At the bottom of a roof slope there is a timber edge that closes off the roof and from which the gutter hangs. Depending on how the house is built, it is called a fascia board, a gutter board or, at the side, a bargeboard, and sometimes there is an aluminium or plastic roof edge trim over it for protection.
It is a part that hardly anyone mentions until it is too late, and by then it is often the most expensive item of a gutter job.
Why it goes first
It sits behind the gutter. When a gutter leaks or overflows, the water lands straight on this timber and cannot get away quickly. See
an overflowing gutter.
It dries poorly. Wedged between the gutter and the eaves, it gets little air and sun. In winter it stays damp for weeks.
The paint lets go first. On a vertical surface that gets water all the time, no coat of paint lasts long. As soon as the paint is broken, water gets into the timber.
It is rarely checked. You need a ladder to get a proper look, and when a gutter seems to be doing its job, nobody looks behind it.
“With a thirty-year-old gutter, I find the timber behind it damaged more often than sound. That only comes to light once the gutter is off.”
Fouad, owner of Astrodak Service
How to assess the condition
From the ground: flaking paint, dark discolouration and an uneven line in the timber. From a ladder: press a screwdriver against the timber, especially just below the gutter and at the corners. Healthy timber is hard, damaged timber gives.
Also look at how the gutter brackets are fixed. If they are in soft timber, a full gutter in frost can pull the brackets loose. That is one of the ways a gutter suddenly sags.
Paint broken
water in the timber
action needed
Have it checked before it becomes a job
Most of the damage I repair was still a small fix a year earlier. Have your roof checked with no obligation and you will know exactly where you stand.
Why it comes with a gutter replacement
Because that is when you can get at it, and because that is when it often turns out to be in poor shape. Hanging a new gutter on a damaged fascia board is work you will be doing again in five years, so we do not do it.
That is why the quote should include a price per metre for repairing the timber underneath, with a note that how much is needed only becomes clear when the old gutter comes off. Then extra work is simple arithmetic, not a surprise. See
avoiding extra work.
Timber, aluminium or plastic
New timber with a good primer and paint works very well, but it needs maintenance: touching up every eight to ten years. An aluminium or plastic roof edge trim over the timber protects it and makes it virtually maintenance-free from the outside.
With cladding, watch out for one thing: the timber underneath must be dry before it is covered. Cladding over damp timber traps the moisture, and then the timber rots unseen. That is the most common mistake with this part.
What to combine it with
The gutter, the bird guard and the gutter protection profile, because they all sit in the same place. And when the tiles are replaced, the eaves are open anyway, so that is the natural moment. See
bird guards and
roof work in one go.
What needs to happen under cladding
Aluminium or plastic cladding over an existing fascia board is a good solution, on one condition: the timber underneath must be dry and sound before it is covered. If damp or soft timber is clad over, it keeps rotting unseen.
That is the most common mistake with this part, and years later it is an expensive surprise, because the cladding has to come off after all. So ask explicitly whether the timber will be assessed and replaced where needed before the cladding goes on.
Frequently asked questions about fascia boards and roof edge trim
