54 lines
2.5 KiB
Text
54 lines
2.5 KiB
Text
|
---
|
||
|
|
title: "Replacing garage guttering"
|
||
|
|
slug: /replacing-garage-guttering/
|
||
|
|
date: 2025-12-06
|
||
|
|
tags: ["projects", "DIY"]
|
||
|
|
---
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
I faced the following problems with the guttering on my garage:
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
- It had been bent out of shape by the wind
|
||
|
|
- The seals on the joins had worn away causing leaks
|
||
|
|
- There was sitting water that wasn't making it to the downpipe
|
||
|
|
- It was old and gross
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Whenever it rained heavily, these problems would compound and lead to water
|
||
|
|
pouring over onto the garage brickwork.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The sitting water was caused by the lack of a sufficient drop from the union
|
||
|
|
join with my neighbour's gutter to the downpipe. A further impediment was that
|
||
|
|
the water had to turn a 90 degree angle, around the side of the garabe, before
|
||
|
|
reaching the downpipe. As a result, water was only making it to the downpipe
|
||
|
|
when there was very heavy rain and/or high winds. During normal drip-drainage of
|
||
|
|
the daily dew condensation on the roof, the water was just pooling in the
|
||
|
|
gutter.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
I decided to redesign the passage to the downpipe. Instead of trying to make the
|
||
|
|
water turn a bend I thought it would be better to work _with_ gravity and have
|
||
|
|
the drop start at the end of the guttering, not around the corner. This way, the
|
||
|
|
water would have increased velocity at the beginning of its descent into the
|
||
|
|
downpipe.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
By fashioning a "swans neck" sequence of joins, the downpipe now turns the
|
||
|
|
corner _during_ descent and is fed downwards along the wall to the water butt.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
This has been working very well and the water no longer pools. I've noticed
|
||
|
|
however that condensation forms on the underside of the downpipe. This doesn't
|
||
|
|
look great and I worry about it wearing away the sealant I have applied at the
|
||
|
|
joins.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Overall, however I think it looks much neater as well as being more satisfying
|
||
|
|
from an engineering perspective. The white half-round gutters blend in nicely
|
||
|
|
with the neighbours' and look a lot cleaner.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
I didn't keep track of costs for this project. I think in total it cost around
|
||
|
|
£80. This included the cost of the Floplast guttering and fixtures, the downpipe
|
||
|
|
and the protective mesh I applied to the top of the gutters to prevent blockages
|
||
|
|
from leaves and roof moss.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
In order to drill the fixtures into the garage masonry I needed a more powerful
|
||
|
|
drill than my 18V battery-powered Erbauer. I bought this a few years ago before
|
||
|
|
I knew much about brands and power-tool quality. So I bought a wired Makita
|
||
|
|
hammer-drill for around £90. I think when I buy new power-tools in future I will
|
||
|
|
stick to Makita. The build quality and performance is excellent.
|