Discover Essential Information About Fascia, Soffits And Bargeboards On Your House Before The Structural Damage Sets In.
Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride, or PVCu (or uPVC) as it's more commonly known, has in effect comprehensively swept the board in the new guttering and fascia market. Their are a great number of answers why homeowners now decide on PVC-U when thinking about a guttering replacement and new fascias on their home.
It is now widely recognised that the maintenance trouble and the technical performance of timber, in particular for roofline, is no longer adequate when compared with PVC-U.
A PVC-U roofline is better than timber because, as we all understand, timber is a porous raw material. Once water has breached the external layer, it is a matter of when and not if it will need replacing. This then paves the way for woodworm and many other vermin to set up home eventually causing structural damage. PVC-U rooflines will not rot, will never require painting, do not discolour and will keep on being maintenance free for up to 40 years. All they will require is the occasional wash down with lukewarm lathery water.
Soffits
Fascia boards, also known as soffits, are boards attached to the top of the outer walls of a building, just under the roofing, which then projects over the fascia. This used to be generally made from timber, but these days PVCu replacements are more popular as they are light, straightforward to fix, long lasting and less expensive. Wooden boards need regular painting and replacement and PVC-U in contrast is very resilient, only fading and cracking after quite a few decades.
Guttering
The guttering is fitted to the fascia and collects the rain from the roof, diverting it into drain pipes which take the water down into the public drainage system, or away from the property to a soakaway, where it can disperse without contamination. Larger diameter downpipes take effluent from the toilets down into the sewers. If the guttering or downpipe is blocked or cracked, then water can leak over the brickwork and go through into the property, creating damp problems.
Guttering has been built from all sorts of materials, including concrete, timber, aluminium, galvanised steel and other metals, but before plastic became popular, they were mostly painted steel. This requires frequent washing and re-painting and if it's not done, rust can set in and create leaks. This usually means replacing sections, which is expensive and difficult because of the weight of the steel. PVC-U rates highly over steel on both those counts and when considering guttering replacement on your house we strongly advise you opt for PVCU .
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