Fascia, soffit and guttering replacement in Oakdale

Everything comes off. The old fascia, soffit and any bargeboard come off, which is the only way to see the rafter feet and the wall plate behind them. Soft rafter ends are repaired first.

Then new uPVC boards go up, with a vented soffit and a felt support tray at the eaves so water runs off the tile and underlay into the gutter, not behind the fascia, as BS 5534 expects. An Oakdale semi is usually two or three days, and the new gutter goes up as the boards are finished.

The 1930s bay fronts. Many semis in Oakdale have a two storey bay with its own small roof and a short run of fascia and gutter round the bay, which is fiddly to do well. The angles at each corner need proper mitres and brackets, and the little outlet on the bay often discharges onto the main roof or a porch. We make sure it has somewhere sensible to go.

Capping over. Plenty of Oakdale houses had plastic capping fixed over the original timber years ago. Where the timber is still sound that can be fine, but if the rot has started, capping hides it until the gutter brackets pull out of soft wood. We check with a screwdriver before we agree to cap anything.

Gutters and downpipes on their own. If the boards are sound, we can replace only the rainwater system. Old half round plastic leaks at the unions and sags where the brackets are too far apart. The new gutter is set to a steady fall to the outlet, in half round, square, ogee or a deepflow profile if a big roof slope drains to one corner. Cast iron on older Oakdale houses can be matched in aluminium or cast iron style plastic.

Bungalows. Bungalows make up a large share of Oakdale, and a hipped bungalow has eaves all the way round. That means a long roofline, but it is at one low level, so it usually comes off a tower instead of a full scaffold, which keeps the access cost down.

Where the water ends up. A new gutter is only as good as its discharge. We check that each downpipe shoe runs into a clear gully or a working soakaway, because a blocked drain makes a new gutter back up just like the old one. Green staining and damp patches on the brickwork under a joint tell you where the old run has been leaking, and on the side of the house that takes the driving rain those marks show up first. Moss and debris from the roof are cleared out as the old gutter comes down.

Ventilation. Lofts in older Oakdale houses often have no eaves ventilation, and condensation shows as damp on the underside of the roof. A vented soffit or an over fascia vent fixes that, as long as the loft insulation is not packed against it. Wasp and bird nests behind loose boards are cleared when they come off.

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 hipped bungalow with a continuous run round all four sides, a 1930s Oakdale semi with a two storey bay, and a house with a garage or conservatory under the eaves all need different access. 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.

We replace rooflines across Oakdale and BH15, from Fleetsbridge down Wimborne Road towards Poole, and over to Creekmoor, Canford Heath and Parkstone. BCP Council is the local authority, and our base in Boscombe is about six miles away.

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 Oakdale, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Oakdale 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.