What Are Eaves Guard Trays?

The lowest edge of the roof, where the slope meets the gutter, is called the eaves. Rain does not only run over the tiles. Wind pushes some of it up and under, and condensation forms on the underside. The underlay, the waterproof layer beneath the tiles, is there to catch that moisture and send it down the roof and out into the gutter.

At the bottom edge the underlay has to cross the gap to the gutter. If it just hangs, it drops into a loop under its own weight. A tray fixes that. It is a rigid ledge that sits on the fascia board, with the underlay laid over its back, so the felt is held up at a slope and the water runs off its end into the channel.

Without the support, the sagging felt holds a pool at the bottom of the slope. Water sits against the back of the fascia and the ends of the rafters, and timber left wet for long enough goes soft. Our page on rotten felt at the eaves shows how that looks from the ground.

From the ground you can see some of it. Look for a fascia board that has gone soft, dark or flaky along its top edge, paint that bubbles just below the first tiles, or gutters that are full of grit and tile fragments. Inside the loft, damp rafter ends and stained timber at the wall plate point the same way.

Older roofs often have no tray at all. The felt was simply left to hang, or it was cut short so that it ended under the first tile, and decades of use have left it brittle and torn. The felt can also have been trimmed too short to reach the gutter, so water runs behind the board instead of into it. A roofer will check how far the underlay actually reaches.

When the survey finds any of these, we photograph the felt and the board from the same angle and show you the pictures. A short stretch of bad felt is a different job to a whole elevation of it. Our guide to breathable membrane against roofing felt explains the choice of underlay when a new strip goes in. If the board behind is soft, the rotten fascia board signs page shows what to look for.

To fit trays or renew a rotten strip, the bottom courses of tiles are lifted, set aside and numbered, and the old felt is cut back to sound material. The fascia is checked for rot, and any soft timber is cut out or the board is replaced. The new tray is fixed along the board, a fresh strip of underlay is lapped over it so that higher courses overlap lower ones, and the tiles are put back.

Replacing the felt without taking off the whole roof is often possible. Our answer on replacing roof felt without removing tiles explains the limits. The bottom few rows are the part that matters most.

The catch is ventilation. A cold roof needs air to enter at the eaves. Marley says that with a non-breathable HR underlay the opening should be 25mm along the eaves for pitches of 15 degrees or less, and 10mm for steeper roofs. A tray and any insect mesh must not close that gap. Ask which vent or tray combination is going in, and whether it keeps the air path open.

The strip of felt and the trays are priced as part of the whole job, as one written total once we have been up and looked. Checkatrade's September 2026 guide gives fascia and soffit work at around £150 per linear metre, and capping at £85 per linear metre, which helps if the board needs replacing at the same time. The felt and tray are a smaller item beside the access.

Access is the real driver. Eaves work on a bungalow can be done from ladders and a roof ladder. On a two-storey house, tiles are lifted at the lowest edge, and a scaffold or tower is normally sensible. If the scaffold goes up for the gutter or the fascia anyway, doing the tray at that time saves a second set-up. Checkatrade's September 2026 fascia and soffit table puts scaffold hire at £300 to £600 per elevation each week.

It also makes sense to do the eaves while the gutter is down. Raising the gutter back onto sound board with the felt dressed into it is the tidy result. Please check whether any quote includes VAT. For the wider job, see our gutters, soffits and fascias page.