Guttering, Fascias and Soffits in Plymouth

Rainwater goods do more work here than most places

Plymouth averages 1,037mm of rain a year at Mountbatten, spread across about 149 days with a millimetre or more. December, November, October and January are the wettest months — and they are also the windiest. Driven rain does not fall neatly into a gutter; it comes in at an angle, overshoots, and finds the back of the fascia.

That is why blocked or undersized guttering causes so much more damage here than the small job it looks like. Water running down a wall for a winter will find its way into the wall plate, the rafter feet and the soffit.

What we do

• Gutter clearing and realignment — often the actual fix, and we will say so if it is.
• Replacement guttering and downpipes, sized for the roof area rather than replaced like for like out of habit.
• Fascia and soffit replacement, including the rafter feet and wall plate when the rot has gone that far.
• Cast iron maintained or replaced sympathetically on period and conservation area properties, where uPVC would look wrong and may not be acceptable.
• Bird and debris protection where trees or gulls are the recurring problem.

Worth checking before winter

Most of the emergency calls we get in November and December trace back to something that was visible in September. If your gutters overflowed last winter, they will overflow again. Related: flat roofs, emergency callouts.