Fascias, soffits and guttering 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 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 rather than 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 of these 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.

No rate per square metre, because a metre of fascia over a bay is not the same metre as one on a straight gable.

Getting to it. A low cottage with the eaves over a border, a long stable or outbuilding range, and a two storey house set back off the lane are three different set ups before a board is touched. A bungalow run comes off a tower, a two or three storey gable wants a scaffold, and a run over a conservatory or a bay window means building the platform around it. The work at height rules are why the access is a priced line rather than something absorbed into a rate.

What is behind the boards. Rotten fascia is a symptom. The question is whether the rafter feet and the wall plate behind it are still sound, and nobody knows until the old board comes off. Capping over with plastic hides that instead of fixing it, which is why we take the old boards off rather than clad them.

The run, not the metre. A straight gable is quick. Bay windows, a conservatory in the way, a corner return, a run that has to be worked around a satellite dish or a service cable, and every outlet, hopper and downpipe are priced one at a time. So is putting the fall back: a gutter hung level looks fine and holds water all year.

Comparing quotes? Ask whether the old boards are coming off or being capped over, what happens if the rafter feet or the wall plate turn out to be rotten, whether the gutter, outlets and downpipes are all being renewed or only the fascia, and whether the scaffold is in the price. Two quotes for the same job are usually two different jobs.

We cover East Boldre, Beaulieu, Boldre, Norleywood, Pilley and the lanes towards Lymington, broadly SO42, under the New Forest National Park Authority. You are dealing with Bournemouth Roofing & Building, the trading name of Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719, which you can look up in a minute. Thomas Hannen's business, and he is the one who comes out to price the job, not a salesman. A verified customer's 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. The visit and the written quote are both free.