Fascia or Gutters First? The Correct Install Order (and Why It Matters)

Having a stable roof over our head is a luxury we often take for granted. While the roofing sheets or tiles often take centre stage, your gutters and fascia play an incredibly valuable role in protecting your home from rain, dirt, debris, moisture and costly repairs.

If you’re planning on replacing old guttering, altering your roofline, or working on a new build, one common question arises; should the fascia or gutter be installed first? The short answer is simple: fascia is installed before gutters. However, there is much more to the process than simply deciding which component goes up and when.

Below, we’ll explain the correct installation order, as well everything else you need to know.

What is Fascia?

In case you’re unfamiliar, fascia is the long, straight board or metal panel fixed along the lower edge of the roof. Fascia is available in a range of different sizes and profiles.

It is mounted to the ends of the roof rafters and creates a clean, finished appearance along the roofline. More importantly, it provides structural support for the guttering system.

Without fascia, gutters would have no stable surface to attach to.

Fascia performs several important functions:

Supports the gutter system
Protects roof timbers from weather exposure
Creates a neat finish along the roof edge
Helps prevent water from entering the roof cavity
Improves the overall appearance of the home

What are Gutters?

Chances are, you’re already very familiar with gutters or ‘guttering’. Even so, here’s a quick refresh. Gutters are structures that are installed along the roof edge to collect rainwater and direct it towards downpipes. Their primary purpose is simple, and this is to move water safely away from the building.

Without an effective gutter system, rainwater could overflow around the home and cause any number of problems such as:

Soil erosion
Foundation movement
Damp walls
Water damage
Mould growth
Landscape damage

Which Should Be Installed First and Why?

In most cases, the fascia is installed before the gutters.

Why? Essentially, it’s because fascia actually provides the mounting surface for the guttering system. By fitting the fascia first, roofing technicians can make sure that the roofline is straight, secure, and ready to support the gutters properly.

Installing it in this order also makes the process more efficient. If new gutters are installed before the fascia is replaced, they may need to be removed again to access the roof edge, which in turn adds unnecessary time and cost.

If the existing fascia is still in good condition, only the gutters may need replacing. However, when both are being installed, the fascia usually comes first.

Why is Fascia Installed First?

We’ve covered this briefly in the section above, but let’s get down to the nitty gritty and explain exactly why most installations follow this order.

1. The Fascia Provides the Mounting Surface

Gutters are typically fixed directly to the fascia using brackets or concealed clips.

Without the fascia in place, installers have no accurate surface to secure the gutters to.

Installing gutters first would create alignment issues and could compromise the structural integrity of the system.

2. Correct Gutter Fall Depends on Fascia Alignment

Gutters require a slight slope, known as a fall, to allow water to flow efficiently towards downpipes.

Before gutters are installed, the fascia must be correctly positioned and aligned.

If the fascia is uneven or poorly installed, the gutter fall may be incorrect, causing water pooling and overflow during heavy rain.

3. Fascia Installation Could Damage Existing Gutters

Installing fascia after gutters would require removing brackets, fasteners, and sections of the guttering system.

This creates unnecessary labour, increases costs, and raises the risk of damaging new materials.

4. Creating a More Complete and Finished Appearance

Installing fascia first allows installers to create a straight, uniform roofline before guttering is attached.

The result is a cleaner appearance and better overall finish.

COLORBOND Fascia: A Cut Above the Rest

There’s a reason why the popularity of COLORBOND continues to skyrocket across Australia. Their products are sleek, stylish, tough, and purpose-made for local conditions.

COLORBOND Fascia is always an excellent choice for your home. It’s similar to a feature gutter, but includes a return fold on the back edge of the gutter. This also provides a fixing point to your steel roof sheets, using an internal concealed fixing system and is compatible with steel roofing.

What’s more, it’s also available in over 20 different colours. You can select anything from Evening Haze to Dune, Shale Grey, Jaspar, Night Sky, Cottage Green, Manor Red, Ironstone, and more.

COLORBOND Guttering

COLORBOND guttering revolutionises the traditional approach to gutters by bringing together the latest industry innovations and design principles. These resilient systems offer world-class rainwater management, and are also known for their exceptional strength, long-lasting finish, and remarkable water carrying capacity.

If you’re looking to get a stress-free home improvement investment, it’s hard to go past COLORBOND guttering. COLORBOND gutters are corrosion-resistant, making them a reliable choice for coastal and industrial Melbourne environments. The durability and performance of COLORBOND gutters can stand the test of time without fading, rotting, or warping.

Of course, rainheads and stumps are also another important piece of the puzzle. Check out our recent article to learn why!

The Benefits of COLORBOND Products

We supply only Bluescope’s COLORBOND Steel Roofing products all over Melbourne.

Why? It all comes down to the many benefits they offer.

Durability: With five layers of protection, COLORBOND is coated in corrosion-resistant Activate technology, enhanced with a pre-treatment, primer, and baked top coat.

Sustainability: Every COLORBOND steel product uses recycled materials and is 100% recyclable.

Thermal comfort: Classic and Matt COLORBOND finishes offer Thermatech solar reflectance technology, which reflects the sun’s heat, keeping you comfortable throughout the summer months.

Lightweight design: In comparison to clay or concrete tiles, COLORBOND steel has less weight sitting atop its framework, which puts less strain on a building. This reduces the chance of structural damage.

Warranty-backed by BlueScope Steel: Obtain support from BlueScope, Australia’s largest manufacturer. COLORBOND Durability is backed by strong building product warranties.

Why Guttering Systems are Essential in Melbourne

It doesn’t matter if you’re new to the city or lived here all your life. Everyone in Melbourne knows just how unpredictable the weather can be. It might be sunny one second, then pouring with rain the next, but did you know that climate change is actually making our climate even more unpredictable?

In a recent article, Deakin University looked into why Melbourne’s weather is so unpredictable. One of their key findings was that even though climate change is leading to more dry spells, it has also increased the likelihood of “extreme rainfall” events.

When this rainfall occurs, it’s your guttering system that keeps your property protected and prevents serious water damage. By capturing rainwater and directing it safely away from your roof, walls, foundations, and landscaping, the gutters are what help to reduce the risk of leaks, erosion, mould growth, and costly structural repairs.

Roofing Options: Your Home for High-Quality Roofing Supplies in Melbourne

Keen to get the ball rolling? When you need high-quality gutters, fascia, and downpipes in Melbourne, Roofing Options Centre is the perfect destination. Simply use our order forms to make an order, or pop by one of our three stores to view it all up close and chat with an expert!

Alongside a huge range of COLORBOND supplies, we also stock a great selection of: