Fascia, soffit and guttering replacement in East Boldre

The parts of it. Fascia, soffit, bargeboard and any capping on the timber side. Gutter, outlets, unions, brackets, stop ends, downpipes and shoes on the water side, with a hopper where a higher roof discharges into a lower one. On older East Boldre buildings the gutter brackets are often driven straight into the rafter feet rather than screwed to a fascia, which changes both the job and the price, so it is the first thing we check.

Finding out what has actually failed. A screwdriver into the fascia behind the gutter tells you whether the board is sound or spongy. Blown, peeling paint means water has been sitting behind it. A run sagging between brackets, a length pulled away from the wall, a leaking joint at a union, and overflow at the back of the gutter rather than over the front are four different faults with four different fixes, and only the last of them soaks the wall.

Stripping, not cladding. Capping plastic over an old timber fascia is quick, and where the timber is dry and firm it is a fair, cheaper answer. Over a soft board it seals the damp in and the brackets tear out a few winters later. So we take the old boards off, look at the rafter feet and the wall plate while they are open, reset the tilt fillet, fit a felt support tray so the underlay drips into the gutter instead of behind it, and put the bottom course of tiles and the verge back properly.

Materials, profile and fall. uPVC, painted timber, cast iron kept where it is worth keeping, or aluminium on a long unbroken run. Half round, ogee, square or deepflow, picked by how much water the slope above actually sheds. A big roof draining into one short half round run overflows in every downpour however clean it is. The new run is re-hung to a fall with the brackets at proper spacing, because a gutter hung dead level looks smart and holds water all year.

Where the water goes, and what lives up there. There is no surface water sewer down most East Boldre lanes, so a downpipe discharges to a gully or a soakaway on your own ground, and Approved Document H covers how that is meant to work. A shoe emptying against the wall keeps the brickwork wet and driving rain does the rest. New soffits keep the eaves ventilation and the air gap into the loft, which is what Approved Document F is about, and closing them properly is what stops birds and wasps nesting behind the boards and moss and debris blocking the outlets.

Reaching the eaves. A low East Boldre cottage with its eaves over a flower border, a long stable range and a two storey house set back from the lane each need their own access. Single storey work is done off a tower, a two storey gable is scaffold, and a conservatory or bay under the run means building the platform round it. Under the work at height rules that access is priced as its own item.

Behind the board. A rotten fascia tells you water has been getting in. The real question is the rafter feet and the wall plate, and that is only answered when the board is off. Plastic capping covers the question up.

Downpipes on clay. The ground in East Boldre shrinks in dry weather and swells in wet. A downpipe that empties beside a wall soaks the soil at the footing all winter and lets it dry hard in summer, and that movement can crack the wall. Taking downpipes to a drain or soakaway, as Approved Document H describes, is often part of the work.

Fittings. Outlets, hoppers, corners and downpipes are counted and priced one by one, along with rehanging the gutter so it falls properly on fresh brackets. A vented soffit where the roof space needs air is its own line.

Before choosing, find out from every other firm: boards off or capped, the plan if rafter feet are rotten, scaffold in or extra, and where each downpipe will discharge.

East Boldre, Beaulieu, Boldre, Norleywood, Pilley and the lanes out to Lymington are all in our area, East Boldre itself 16.7 miles from the Boscombe base. Planning applications go to the NPA. The trading company is Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719. Before you book a visit in East Boldre, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

The man who looks at every run and writes your price is its owner, Thomas Hannen. Checkatrade shows a verified 10 out of 10 from one of our customers. Coming out costs nothing, and the itemised written quote is free as well.

Most repairs in East Boldre 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.