Older roofs were often finished at the eaves with nothing more than a strip of roofing felt dressed over the fascia and tucked towards the gutter. It worked reasonably well for a time, but felt on its own tends to sag between the rafters, crack with age, and eventually lose its ability to direct water cleanly away from the timber underneath. Modern eaves support trays, usually formed from rigid GRP or plastic, are now the standard detail we use on new roof installations in Kingsweston.
An eaves support tray sits at the base of the roof, spanning between rafters and providing a firm, shaped surface for the underlay to rest on rather than simply hanging unsupported. This prevents the underlay from sagging or ponding water, which was a common weak point on older felt-only details, since pooled water sitting against timber or masonry for long periods is exactly the kind of slow, low-level exposure that eventually leads to decay. The tray also creates a consistent channel that carries any water running down the underlay straight into the gutter, rather than allowing it to find its way behind the fascia or track sideways towards a wall.
Beyond drainage, a well-fitted eaves tray also plays a role in ventilation. Many trays are manufactured with a ventilated profile that allows air to enter the roof void at low level, which works alongside ridge or high-level ventilation to keep the roof space properly aerated. For homes in Kingsweston with older loft spaces that were never designed with modern ventilation requirements in mind, fitting a ventilated eaves tray during a re-roof is a straightforward way to bring the roof up to current standards without any separate, additional work being needed.
Because the tray is rigid, it also gives installers a more reliable surface to fix the tilting fillet and first tile course against, which helps the eaves line stay straight and consistent along the length of the roof. On older felt-only details, by contrast, the flexible material could shift slightly during installation, making it harder to achieve a perfectly even first course, particularly on longer roof runs. This is a small detail that most homeowners never think about, but it has a real effect on how neat and durable the finished roof looks in the years afterwards.
Support trays are also more resistant to the kind of long-term degradation that affects bitumen felt, which can become brittle and crack as it ages, particularly where it is exposed to repeated wetting and drying or to sunlight at the eaves overhang. A rigid tray does not suffer from the same fatigue, so it continues doing its job reliably for far longer, well beyond the lifespan you would reasonably expect from a felt-only detail.
If your existing roof still relies on old felt at the eaves with no support tray, it is worth asking about this detail specifically when comparing quotes. Brunel Roofing Bristol fits modern eaves support trays as standard on new roof installations across Kingsweston, and we are happy to explain exactly what is included when we provide a quote.
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