Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride, or PVCu (or uPVC) as it's more commonly known, has all but completely swept the board in the new guttering and fascia market. Their are numerous reasons why homeowners now choose PVC-U when thinking of a guttering replacement and new fascias on their house.

It is today widely recognised that the maintenance burden and the technical performance of timber, especially for roofline, is no longer acceptable when compared with PVC-U.

A PVC-U roofline is better than wood because, as we all understand, timber is a porous raw material. Once water has breached the outside 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 after a while 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 fourty years. All they will have to have is the occasional clean with lukewarm lathery water.

Soffits
Fascias, also known as soffits, are boards attached to the top of the outer walls of a building, just under the rooftop, which then projects over the fascia. This used to be generally made from timber, but these days PVCu replacements are more desired as they are light, simple to fix, last longer and cheaper. Timber boards need frequent painting and replacement and UPVC 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 sewerage system, or away from the house to a soakaway, where it can scatter 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 penetrate into the property, causing damp issues.

Gutters have been made from all sorts of materials, including concrete, timber, aluminium, galvanised steel and other metals, but before plastic was popular, they were mostly painted steel. This needs frequent washing down and re-painting and if it's not carried out, rust can set in and cause leaks. This will mean replacing sections, which is expensive and hard 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 UPVC .