Condition ratings
The gutters are rating 2 and the fascia on the same run is rating 1. Can rainwater goods be split like that?
Yes. Rainwater goods can be split, so gutters at rating 2 may run beside fascia at rating 1 on the same length. The gutter is the channel. The fascia is the board it is fixed to. One can need repair while the other does not. Do not repaint the fascia's number onto the gutter, and do not assume a tired gutter has ruined the board.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Gutters collect water. Fascia is the board, often timber, that the brackets fix to. Rating 2 on the gutters means a repair or replacement is needed but it is not serious or urgent: leaking joints, a poor fall, or a length that should be renewed without being an emergency. Rating 1 on the fascia means no repair is currently needed to that board, only normal maintenance. The definitions allow both on one run because they are different materials doing different jobs. A gutter can overflow in a storm and still leave a sound board, and a rotten board can exist beside a gutter the surveyor has not faulted. Read the pair as a pair of decisions.
Do not average them, and do not tell a contractor to replace both because one is rating 2. The what to do now note advises you. The written-quotation step before legal commitment is for rating 3, which neither of these is. It does not invoice the seller. High-level gutters are often seen from the ground, so the rear of the fascia and the bracket fixings can be partly concealed, and concealed parts are not guaranteed sound. The rating 1 is the board as it could be judged, not a promise about every fixing. Ask which length is which, and price the gutters if you choose to, without rebuilding the fascia the report left alone.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which lengths of gutter are rating 2, and which fascia is rating 1?
- Did you see the face of the fascia, or only infer it from below?
- Is any of this run rating 3, or are 2 and 1 the whole storey?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the gutter rating and the fascia rating apart.
- Do not replace the fascia because the gutters are rating 2.
- Price the gutters as a repair that is not serious or urgent.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Can a rotten fascia end still be rating 1 if the rest of the board is sound?
Not if that end needs repair. Ask the surveyor to split the length rather than you inventing a second number.
Do downpipes follow the gutter rating?
Only if the report says so. A downpipe is another piece of rainwater gear and can differ.