Guttering Specialists in Fife and Edinburgh
The golden rule of house construction is that they are designed to keep water moving: they harness the force of gravity to direct rain water and moisture from the roof to the guttering and through the down pipes.
Rain, sleet, snow and moisture is inevitable, but so long as water does not have the opportunity to soak into the fabric of the building, it will do no harm.
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Gutter Repairs Fife and Edinburgh
Guttering is an efficient and necessary way of keeping water away from exterior walls of a building.
It keeps water moving, channelling it for collection by down pipes.
It also provides the very useful purpose of preventing mini ‘waterfalls’ of rain running off the edge of a building’s roof in the rain.
A downpipe is connected to the running outlet section of the guttering carrying the water to the base of the property to drain away.
As part of the guttering system, it protects the building from erosion, by containing the flow of water and delivering it to the public drains system. It is important to regularly clean guttering to reduce the risk of blocked downpipes and blocked drains.
Our services offer gutter repairs and complete new gutters and downpipes consisting of PVC, traditional, cast iron, galvanised steel guttering and lead guttering / gullies.
PVC Guttering Repair | PVC Guttering Replacement
PVC guttering is very common these days. It is a cheaper option and is maintenance free.
We offer a range of PVC guttering from a basic half-round gutter to a deep flow gutter that has a bigger rain capacity.
For a more aesthetically pleasing option, you can have ogee guttering.
We also offer traditional cast iron guttering, again in various styles from half-round cast in different sizes to a Victorian ogee guttering.
- Exercise caution if you are considering replacing guttering or downpipes made from cast iron with PVC or another material. Seek permission from your local authority planning department if you live in a conservation area or in a listed building.
There are various options including alucast materials and lightweight materials if required.
If you are looking for new guttering then contact us today.
Leaking and Overflowing Gutters
Identification
- External walls wet, have slimy moss growth or appear stained
- White tide marks, caused by salts leached by soaking
- Puddles at foot of the wall
- Internally, damp patches or signs mimicking rising damp
- Internally, mould on walls, musty damp smell and blown plaster.
Implications
The most likely cause is simply down to blocked gutters or downpipe, causing the water to back up and overflow.
Other causes include:
- Poorly aligned gutters set to an insufficient fall – this means there is not enough of a slope for the water to immediately flow from the guttering to the downpipe. Then water then pools in the pipe and can soak into the fabric of the building.
- Localised sagging or damage – there may not be a sufficient number of downpipes for gutters to efficiently discharge to. This leads to rainwater overflowing and soaking into the walls.
Leaking Downpipes
Symptoms are largely the same as for leaking and overflowing gutters, above.
Implications
There are a number of reasons why downpipes leak:
- They sometimes become blocked and start overflowing at a joint.
- They may have split, cracked, or become dislodged.
- Cast iron pipes may have rusted through, discharging water straight on to the wall.
- If water in a blocked cast iron downpipe freezes, it is likely to expand and split the pipe, saturating the wall to which it is fixed.
- PVCu downpipes can be vulnerable to impact damage.
Get in touch with us today for a quote!
Guarantee That Means Something
All of our work is guaranteed. You may have heard that before from other builders, but let us explain why we are different.
We are trusted and recommended members of the Federation of Master Builders, Guild of Master Craftsmen, the Construction Skills Certificate Scheme and we are a Which? Trusted Trader.
We are fully insured and we’ve been in our premises in Thornton since 2008, so our customers know where we are if they have any questions once we’ve finished the job.
Contact Us
If you would like more information or a free estimate, we’d be delighted to hear from you.
Fife: phone 01592 747 047 Email: [email protected]
Edinburgh: phone 0131 300 0494 Email: [email protected]
