Unplasticised polyvinyl chloride, or PVCu (or uPVC) as it's more commonly known, has in effect completely swept the board in the new guttering and fascia market. Their are a great number of reasons why homeowners now choose PVC-U when thinking about a guttering replacement and new fascias on their home.
It is today widely recognised that the maintenance inconvenience and the technical performance of wood, specifically for roofline, is no longer acceptable when compared with PVC-U.
A PVC-U roofline is better than wood because, as we all appreciate, timber is a porous raw material. Once water has breached the external layer, it is a matter of when and not if it will demand replacing. This then paves the way for woodworm and many other vermin to set up home sooner or later causing structural damage. PVC-U rooflines will not rot, will never want painting, do not discolour and will continue being maintenance free for up to 40 years. All they will have to have is the once in a while wash down with warm 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 usually made from timber, but nowadays PVCu replacements are more popular as they are light, straightforward to fix, long lasting and less expensive. Timber boards need repeated painting and replacement and PVC-U in opposition is very resilient, only fading and cracking after a number of 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 home to a soakaway, where it can scatter without damage. 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, creating damp issues.
Guttering has been manufactured from many different types of materials, including concrete, timber, aluminium, galvanised steel and other metals, but before plastic was popular, they were generally painted steel. This requires regular cleaning and re-painting and if it's not carried out, rust can set in and create leaks. This usually means replacing sections, which is expensive and hard because of the weight of the steel. PVCU scores highly over steel on both those counts and when considering guttering replacement on your home we strongly propose you opt for PVCU .