This project was appointed by the client to renew the original Victorian fascia and soffits. This is a row of houses where the builds are all the same but most have had their fascias replaced over the years.
Some still have their original fascias but they are in a bad state of repair. Some have the spike at the top completely missing. Others have the spike but it has been hollowed out over the years and is just about there, but for how long is anyone’s guess. Most though have had new fascias which is a shame.
Preparation
The soffits were in fair condition, spending most of their time away from weather. These simply needed rubbing down, scraping back to a firm edge, priming where needed and recoating.
The fascias however were completely is state of poor repair. There were two in total and both had the paint system completely broken down on them. The main section on both sides had to be completely burnt off, down to the timber where possible. The scrolling was more difficult to burn off fully simply because of it shape.
The timber was also extremely dry and there was a danger of rot setting in and a danger of the dry, flaking timber actually catching fire. Always take a bottle of water or fire extinguisher with you as precaution.
As there was a danger of the timber catching fire, I opted for a heat gun rather than naked flame to reduce the risk and started to work on each fascia. I managed to burn off right through the old original paint. The risk on this is that original paint would have had lead present, so the open air combined with doing this in short bursts and not being downwind all helped.
Once burnt off, any areas which seemed soft to the touch and flaky in consistency, were scarped back as far as possible and treated with wood hardener. Wood hardener turns the soft timber back to being rock hard and prevent the rot from setting in
Painting
Once the preparation to burn off both fascias was complete, painting could begin. I opted for the Dulux Weathershield System which arguably is probably the best on the market. All the bare areas were treated with the Dulux Weathershield Preservative Primer and areas filled with a combination of the Dulux Weathershield flexible filler and two pack wood filler for deeper holes.
Once the priming and filling was complete I opted for the Satin finish as the client did not want a glossy finish. In order to get the coverage I applied two coats of the quick dry undercoat and two coats of the quick dry Satin finish to produce a bright and clean finish.
As you can from the photo above this has completely transformed the original fascia. Where once there was a fascia on the verge of falling apart, to being completely renewed and regenerated for years to come. The client managed to keep this amazing and original Victorian feature from completely being repaced, simply with preparing and re-painting properly.
[efb_likebox fanpage_url=”novitasdecs” box_width=”260″ box_height=”40″ locale=”en_GB” responsive=”1″ show_faces=”0″ show_stream=”0″ hide_cover=”1″ small_header=”1″ hide_cta=”0″ ]
Leave a Reply