole case against capping. Screwing plastic over a wet board hides it and holds the damp in. Over a dry, sound, well fixed board, capping over is a sensible job and we will price it as one.

The rainwater run. Gutter, outlets, unions, brackets, hoppers, downpipes and shoes all get renewed or refixed one item at a time. Half round is the ordinary profile, ogee is the square fronted one that sits tight to the fascia, and deepflow is worth specifying where a long or steep slope sheds into a single short length and the existing run overflows in every downpour. Materials go from uPVC through aluminium, which comes in longer lengths with fewer joints, to cast iron on the older Bransgore properties, which we would rather strip, prime and paint than remove.

Fall, fixing and proving it. On an exposed Bransgore elevation the fixings do the work, so this is where the time goes. The line is struck first, the fall set towards the outlet, and the brackets go in closer than the minimum, because a length that can bow in a gale will bow. Each takes a screw into sound timber and not into a soft edge. Downpipes are clipped back tight to the wall, since a pipe with slack in it is what a south westerly pulls off. Then water in at one end and out at the shoe, into a gully rather than at the brickwork.

Air and nuisance. Air matters in Bransgore as much as water. A roof space needs a through draught, so the eaves ventilation goes in as the boards go back and the gap above the loft insulation is left genuinely open rather than stuffed. Skip that and you find condensation beading on the underside of the felt in January and damp settling into the timbers. Closing gaps is the other half of it. An open verge is an invitation to nesting birds and wasps, and moss and grit washed down off the tiles is what fills an outlet until it is blocked.

How much board there is. A bungalow has roofline on every side, and a deep overhang means a wide soffit as well as the fascia. A detached house has less eaves but taller gables with bargeboards and a box end at each corner. Measure it and a bungalow often has more metres than a two storey house.

What is behind the old boards. Painted softwood fascias from that era rot from the top edge, where the gutter drips behind them. Once they come off, you can see whether the rafter feet and wall plate are still sound. Capping plastic over the old timber hides the rot, which is why the old boards come off here.

The soffit material. Plain timber or plywood is quick to strip. An old asbestos cement sheet needs testing and careful removal, and that changes the day.

Where the water goes. Bransgore sits on clay that shrinks in dry summers and swells in wet winters. A downpipe that empties onto the ground beside the wall puts water straight at the foundation. Taking it to a gully or a proper outfall, as Approved Document H expects, is extra work, and worth pricing properly.

Access. A tower along a bungalow, a scaffold on a gable, and the work at height rules behind both.

Ask any other quote whether the old fascia comes off or gets capped, what happens if the rafter feet are rotten, and whether the soffit has been checked.

Thomas Hannen owns the business, and he is the one who comes to look at your fascias and soffits and puts the price in writing. He travels 5.6 miles from the base in Boscombe to reach Bransgore, and covers the bungalows and houses all through the village, out along Ringwood Road and to Hinton, Thorney Hill, Sopley and Highcliffe.

The council is New Forest District Council. The limited company is Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, number 15471719, registered in England and Wales. A verified customer rated the firm 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. The visit to measure up is free, and so is the itemised quote that follows. Before you book a visit in Bransgore, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Bransgore need no application at all. What decides whether a change to the outside of your house does is who the council is, whether a conservation area or a listing applies, and whether the place sits in a protected landscape.