It’s okay, you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about your roof.  As long as it is doing its job and the roof looks okay, most of us don’t give it much consideration.  But the roof is about more than just those tiles or areas of flat roof – there is also the area called the roofline.  So what is it and what jobs does it do?

Fascias and soffits

The fascias or fascia boards are special boards that are mounted where the roof meets the walls of the house.  This makes it the core element of the roofline.  It is a long, straight board that is fixed onto the last of the roof trusses and is support for the bottom row of roof tiles.  It protects the point where the two parts of the house meet from the worst of the weather.

The soffit is another straight board that sits under the fascias.  If you look up from the ground, the soffit is the part that you see.  It is there to stop water getting in, the main job of the roofline, and because it faces downwards it is often where ventilation is placed.  This is important to reduce the risk of condensation in the loft.

Other roofline elements

While the fascias and soffits are the two core elements of the roofline, there are others depending on the style and type of house you have.

Bargeboards are used on gable ends and cover the side of the roof from the apex to the box end.  So you only see these on one side of a semi-detached house and at the end of a terrace.  Detached houses will have one on either side.  Bargeboards are also an aesthetic element and come in different shapes and finishes to improve the look of the house.

The box ends sits at the bottom of the bargeboard and the end of the fascias and soffits.  It is often unusually shaped to fill the gap and ensure water cannot get in while contributing to the look of the house.

Purposes of the roofline

The main purpose of the roofline is to stop water getting into the house.  Often, the elements that make up the roofline were made from timber but in recent times uPVC has replaced this as the material of choice.  uPVC installers across Southampton are regularly called out for installation of new roofline elements where timber has rotted or is weak.  This is often the case for cladding on homes as well.

Another important job of the roofline is to support the guttering.  The various areas of guttering are attached to the fascias and then the downpipes are located to connect this with the drains around the house.  This is vital to ensure that rainwater is directed away from the house and ends up in the drains, not pooling around your home’s foundations.  Guttering also comes in uPVC now so you can have coordinating looks and the same long-lasting, reliable material for all of the elements of your home’s roofline.