Fascias and Guttering

[Chris J Dixon]

I'm currently getting prices for having replacement fascias, soffits & gutters fitted, and there seem to be interesting differences in the claims of the various firms.

The materials seem to be provided by the likes of Swish, Freefoam, Eurofoam, Marley, and it is hard to get much of an idea of how they rank relative to each other.

I like the idea of over-fascia ventilators, as being less likely to show dirt than slotted soffits, but one guy seemed strongly against them. He resisted my efforts to get him to explain in detail, but seemed concerned about the weight of the tiles bearing down on the ventilator.

Most firms offer continuous aluminium gutters, at a higher price, though one firm charges no extra, since it was less likely to result in a call-out to deal with leaks. Personally, plastic seems fine to me.

Any thoughts?

Chris

[dom]

Plastic fascias and soffits - wouldn't touch them, I'm a traditionalist.

Continuous aluminium gutters, very good. In my place, on an older building, the masonry is bowed and the bit of flex in the gutter is ideal to take this up. Downpipes are cast aluminium matching a traditional cast iron pattern. I was concerned the aluminium gutter might look out of place - but in fact just disappears against the masonry/wooden fascia/slates.

[Rory]

Get black guttering of you can bear it, especially if you have limited access to get up there and clean it.

White guttering get dirty / green quickly and it's almost as much trouble to clean it as was to paint the old guttering.

[Man at B&Q]

Check whether the quote is for complete replacement of fascias with thicker profile, or simply cladding the existing with thin profile.

MBQ