Replace Fascias and Soffits with UPVC or repainting?

moneysavingmicromels

Our guttering needs replacing and the Fascias and Soffits on our 1970's house need repainting / replacing. Is it worth getting them done in UPVC? Our house is a 3 story end of terrace town house so scaffolding will be needed. A quote to replace with UPVC has come in at £3,200 which includes front, back and gable end of property.
I'm wondering if sanding it down, repainting and replacing the guttering will come in much cheaper?
Has anyone any experience / wisdom they can share?

Dan-Dan

whatever you choose (and if you go UPVC make sure the the wooden fascias etc are removed , not capped) £3200 is FAR FAR too high

Ben84

I've never paid that much to paint the house, and have found a good paint job can last years. Plus there's the potential to give your house some individuality with paint. There's so much white plastic everywhere around here. My wooden windows/doors, trim and guttering in light and dark blue stand out.

phil24_7

If the wood is in good condition the just paint it. If it is starting to rot though then it will need replacing and PVC will be cheaper and easier.

It may be possible to do it all from tower scaffolding rather than proper scaffolding and this would save a fair old whack.

Regards
Phil

moneysavingmicromels

Thanks everyone. I've got a couple more quotes to come in. The company who quoted initially said £1200 of the cost was just for the scaffolding on 3 sides of our house - a small fortune!!

dominoman

Get it painted. It will look better, far better, than UPVC.

Don't kid yourself that you won't be able to tell the difference. Every time you look at it you will know it is plastic, and so will everyone else.

Painting it will cost a few hundred pounds and can probably be done with ladders. It will look great and will last 7-10 years before needing to be done again.

Furts

dominoman wrote: »

Get it painted. It will look better, far better, than UPVC.

Don't kid yourself that you won't be able to tell the difference. Every time you look at it you will know it is plastic, and so will everyone else.

Painting it will cost a few hundred pounds and can probably be done with ladders. It will look great and will last 7-10 years before needing to be done again.

Similar views to mine. I was looking at some "David Wilson" built houses yesterday, built around 25 years ago. Many were ruined by the application of cowboy builder upvc fascias and soffits. All these were in breach of the Buildings Regulations.

A few had the original details and some had not been redecorated since they were built. The woodwork was looking shabby but 25 years in an exposed location is a good life for coat of paint. The common sense approach would be to redecorate these, save a fortune compared with cowboy builders upvc quotes, and maintain a quality detail to the houses.

moneysavingmicromels

Thank you so much! What sort of trade do I need to look at to repaint them? I'm looking at roof / fascia companies at the moment but they just seem to offer UPVC replacements and not a repainting option.

EssexExile

moneysavingmicromels wrote: »

What sort of trade do I need to look at to repaint them?

Painter & decorator.

moneysavingmicromels

I can't see a painter and decorator wanting to replace the guttering but I'll give it a go....

dominoman

moneysavingmicromels wrote: »

I can't see a painter and decorator wanting to replace the guttering but I'll give it a go....

Then get another quote. Most of them will be more than happy to do guttering. It's a lot easier than painting.

In fact the painter that did my soffits replaced my gutters free of charge (I bought the materials). I wanted to pay him extra but he refused. It was easier for him to remove old ones and replace with new than it was to screw the old ones back in after painting.