DH Painter & Decorator prepares and repaints timber fascias, soffits, bargeboards and gutters in Southfields, NN3 5, which we cover from Northampton about 4 miles north-east of the town centre. Where boards have already been swapped for uPVC, we clean rather than paint.
Rooflines under a woodland canopy
Southfields has woodland running right through it. Broadleaved belts at Pine Ridge, Brittons Drive and Watermeadow Drive, the Osmund Drive tree belt and the Southfields Linear Open Space all sit close to back gardens. For the roofline that means three things: leaves packing the gutters every autumn, water spilling over the fascia when they block, and boards on the shaded side that rarely get the sun to dry them out. Timber in that position fails at the joints and the bottom edge first, and the paint lifts from behind.
On these houses the first job is clearing the gutters so we can see where water has been running. A board stained along one stretch usually points to a blocked outlet or a sagging bracket above it, and painting without sorting that just puts fresh paint in the line of fire.
Timber, uPVC or a mix along one terrace
The older terraces and semis on the estate have timber rooflines where they have not already been replaced with uPVC. Because owners replace boards at different times, one terrace can end up with a mix of timber and plastic fascias. That raises a few practical points:
- We paint only your boards, and we mask the joint with next door’s uPVC so the line stays clean.
- On terraced and semi-detached houses we do not lean ladders on a neighbour’s gutter without asking them first.
- If your timber is too far gone to paint, we will say so rather than coat over rot. Small soft areas can be cut out and filled; long runs of soft board are a carpentry job.
On the cavity-wall semis of Gallery Close and Little Gull Close, with fair-faced brick walls and uPVC double glazing, a timber roofline is often the only painted surface left on the front of the house, so it sets how the whole elevation looks. uPVC boards need a wash, not paint, unless you specifically want a colour change, which calls for a dedicated primer.
Working at eaves height from a footpath
A good part of Southfields is built around pedestrian squares such as Brackenfield, Foxwell, Moorfield and Long Marsh, where the front of the house faces a path rather than a road. Ladders, a stand-off and dust sheets are carried in from the nearest close. For two-storey terraces a ladder with a stand-off reaches the fascia safely; on detached houses on Ludlow Close and Brittons Drive, or where a conservatory or porch sits below, a scaffold tower may be the safer option, brought in sections and built on boards to protect paving and lawns.
What gets painted, and in which order
We work top down so drips never land on finished work: gutters cleared and checked, soffits, then fascias and bargeboards, then gutters, downpipes and brackets if they are painted cast or plastic. Bare timber is knotted and primed before an undercoat and a top coat of exterior gloss or satin. Nothing in Southfields restricts roofline colour; dark greys and black hide leaf staining better than white under the trees. The full sequence is on our main fascia and soffit painting page.
When to book
Late spring and late summer usually suit Southfields rooflines. Autumn brings the leaf drop from the woodland belts, and early mornings on the north edge of the estate, by the farmland towards Overstone, can leave boards wet with dew until mid-morning. If your fascias are part of a wider job, the Southfields area page lists the other outside work we cover nearby.
Last updated by Dean, DH Painter & Decorator.
