Fascia, soffit and guttering replacement in Hamworthy

Everything comes off. The old fascia, soffit and bargeboard come off, which is the only way to see the rafter feet behind them. Any rotten rafter ends get repaired, then new uPVC boards go up with a vented soffit, a new gutter and downpipe, and the bottom of the roof finished properly: an eaves felt support tray or a new strip of underlay so water drips into the gutter, not behind it. A semi is usually two or three days.

Capping over, and when we say no. If your house had plastic capping boards fixed over the original timber, check behind them. It looks fine while the timber inside quietly rots, and eventually the gutter brackets have nothing to screw into. We will only cap over timber that is sound, so if the boards behind have gone, expect us to recommend a strip and replace.

Gutters and downpipes on their own. Where the boards are sound we can replace just the rainwater system. Half round plastic on Hamworthy houses from the seventies and eighties leaks at the unions and the rubber seals, and it sags where the brackets are too far apart. The new gutter is set to a steady fall toward the outlet, with brackets close enough that it holds its line when the wind gets under it. Square, ogee or a deepflow section if your roof sheds a lot of water into one corner.

Bungalows. There are plenty in Hamworthy, and their long, low runs mean the gutter takes the water off the whole roof at one level. A bungalow roofline usually comes off a tower, which keeps the access simpler.

Soffits and ventilation. If your loft has no eaves ventilation at all, condensation shows up as damp on the loft side of the roof. A vented soffit or an over fascia vent lets air in along the eaves, provided the insulation is not pushed against it. Wasps and birds nesting behind loose soffit boards are dealt with when the boards come off.

Where the water goes. A new downpipe is only as good as what it discharges into. We check that the shoe or the gully at the bottom is clear, and tell you if a blocked drain or soakaway is the real reason the gutter backs up.

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 Hamworthy bungalow with a long straight run, a semi with a gable end and a porch in the way, and a terrace where the run crosses next door all price differently. 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.

Hamworthy is BH15, across the harbour from Poole Quay and about 7.7 miles from our base in Boscombe. We cover the whole peninsula, from Lower Hamworthy and Carter's Quay by the bridges, through Central Hamworthy and Lake, out to Rockley and Cobbs Quay, and Turlin Moor on the Upton side.

BCP Council is the planning and building control 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. Before you book a visit in Hamworthy, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Hamworthy 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.