Soffits Fascias & Guttering 4 February at 3:42PM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving 37 replies 1.9K views

badger09

Completed on our 70s built 4 bed detached extended bungalow 2 years ago today.
Gutters & downpipes are UPVC and still serviceable but are brown, some badly bleached by the sun and look awful. 
The soffits/fascias are wood, painted white many years ago which is peeling and there is rot in several places.
I want to improve the external appearance and as we're both in our 70s, we/re keen to minimise future maintenance costs.

Basically I want to get some quotes to replace the lot, but don't know what would be the most cost effective to do, so don't know what questions to ask the contractors.
For example is PVC/steel/aluminium best for gutters & downpipes? Can we just have the existing rotten wood repaired, then clad with PVC, or boxed in, or ripped out & replaced? And how will I know if a quote is reasonable or not?
Hoping for some words of wisdom from the very knowledgeable folk on here & happy to provide further info if necessary.

rubble2

We have a four bedroom detached house (N.W. England) and recently had all the fascias, soffits and gutters replaced in upvc for a total cost of £3800 inclusive of an insurance backed guarantee.

This was for complete removal and replacement of the original timber and replacement with upvc - I wouldn't personally recommend over cladding timber with upvc as I suspect it could lead to hidden problems with rot in the timber.

YoungBlueEyes

Small 3 bed semi East Yorks here. We had all the fascias/soffits/gutters/downpipes etc replaced a couple of months ago. Black + white upvc. Cost £2.2k  (I was offered dark green but that's dearer apparently.)

badger09

Thanks both that gives me some ball park figures. I suspect we’ll be nearer rubbl2’s figure. We’re in rural Shropshire so hopefully not a particularly expensive area. 

Dark green sounds good. I’d be interested in anthracite or very dark blue to tone with new front door & repainted garage door but would be concerned about colour fading. 

Does that happen with black? Or is it just our yukkie brown which is probably the original or early 1990s. 

rubble2

badger09 said:

Thanks both that gives me some ball park figures. I suspect we’ll be nearer rubbl2’s figure. We’re in rural Shropshire so hopefully not a particularly expensive area. 

Dark green sounds good. I’d be interested in anthracite or very dark blue to tone with new front door & repainted garage door but would be concerned about colour fading. 

Does that happen with black? Or is it just our yukkie brown which is probably the original or early 1990s. 

We originally had white soffits and fascias with white gutters and downpipes, we stuck with white for the fascias and soffits but replaced the gutters and downpipes in black (only completed last summer so I hope black doesn't fade).

We did find that the original white gutters and drains got quite badly stained and looked a bit unsightly.

Our motivation was also reduced on-going maintenance.

YoungBlueEyes

I used the same guy my lovely neighbour did cos hers was a good job. She had it done around a decade ago ish, not issues with fading. Yet. 

Our gutters and down pipes are black, soffits/fascias/barge boards are white. No staining or fading here yet! 

Eldi_Dos

badger09 said:

Dark green sounds good. I’d be interested in anthracite or very dark blue to tone with new front door & repainted garage door but would be concerned about colour fading. 

Does that happen with black? Or is it just our yukkie brown which is probably the original or early 1990s. 

Black gutters and downpipes will likely have carbon black in them to slow down UV degradation.

If you get three quotes it will help you decide on fairness of cost.

With it being a bungalow I would think that would help keep cost down.

badger09

Thanks that’s what I was hoping. No need for expensive scaffolding. And shorter downpipes😊

plumb1_2

Osma brand gutters do fade, imo the best to use are terrain or Marley. Twice the cost but 10 times the quality.
Euro upvc facias are decent quality. I would ask what make they are quoting for.

YoungBlueEyes

You shouldn't need scaffolding, mine didn't. Bladdy big ladders tho!

Day 1 = 3 guys, day 2 = 2 guys. A day was 0830-1530, cos that was daylight ish.

ThisIsWeird

Due diligence, Badger. Ideally have local recommendations, from jobs you can actually see. Perhaps also ask on a local Fb page for recommendations?

Then the standard list of your requirements so they all quote exactly the same. Eg. 'Full removal of all existing PVC...all exposed timbers (ie the studs and battens underneath) checked for rot, replaced as necessary...any electrical work (repositioning lights, for example) included...and, of course, make of goods. And then the warranties, and whether insurance-backed.

In additional to colour, you can also get the fascias with a fine woodgrain finish which, I think, can look good with darker colours (anthracite, for example) - so a satin finish rather than gloss.

A Q that shouldn't require asking is re the soffit venting - that should be a given, and is very important.