Fascias and Guttering for Australian Homes: Complete Guide Guttering

Fascias and Guttering on Central Coast Homes

Walk down almost any older street in Toukley, Wyong or Gosford and you’ll spot the same thing at the roof edge. A timber fascia board painted one coat too many, paint lifting in strips, and the gutter bolted to it starting to lean. Salt air off the coast works on that paint every day. Water that overflows the gutter in a summer downpour runs down the back of the board where nobody ever looks.

We fit fascia covers, fascia gutter systems and new guttering, and which one suits your roof comes down to the state of the timber.

Key Takeaways

• The fascia is the board running along the lower edge of your roof. Your guttering hangs off it.
• Timber fascia fails from the back, behind the gutter, where the timber stays wet and nobody can see it.
• A fascia cover suits timber that is weathered on the surface but still solid underneath.
• A fascia gutter system does away with the timber altogether and fixes straight to the rafters. It suits new builds and re-roofs.
• Gutter and fascia replacement is one job. The gutter has to come off before anyone can see the board behind it.

What Is a Fascia Board?

Your fascia is the long board that runs horizontally along the lower edge of your roof, where the roof meets the top of the wall. It caps the ends of the rafters, and your guttering is fixed to it. On older Central Coast homes that board is painted timber, and it’s the only thing holding your guttering in place.

Whatever you call the board behind the gutter, that board is the fascia. A barge board isn’t the same part: that one runs up the sloped gable end of the roof, not along the level eave. Getting the two mixed up matters when you’re describing a problem over the phone, because they fail for completely different reasons.

What Does a Fascia Board Do on Your Roof?

Four jobs, all at once, and your guttering depends on every one of them.

• Carries the guttering and the downpipes, and holds them at the right fall so water actually drains
• Closes off the roof cavity at the eave, which keeps birds, possums and insects out of the roof space
• Shields the cut ends of the roof timbers from rain and UV
• Gives the roofline a straight, finished edge

What Goes Wrong With Timber Fascia on the Central Coast

Timber fascia rarely fails where you can see it. Failure starts at the back, on the face the gutter is screwed to, because that face never dries out properly. Add a gutter that’s been holding leaves for a few seasons and you have water sitting against painted timber through every wet week of the year.

From what we see on the Coast, these are the signs worth acting on:

• Paint lifting off in long strips rather than flaking in patches
• The gutter sagging in the middle of a run, or pulling away from the board at one end
• Gutter brackets and screws that won’t bite any more, because the timber behind them has gone soft
• Dark staining on the wall or the soffit directly under the gutter line
• Timber that gives when you press it

Storm and hail get there faster. A hail cell can dent capping, split a gutter and tear fixings out of the fascia in one afternoon, and that’s insurance work rather than wear and tear. Storm and hail damage is part of our metal roofing work on the Coast.

The Difference Between a Fascia and a Soffit

Your fascia is the vertical face at the edge of the roof, the part you see from the street. A soffit is the flat underside of the eaves, the part you see when you stand under the overhang and look up. Soffits are often vented so air can move through the roof space and carry heat and moisture out.

Together they seal the perimeter of the roof. Once the fascia goes, the soffit usually starts staining soon after, because water that should be in the gutter is running somewhere else.

Fascia Materials Used on Australian Homes

On the Central Coast you’re realistically choosing between three.

Timber Fascia Boards

• Standard on older Central Coast homes, usually treated pine
• Needs sealing and painting, then repainting every few years
• Rots and attracts termites once water gets past the paint

Colorbond and Aluminium Fascia Covers

• Fitted over the existing timber rather than replacing it
• No repainting
• Available in Colorbond matched finishes so the roofline reads as one colour

Fascia Gutter Systems

• A combined steel fascia and gutter in one profile
• Fixes straight to the rafters, so there is no timber board at all
• Best suited to new builds, extensions and full re-roofs, where the roof edge is open anyway

Fascia Covers Over Existing Timber Fascia

A fascia cover is a pre formed steel skin that slides over the timber board you already have. It’s the right call when your boards are faded, chalky or peeling but the timber under the paint is still sound. It’s the wrong call once the timber has gone soft, because a cover hides rot rather than stopping it.

• Covers old paint damage and weathering
• Takes repainting off your maintenance list for good
• Adds another layer of UV and rain protection to the board underneath
• Goes on neatly at the same time as a new gutter, because both come off the same roof edge

Our fascia covers are made using Durakote coated Aluzinc steel, an Australian made material chosen for its durability and corrosion resistance. For the detail on colours and profiles, we go through it on our Colorbond fascia covers page.

Fascia Gutter Systems for New Roofs and Re-Roofs

A fascia gutter, sometimes called an eaves gutter system, combines the fascia and the gutter into a single steel profile fixed directly to the roof rafters. There’s no timber board in the assembly, so nothing rots and nothing needs repainting. If you’re already re-roofing, the roof edge is open, which is the point at which changing over involves the least extra work.

• With no timber board in the assembly there is nothing left to rot out behind the gutter, and nothing to repaint
• Fixing straight to the rafters takes a step out of the build
• Gives a flatter, more modern roof edge
• Comes in Colorbond matched finishes

Not sure which gutter profile your roof needs before you get to the fascia question? We compare the common profiles in types of guttering, including where a box gutter is used instead of a fascia gutter.

Gutter and Fascia Replacement on the Central Coast

Gutter and fascia replacement is one job rather than two. The guttering has to come off before anyone can see the state of the board behind it, so we quote the pair together and tell you what we find once the gutter is down. Homeowners who ask only for new gutters can end up hanging new steel on timber that won’t hold it.

This is how the visit runs:

1. We take a look at the roofline and the state of the existing gutter and fascia.
2. We measure up and go through Colorbond colours with you.
3. We strip the old guttering and expose the full length of the fascia.
4. We fit the fascia cover, or the new fascia gutter system where the timber is past covering.
5. New guttering and downpipes go on, set to fall towards the downpipes.
6. We run a magnet broom over the ground before we leave, so no screws or offcuts are left in the lawn or the driveway.

We don’t do roof repairs or leak patching. Where a fascia has gone, the answer is a new fascia and new guttering, not a patch that lasts a season. If overflowing gutters are what brought you here, we also cover the damage they cause in gutter replacements for heavy rain.

Should Fascias Be the Same Colour as the Gutters?

Only if you want the roofline to read as one clean line. Matching the fascia and gutter in the same Colorbond colour makes the roof edge disappear into the roof, which suits dark roofs and modern renders. Running a contrasting colour does the opposite and frames the house, which is why plenty of people with brick homes ask us about black fascia and guttering.

Colour charts are hard to judge on a screen. You’re welcome to call in at our Charmhaven showroom and look at real Colorbond samples against each other before you decide.

How to Keep a Fascia Board in Good Condition

A gutter that nobody clears is where fascia trouble usually begins.

• Clear the gutters before the storm season, and again after leaf drop
• Walk the perimeter after heavy rain and look for overflow marks on the wall and the soffit
• Check the paint on the weather side of the house first, since that’s where it goes
• Fit gutter guard if you have trees dropping leaves into the gutters
• Ask about the roofline while any other roof work is happening, because the access is already there

Common Questions About Fascias and Guttering

Are fascia boards structural?

Not in the sense that they hold your roof up. Rafters and trusses do that. What the fascia does is cap the rafter ends and carry the weight of a full gutter, so it’s doing real structural work for the guttering even though the roof itself doesn’t rely on it.

What is the board behind the gutter called?

That’s the fascia. If the board you’re looking at runs up a slope at the gable end instead of sitting level along the eave, that one’s a barge board.

What is the difference between a fascia board and a fascia cover?

Your board is the timber itself. A cover is the steel skin that goes over the top of it. Covers change how the board is protected and how it looks, and they leave the original timber in place underneath.

Can you put a fascia cover over rotten timber?

No. Covers need sound timber behind them to fix into, and a gutter needs something solid to hang from. Where the board has gone soft, we replace the fascia or fit a fascia gutter system instead.

Do the gutters have to come off to replace the fascia?

Yes. Your gutter is fixed to the fascia, so it comes off first either way. That’s why gutter and fascia replacement gets quoted and done as one job.

Talk to AWS Roofing About Your Fascias and Guttering

Fascias are easy to ignore right up until the gutter starts pulling away from one. If you’re not sure whether yours needs a cover or a full changeover, we’ll come out, take a look at the roofline and explain what we recommend and why.

AWS Roofing is a licensed Central Coast metal roofing team, licence 247575C, working across Gosford, Wyong, Lake Macquarie and the surrounding service area. Get in touch for a free, no obligation quote, or pop into the Charmhaven showroom to see the Colorbond colours in person.