Advice on soffits, fascia and guttering and safety issues Information, help and tips on many areas of roofing including trusses, tiling, venting, insulation etc....

[somersetben]

I was hoping to rent a scaffold tower and clean up the fascia, soffits and guttering with a bit of scaping and painting but I'm looking for advice on whether that's a good idea and whether it's safe - not entirely surely what the material of the soffit is. Fascia is plastic and I can see some aged wood behind it like it was capped. But the soffit feels really solid like plaster board and my wife is concerned it might contain asbestos. Can't imagine it's plastic with peeling paint? Thanks in advance.

[stoneyboy]

Hi somersetben
Since your wood facials have already been capped it is probable that your property is at least 50 years old. It is very likely that your soffits are asbestos cement based so scraping for repainting is inadvisable.
Over boarding the existing soffits is possibly the best way to deal with this - it looks like there is sufficient space to fit a retaining channel on the inside edge with pins driven through the facia on the outside edge.
Your only alternative would be to employ a specialist asbestos contractor to remove the existing soffits.
Regards S