UPVC Fascia

[pfm401]

I have a dormer window with plywood boards, approx 7 years old (same as house). The paint on these is flaking so I thought I'd get quotes for repainting and fitting with UPVC fascia. The windows themselves are UPVC.

Quote for painting - sand down, prime, undercoat and 2 top coats = £200.

Quote for UPVC - £575.

What exactly is involved in the UPVC? I naively thought it would just be covering the plywood boards to make them weatherproof and therefore cheaper than painting, but clearly there is more to it than that. Or am I being taken for a ride ??

Thanks, Paul.

 

[Richard C]

I would never put UPVC over existing timber cladding, it’s will look awful & is likely to lead to problems with the timber underneath in the future. The only way to do it is to pull off the timber & replace with full weight UPVC cladding. Cover boards (fascias soffits etc.) do have some uses but are generally used for a quick fix by the bodgers!

I had a 7 metre wide dormer with 2 windows re-clad in UPVC 18 months ago, replacing some of the support timbers & the insulation at the same time. I had this done as part of a complete removal & replacement of all the timber facias, soffits & guttering etc. on our large 3 bed detached house which, after 50 years, was thoroughly rotten. The price included some garage cladding & raking out & re-pointing the tile edges on 3 gable ends on the property; cost was £2,100 with independent 10 year insurance backed guarantee. The cost of UPVC mouldings is relatively low & so the major cost is in the labour (should be around £130 per man/day max but it does depend on where you live). I’ll leave you to work out weather or not your quote is a bargain or not! My advice is to be sure to specify what you want, get several quotes & look at some of their previous work before giving them the job; it’s the installation that dictates weather or not the finished job looks great & last years or a total pigs ear!