Thetford Roofers replaces and repairs fascias, soffits, bargeboards, and guttering for homeowners in Feltwell and the surrounding villages.
Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
The roofline is the row of boards and channels that runs along the very edge of your roof. Fascias are the flat boards fixed directly behind your gutters. Soffits are the boards tucked underneath the eaves, bridging the gap between the fascia and the wall. Bargeboards run up the sloping edges of a gable end. Together they seal the roof structure from rain, frost and pests, and they carry the guttering that channels rainwater safely away from your walls and foundations.
When any part of this system fails, water finds its way into places it should never reach. Rot spreads from the fascia into the roof timbers. Damp creeps down the wall cavity. Ceilings develop stains that look minor but point to a much bigger problem behind them. Replacing a set of fascias and soffits before that happens is considerably cheaper than repairing the timber damage that follows if you leave it.
You do not always need to get up on a ladder to spot problems. From the ground, look for paint that is peeling or flaking, boards that look swollen or have started to bow outward, and gutters that sag between brackets or overflow during rain even though they appear clear of debris. Dark staining down the wall below a gutter joint is a reliable sign the joint has failed.
Closer up, common problems include:
Any one of these is worth dealing with promptly. A leaking gutter joint left over a winter will saturate the wall below it, and once that moisture is in the masonry it takes a long time to dry out.
uPVC does not rot, does not need painting, and holds its colour for many years. It is available in white, black, brown, and a range of woodgrain finishes, so it can be matched to existing windows and doors without looking out of place. Standard white uPVC is the most economical choice. Woodgrain foil-wrapped boards cost a little more but are worth considering if the rest of the property has dark-framed windows.
Timber remains the right choice on certain properties - listed buildings, or homes where the planning authority has a view on materials. Timber fascias and soffits can be painted to any colour and are easier to repair in sections than uPVC. The trade-off is that they need repainting roughly every five to eight years and must be kept well sealed at all joints and end grain to resist moisture. If you are replacing timber like-for-like, use a treated softwood rather than untreated, and prime all cut ends before fitting.
Whatever material you choose, the quality of the installation matters as much as the product. Boards fixed into rotten backing timber will not stay up. End caps must be properly mitred and sealed. Expansion gaps must be allowed for in uPVC runs, or the boards will buckle in summer heat.
A full roofline replacement starts with stripping off the old guttering, then removing the existing fascias and soffits. This exposes the ends of the roof rafters and the tops of the wall plates. Any rotten timber is cut back and replaced at this stage - fitting new fascias over damaged backing timber defeats the purpose of the job. The new boards are then fitted, starting with the soffits and working outward to the fascias, before the guttering is rehung on the new boards.
Downpipes come off and go back on as part of the same job. Any existing swan-neck offsets are checked and replaced if they have cracked. Gutter brackets are spaced to give the correct fall toward the downpipe - typically a drop of around 1 in 600 along the run - so that water drains cleanly rather than sitting and causing joints to weep.
How long the job takes depends on the size and layout of the property. Larger detached properties or those with complex rooflines, multiple gable ends, or difficult access may take two. Scaffolding may be needed depending on the height and configuration of the building.
Standard half-round guttering in 112mm is what you will find on most homes built before the 1990s. Square-line guttering gives a more modern look and is now fitted on most new builds. Both are available in uPVC and in cast iron for heritage properties. Cast iron guttering is heavier, more expensive, and needs painting, but it is the appropriate choice where the original was cast iron and the character of the house calls for it.
Oversized or deep-flow guttering in 150mm is worth considering on a large roof with a long run before it reaches a downpipe. Standard 112mm guttering can cope with normal rainfall on a typical domestic roof, but on a large roof area it can be overwhelmed in a heavy downpour and water will spill over the front edge of the gutter rather than draining away. Fitting larger guttering from the outset removes this problem.
Downpipe sizes should be matched to the gutter. A 112mm gutter is designed to drain into a 68mm downpipe. Fitting an undersized downpipe creates a bottleneck and the gutter will back up and overflow at the joint instead.
This is the part of the job that trips up a lot of homeowners, and it is worth spending a few minutes on before you pick up the phone. Fascia and soffit work does not require a licence, so anyone can offer it. The difference between a good job and a poor one is not always obvious from the finished surface - the problems often show up a year later when a board starts to lift or a gutter pulls away.
Any contractor worth using should be able to give you a written breakdown of what the quote includes. At a minimum this should specify the materials being used (brand and profile if possible), whether rotten backing timber is included in the price or will be charged as an extra, and what the scope of the guttering work covers. A quote that just says "supply and fit fascias and soffits" without further detail gives you no basis for comparison and no protection if something is left out.
If a contractor gives you a verbal price only and is reluctant to put it in writing, that is a significant warning sign. It is also reasonable to ask what happens if they find rotten rafter feet or wall plate damage once the old boards are stripped. A good contractor will explain their process for this before work starts, not surprise you with an additional bill halfway through the job.
There are a number of items that sometimes fall in and out of quotes depending on how the contractor prices the job. Before you agree, ask specifically:
These items are not expensive in themselves, but if they are excluded from the quote and then appear on the final bill, the job ends up costing noticeably more than you expected.
Ask whether the contractor can point you to any completed jobs in Feltwell or nearby. It is not always possible, and many homeowners prefer not to have their address shared, but a contractor who has genuinely been working in the area for some time will usually be able to describe jobs they have done locally without needing to give specific addresses. You can also ask how long they have been doing this type of work and whether fascia and soffit installation is a regular part of their business or something they take on occasionally alongside other trades.
A few technical questions will quickly tell you whether a contractor knows the job properly. Ask how they handle the expansion gaps in uPVC runs - a knowledgeable fitter will explain that uPVC expands and contracts with temperature and that joints must be left with a small gap, typically around 3-5mm, to allow for this. If they look blank, that is a concern.
Ask what they do if they find rotten rafter ends once the old fascias are stripped. The correct answer is to cut back to sound timber and splice in new treated wood before fitting the new boards. If they say they will just fit over the top, walk away.
Ask what profile of guttering they are proposing and why. A contractor who can explain the difference between half-round and square-line, or who asks about the size of your roof before recommending a gutter size, is more likely to fit a system that actually works than one who fits the cheapest available regardless of the property.
A common tactic in this trade is the urgent survey followed by a same-day decision discount. A contractor knocks, offers a free inspection, points out problems from the ladder, and then presents a quote valid only for that day. The pressure is deliberate. Genuine problems with fascias and soffits are real but rarely require you to sign anything the same afternoon. Take at least two quotes, and do not let anyone rush you into a decision before you have had time to think about it.
If a contractor says the job needs to start within days to prevent urgent damage, ask them to show you exactly what they are pointing to and to explain in plain terms what will happen if the work is delayed by two weeks while you get a second opinion. A fair answer is possible. Vague warnings about serious damage without any specific detail are not.
Once the job is done, the fascias and soffits should sit flush and level with no visible gaps at joints or corners. End caps should be fully home with no gaps at the edges. Gutters should drain visibly toward the downpipe - you can check this with a watering can on a dry day. There should be no visible fixings through the face of uPVC guttering where expansion is intended. All old waste material should be removed from the site.
If anything looks wrong when the job is finished, raise it before the contractor leaves. A board that is not sitting right or a gutter bracket that looks misaligned is much easier to sort out on the day than after the scaffolding has gone and the team has moved on to the next job.
Bargeboards are the boards that run up the sloping edges at the gable end of a property. They serve the same protective function as fascias but are more exposed to wind-driven rain because of their angle. On many older homes the bargeboards are the first part of the roofline to show rot because they tend to be a little thinner than fascia boards and the end grain at the ridge is often poorly sealed. They are replaced using the same uPVC or timber options as fascias and should be done at the same time if the rest of the roofline is being renewed.
Alongside Feltwell, we carry out fascia, soffit and guttering work across the surrounding area including Thetford, Brandon, Mundford, and nearby villages. We also cover work in Mildenhall, Lakenheath, and across to Bury St Edmunds when required. If you are not sure whether we cover your postcode, give us a call and we will confirm.
If your gutters are leaking, your fascias are showing signs of rot, or you simply cannot remember the last time the roofline was looked at, call us to arrange a roof survey. We will assess the condition of your fascias, soffits, bargeboards and guttering and give you a clear picture of what needs doing and what it will cost.
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Call any time. Calls are answered day and night and passed straight to our roofers.
