We were recently called to an elderly client in Darras Hall who proudly lived in one of the new houses built in the 60s.

The house was a standard detached 3 bedroom property with plenty of garden and high hedges. This had been the family residence for over 40 years but was starting to shown some signs of wear and tear.

The roof fascias and barge boards (side fascias) had been rotting away for some years and these had been locally filled by the regular painter. Unfortunately they had really come to the end of their life and it was time for some serious rebuilding.

Once the fascia board has been removed it can be seen that rain water has been penetrating the roof structure and creating wet rot which has really taken hold.

The only real remedy is to cut off the effected wood and replace with newly treated timbers.

The internal rafters were also effected by the water penetration but as these are part of the main roof structure it was considered most cost effective to leave these in place but protect them with new external features. The side pointing to the roof had also seen a considerable amount of weather damage and so this was lifted out and replaced with new mortar.

On this elevation a 3.6m length of barge board was replaced as well as the soffitt board and the front fascia. Fortunately the guttering which normally “age hardens” and becomes very brittle was still malleable enough to allow it to be taken off and reinstalled without any  breakages.

The owners were delighted with the work and made the following comments about us, “Reliable craftsmen; arrived on the day they said they would. Worked a full day, each day until the job was finished. Respectful of the local area; noise was kept to a minimum and the working area was tidied up each night. Quality of workmanship excellent with my gable ends looking as good as new”.