Long Sutton development
Full strip back to footings and rebuild on a Long Sutton property, finished with a raised tie trussed roof and new plastics, alongside AJB's wider work on the 69 unit estate in the same town.
Roofing carpentry · Spalding, Lincolnshire
Fascias, soffits and plastics
Fascias and soffits fitted across Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, on new roofs and as refits on existing houses. Fitted by carpenters who know what is behind the board, so rot gets repaired rather than covered up.
What we do
The last hundred millimetres of the roof, and the part that fails first.
The fascia carries the gutter off the rafter feet. The soffit closes the gap back to the wall and lets the roof breathe. Between them they take every drop of water coming off the roof and every bit of weather driving at the eaves, which is why they are almost always the first part of a roof to go.
AJB Group fits roofline plastics two ways. As the closing item on a roof package, straight after the structure and the covering, and as standalone refit work on existing houses where the old timber boards have started to rot. Both are carpentry jobs first and plastics jobs second.
That distinction matters when the old fascia comes off. Behind it are the rafter feet and the wall plate, and if water has been getting in, that is where it shows. A plastics installer covers it. A carpentry contractor cuts out the rot, scarfs in new timber and then boards it, which is the only version of the job worth paying for. Anything more serious is roof structure repair, and the same team does that too.
On new work, the eaves detail is set out with the roof rather than after it: ventilation path kept clear, fascia line straight off the rafter feet, gutter run set to a proper fall, verge and bargeboard detail matched to the elevation.
Roofline work
- New roofs
- Plastics fitted as the closing item on the roof package
- Refits
- Strip and replace on existing houses
- Eaves
- Fascia, soffit, ventilation path and gutter fall
- Verge
- Bargeboard and verge detail matched to the elevation
- Underneath
- Rafter feet and wall plate checked and repaired
- Sites
- Plot by plot on developments, external teams
- Package
- Combines with felt, batten and tile
In practice
Usually the last line on the roof invoice.
Roofline work rarely stands alone in the AJB job record, because it is normally the item that closes out a roof the same team has just built.
On a rear extension at Long Sutton, a raised tie trussed roof went on with new plastics as part of a full strip back and rebuild that took the property down to footings and back up again. On a week's work around Stilton near Peterborough, two roofs and their plastics were completed alongside a posi joist set, a hip roof extension at Bourne and a hand cut joist set at Spalding. On existing houses, soffit and fascia refits go back to the earliest jobs on the AJB record.
Because the company runs separate external and internal teams, roofline work on a housing site can run plot by plot behind the roofs without pulling anyone off the roof gang. Fourteen carpenters are employed full time, supported by a vetted self-employed supply chain.
For main contractors and developers
Roofline is a small line item that holds up a lot of other things: scaffold strike, rendering, decoration and handover all wait on it. Priced inside the carpentry package it stops being a separate procurement exercise and a separate visit to site.
AJB runs external teams on housing sites plot by plot, and can take the roofline alongside the roof structure, the covering, the doors and windows and the rest of the external carpentry. CHAS accreditation, SMSTS certification and a retained external health and safety consultant are already in place.
For homeowners
If your fascias have gone green, the gutter sags, or paint is lifting off the boards, that is the point to get it looked at rather than after a winter of water running down the wall. Site visits and written estimates are free.
You get one company for the whole thing: the boards, the gutter, and any timber repair found underneath, without a second contractor being called in halfway through and a second price appearing.
Proof
Roofs and plastics, finished together.
Spalding renovations
A run of renovation and new build work across south Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, including two roofs and their plastics at Stilton in the same week as a posi joist set and a hip roof extension at Bourne.
Related roofing services: flat roofs, warm roofs and GRP, roof repairs and alterations, or back up to roofing carpentry.
Common questions
Fascia and soffit questions
What do fascias and soffits actually do?
The fascia is the board fixed to the rafter feet along the eaves, and it carries the guttering. The soffit is the horizontal board that closes the gap between the fascia and the wall. Together they seal the eaves, keep weather and birds out of the roof void, carry the gutter run and provide the ventilation path into the roof. If they fail, water gets into the rafter feet and the repair stops being cosmetic.
Do you fit plastics as part of a new roof?
Yes, and it is the usual arrangement. Plastics are the last item on the roof package, after the structure and the covering. On a rear extension at Long Sutton we fitted a raised tie trussed roof with new plastics as part of a full strip back and rebuild, and on a Stilton job near Peterborough two roofs and their plastics were completed in the same week.
Do you refit fascias and soffits on an existing house?
Yes. Soffit and fascia refits are standalone work as well as part of a package. Old timber fascias that have started to rot are stripped off, the rafter feet are checked and made good where needed, and new boards go on with the gutter refitted to a proper fall.
Will you check the roof structure while you are up there?
Yes. Stripping the fascia exposes the rafter feet and the wall plate, which is exactly where rot shows up first. Because we are a carpentry contractor rather than a plastics installer, anything found can be repaired properly rather than boarded over. See roof repairs and alterations for structural work.
Can you do the roof covering and the plastics together?
Yes. Our roof on and roofed in package covers the timber structure, then felt, batten and tile, and the plastics can be added to the same contract so the roof is finished by one company with one point of contact.
Do you work on developments as well as individual houses?
Yes. Roofline work runs plot by plot on housing sites alongside the rest of the external carpentry package. We have run external teams on estates including the 69 unit development at Long Sutton, where joists, roofs and externals were all delivered by the same company.
Fascias past their best?
Free site visit, written estimate, and any timber repair found underneath done properly.