What Makes up the Roofline of Your Roof?
When you chat with roofers in Sheffield, you will often hear mention of roof repairs but also repairs to the roofline. For most homeowners, this is a vague area somewhere around the bottom of the roof or the top of the house walls. So let’s introduce you to the roofline properly and understand why it is just as important as the main roof area.
The roofline basics
There are four basic elements that feature in almost all rooflines. These combine together to serve a couple of purposes – they are a way to seal up where the roof meets the walls to ensure it is weatherproof and it is where you find the guttering.
The roofline elements are often made with different types of PVC much like the windows and doors of homes with modern double glazing. This means they are usually white and last a long time because PVC is tough stuff.
The four main elements of the roofline are the fascia, the soffit, the bargeboard and the box end. But what do they do?
The roofline in action
The fascia or fascia boards are one of the most well known of the roofline elements, people will even call the whole area the fascias. A fascia board is the long board that runs straight along the lower edge of the roof. It is fixed onto the lowest part of the roof trusses and acts as a support for the last row of roofing tiles. It is also where the guttering is attached which means it needs to be strong and in good condition.
Soffits are under the fascia board and are the bit you see when you look up at the roofline from the ground below. Soffits also help with the ventilation of the loft area, although some modern houses also do this above the fascia. A lack of ventilation can lead to condensation problems in the loft so this is an important job.
The bargeboard is found on any house where it isn’t connected to another, known as the gable end – both sides on a detached house, one side on a semi-detached and at the end of the row on a terraced house. These are both practical but also have aesthetic value and there are lots of different designs now available.
The box end is the shaped piece that brings all three together on a gable end. This means they can be all shapes and sizes depending on the layout of the roofline and the house. While small, they are very important.
Roofline maintenance
Because the roofline serves such as important job, when you call roofing services to check over your roof, also make certain they look at the roofline. Problems with your roofline can lead to penetrating damp, condensation and even issues like dry rot if damp gets into the loft. So while they may look like nice pieces of plastic, they are a key part of weatherproofing your house and should be treated with as much care as the roof itself!