Fascia, soffit and guttering replacement in Breamore

The parts. Fascia, soffit and bargeboard, with capping where somebody has clad over the timber already. On the water side the gutter, its outlets, the hopper heads on the taller elevations, the unions between lengths, the brackets, the downpipes and the shoes. On older Breamore buildings the brackets are often driven into the rafter feet, not screwed to a fascia, which changes the job completely and is one of the first things we look for.

Working out what has gone. A screwdriver in the fascia behind the gutter tells you whether the board is sound or spongy. Blown and peeling paint means water has been getting behind it for years. On cast iron the failure is rust at the back of the socket, a joint weeping, or a length sagging where a bracket has corroded away. Overflow in heavy rain is often not a blockage at all: it is a run with no fall, or a gutter far too small for the slope feeding it.

Repair before replacement. Cast iron that is sound in the barrel can be taken down, cleaned back, re-bedded at the joints, primed and painted, and it will outlast anything plastic put up in its place. Timber that is sound can be filled, primed and repainted. Where the rot has gone through, the old board comes off so the rafter feet, the wall plate, the tilt fillet and the felt support tray can be checked and the underlay dressed to drip into the gutter. Capping over a rotten fascia hides the problem, and on a Breamore building of this age it is the wrong answer.

Choosing what goes back. Painted timber, cast iron, aluminium or uPVC, in half round, ogee, square or deepflow. Half round on brackets is what most of these Breamore buildings had and it usually stays. Where a long slope drains into one short length, a deeper profile or a second outlet solves an overflow that clearing never will. Aluminium is worth knowing about: it looks close to cast iron from the ground and does not rust.

Ventilation, water and wildlife. Old eaves breathe through gaps rather than vents, so closing them up with new boards is how a dry roof space turns damp, and Approved Document F is why vents go into new soffit work. We check where every downpipe discharges, into a gully, a soakaway or a shoe, because one emptying against a wall keeps the brickwork wet and driving rain finishes the job. Birds and wasps nest behind gapped soffits, and moss and debris off the tiles block the outlets.

The material you are putting back. Plastic is the cheapest to buy and fit. Cast iron and aluminium cost more and take longer to hang, and cast iron needs painting. Timber fascias need priming, painting and, on older buildings, matching a moulded profile. On a listed building the choice may already be made for you.

What is behind the boards. A fascia that has rotted usually means years of water running behind it. With the board removed, the rafter ends and the wall plate behind are on show, and any rot can be dealt with. Plastic capping over a rotten board only hides it, so the old boards come off.

The shape of the building. A long straight eaves is quick. Dormers, hips, corner returns and a run over a porch or bay each add time. So does every outlet, hopper head and downpipe, and so does resetting the fall so the gutter empties rather than holds water.

Access. A low eaves over a flower border needs a tower placed with care. A two storey gable needs a scaffold, and because of the work at height rules the scaffold is priced on a line of its own.

When comparing, find out whether the old boards are coming off or being capped, what material is going back and whether it needs consent, and whether the downpipes are included.

Thomas Hannen, the owner, comes to see your roofline and prices it in person. Breamore is a 16.1 mile drive for him from Boscombe, and he covers Woodgreen, Rockbourne, Sandleheath, Fordingbridge and the rest of the Avon valley in SP6, where New Forest District Council is the council.

Behind the name is Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales, number 15471719. A customer whose review Checkatrade verified scored the work 10 out of 10. Measuring up costs nothing, and neither does the itemised written quote for each run. Before you book a visit in Breamore, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Breamore 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.