Two quotes for gutter repairs

ftatman

I’ve had a couple of guttering firms come out and given quotes of £300 and £550 respectively to repair my gutters. The fascia board has rotted and the gutter fixings have come loose.

The cheaper quote is from a younger but reputable guy. He identified and has offered to replace the fascia board but he didn’t mention addressing some of the things identified by the second quote. He went up and showed me with a camera though - rather than just looking from ground level.

The more expensive quote includes replacing the sarking felt under the first row of roof tiles. This guy was clearly very experienced and goes for high quality jobs, but also almost double the price.

The issue is, I can’t tell if I should go for the more robust repairs or not. The original issue I wanted fixed related to water spilling from the gutter - not damp inside. So at the moment I am leaning towards the cheaper job to see if it fixes the original problem, rather than going the whole hog (even if I typically believe in ‘buy nice or pay twice’). Does that seem sensible?

Both guys come highly recommended on local Facebook groups. Should I seek more quotes until I am more confident in taking a decision?

Mickey666

If the sarking felt (more accurately the 'eaves protection' layer) is no longer guiding water into the gutter then that might be the reason the gutters are spilling water and also why the fascia board has rotted.  I'm not sure it's fair to say the more expensive quote is really nearly twice the price because it sounds as if it's quoting for different - and more complete - work.  For a more accurate comparison perhaps you should ask for the cheaper quote to include the replacement of the sarking felt below the bottom two layers of tiles?  You'd then be comparing like-for-like.

This diagram shows how eaves protection works, to ensure all water from the roof is guided into the gutter instead of just dripping from tiles and potentially spilling if tiles and guttering are not perfectly aligned.  Sarking felt is commonly extended into the gutting for this purpose but it's not idea as many sarking materials are not UV-stable, so can decay over time.  perhaps this is what has happened?  A specifically designed eaves protection strip is usually a better solution.