Gutters Fascias and Soffits.

[sweetheart]

Hi,

I had a quote from a company I have used for most of my house for fitting new facias soffits and gutters ( capped over existing) for £4000.I was a bit shocked to be honest. Am I unreasonable to think this is rather expe nsive? I have a two bedroom bungalow (four sides) 26ft on one side and 33ft oblong.

I am now thinking of getting OH to do it. But I have run into problems.

a) Of the many sorts of plastic on the market,which thickness is best.

I am also having difficulty sourcing somewhere locally to sell me just the plastic bits.

b)Can someone explain simply how you fit soffits and facias over the existi ng?

(OH can already do guttering no problems there).

c) Would I just be better off painting and leaving it a few more years?

Its cast iron guttering .The wood of the facias etc. is good and has been w ell painted( until I arrived anyway).

Any reasonable answers. Thanks.

[Chris Hogg]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Get OH to paint it, or get a quote from a professional decorator.

[John Rumm]

Its fairly pricey... certainly one of those jobs that will be much cheaper if you can DIY.

For the facia board, you normally use a relatively thin board when over boarding. Guttering tends to be a one thickness fits all thing.

There are loads of suppliers of uPVC stuff about, but there are plenty online, and places like Wickes will have what you need as well.

The facia is L shaped - it has a lip at the bottom. So you take off the existing gutter. Trim to the right depth, and then nail it onto the face of the existing facia so that the lip wraps round the bottom of the wood hiding it. You leave a small gap between the bottom of the existing facia and the lip.

You then get vee board of similar material for the soffit. That's a wide plastic T & G board that is made to look like smaller individual board (each lenth is profiled into three "planks" normally. That you cut into appropriate lengths, and support one end under the lip on the facia, and the other is held by a channel or trim you fix to the wall or existing soffit.

Depends on what is actually wrong with the existing.

I would be tempted to keep it if its all in good working order and all it lacks is paint.

[Harry Bloomfield]

sweetheart presented the following explanation :

Straight forward semi, just front and back to do, next door had been done. We were quoted £950 and £1200 to do ours - a few years ago now. Because I could do it and make a better job of it, I did it myself.

I think my materials cost was around £200, but front fall pipe was already done. The Plumbcentre stock all you will need. Make sure you use stainless for fixings.

[Robin]

Have you checked that the wood *behind and above* the gutter is in good condition?

I ask because cast iron guttering can be a pain to take down so as to paint the whole fascia. While the wood behind/above doesn't get exposed to much if any sunlight and weather, it can end up rotten while the regularly painted wood below is in good nick :(

[dennis]

Mine cost ~£160 but its a quarter of the size.

The quote you have must include rebuilding the walls!

[Tricky Dicky]

£4000 is ridiculous for a bungalow of your size, something nearer a qu arter that cost I can understand. Be careful of just covering rotten wood, we had that done round a square bay window at the last house only because t he zinc roof of it would have needed replacing to do otherwise. The job loo ked OK for a while but movement of the underlying fascias caused some long term problems.

At our present house covering was done with the same result but the most si gnificant problem was the reduction of the tile overhang which by the time the gutters were fitted resulted in a gap behind the gutters allowing water to drip down the fascias. I have had to put in felt support trays to ensur e water ended up in the gutters.

If replacing, the advised solution, then 16mm fascias are the answer. If co vering 9mm should be the maximum.

Richard

[tabbypurr]

g new facias soffits and gutters ( capped over existing) for £4000.I w as a bit shocked to be honest. Am I unreasonable to think this is rather ex pensive? I have a two bedroom bungalow (four sides) 26ft on one side and 33 ft oblong.

e plastic bits.

well painted( until I arrived anyway).

4k sounds silly. Do it yerself. Just be aware cast iron gutter is heavy stu ff. Reuse it, obviously.

NT

[Andrew]

Since scaffolding will not be necessary this is a rip off.

Neighbour paid £2500 for a two-bed semi (house) and this included scaffolding and replacing the soft/rotten timber that comprises the outer rail of the gable end ladder (the 4 x 2 timber that the barge boards nail onto).

Normal practise is to remove existing fascia boards and replace with

12 mm OSB cut into strips with the same width as the stuff being removed. Nail this onto the ends of the rafters so that it supports the last row of tiles correctly. Push the tile back and use some 12 inc wide DPC to *underlap* the sarking felt which will have frayed and sagged, and *over*lap the OSB by about 2 inches. Nail the hockey stick UPVC moulding over the top using the correct pins. leave a gap between the OSB and the horizontal bit at the bottom so that the soffit board can slot into it. Some means of support will be needed for thr soffit board if you live in a windy area.

[Brian Gaff]

I had my two sides of a terraced property done for under 2000, perhaps the bloke just does not want the job so priced it high.

Which reminds me, ever since we have been here in the house there has been no felt in the loft where the tiles are. a bloke told me the roof needed rebuilding but to me it seems pretty robust. the only issue with having air blowing in the loft seems to be when we get the wrong kind of snow, ie the powdery stuff, which ends up on top of the lagging and melts there. so far no harm seems to have been done though. Brian

[Tim Lamb]

er.. shouldn't there be ventilation between the sarking/membrane and the fascia?

[Robin]

Why use OSB when structural 16mm or 18mm uPVC is so readily available? That is less work; and reduces the risk of the gutter ending up too far out as TD encountered.

[alan_m]

Get more quotes from local firms

My mother had quotes for a semi detached ranging from around £1.5k nearly £5K. The cheapest quote was from a local family firm that specialised in such work.

Perhaps your builder doesn't want this kind of work and has quoted a price that guarantees that he doesn't get it - or enough to sub-contract the work out and still make a profit.

[ARW]

I had a quote from a company I have used for most of my house for fitting new facias soffits and gutters ( capped over existing) for £4000.I was a bit shocked to be honest. Am I unreasonable to think this is rather expensive? I have a two bedroom bungalow (four sides) 26ft on one side and 33ft oblong.

Sounds fair to me. Splash the cash and stop worrying - nothing can go wrong.

[Andy Burns]

Or the quotes they give are inversely proportional to the likelihood they think the owner can/will DIY the job.

[sweetheart]

Thanks for the reply. Since yesterday I have had a good look at the existin g guttering , soffits and fascia (OH was out cutting down a tree that had g rown over 40 feet -a big job, so I had ladders and step ladders and could t ake a look easily)

They are all in good order. However, I really knew this and was only consi dering plastic because everyone tells me how maintenance free they are. I am seriously considering painting it - at least for this year now. The re ason it looks tatty is because the brown paint I put over it around 15 year s ago is coming away and showing the green paint that was previously there in a few places. A good clean would sort most of it. Even the cast iron gu ttering is in good shape - a couple of brackets need replacing. ( I know it s heavy to take down).

I am a bit disappointed in the quote to be honest.I had expected around £1600- £2000 max

I am inclined to not fix what isn't broke now.

My OH knows a painter - an old friend since school days (he is good, retire d now but been in the trade over 40 years) who has taken a look at it last night and offered to paint it for £600. He says its in good conditio n and wont take above three days.

I have asked him to paint (and wallpaper) my kitchen right now......so I mi ght tag this on the end.

[sweetheart]

The firm concerned did all my windows and even put a door in.They did my mo thers fascias soffits and guttering last year( a four bed bungalow-much big ger than mine)and charged her £1800.

I am beginning to think he saw me coming..... shame, I liked the firm. He m isjudged if he thinks OH cannot DIY. My OH was a plumber until he retired.H e had a head injury (recovered considerably now) and found it hard to carry on - his speed was not there for commercial work). He has never worked on plastic roof lines though. He doesn't really enjoy doing this sort of work now and I thought it would be better to get someone. Not to mention OH is p ast retirement age (although at 66 most would say can still do it).

[sweetheart]

Thanks for the reply.I dont think I want to pay that much. Why is it of all the replies yours is the only one that went to my g mail?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Probably because he sent it that way. You don't mean that that is actually a real live email address you have used?

Madness. 100 spams an hour if you put a live email address on t'Internet.

[tabbypurr]

red now but been in the trade over 40 years) who has taken a look at it la st night and offered to paint it for £600. He says its in good condit ion and wont take above three days.

I've never paid anyone £200 a day to paint!

NT