My 24 year old bungalow is suffering from timber barge boards that are beginning to rot. They have been patched up in small parts already over the years but a large part of rot showed its ugly head a couple of weeks ago (see photo). I had a local handyman look at them and he says the rot is worse than it looks and can even be felt under the paint that hasn't yet broken. He reckons to do a quick fix would require at least six feet of the board replaced. I had intended having UPVC capping done at some point this year but am now unsure which route to go down. It is only the gable ends of the house that are a problem, the facias are still in good condition.
Do I ...................
1. Patch up the rot as best we can and install UPVC capping asap
2. Go the whole hog and totally replace all the timber barge boards and consider UPVC at a later date
One thing that has always baffled me is why do house builders use whitewood for facias and barge boards that are exposed to the elements and not some kind of treated timber?
