As the Autumn weather draws in it’s a good idea to check your guttering is in working order - if it isn’t, water could overflow and saturate the roof or wall and floor below which can develop into serious problems. Here are some top tips to checking and repairing your guttering.
Safety
Always use appropriate equipment to reach the guttering, ideally scaffolding or a ladder set on firm, level ground and with someone holding the bottom of the ladder. Never step beyond the second to last step. We recommend using heavy duty rigger gloves with vinyl or latex gloves on inside, and safety glasses when carrying out cleaning. Also be careful of any low hanging power lines.
Equipment
A gauging trowel is an ideal tool to use when cleaning your guttering, ensure that it’s narrow enough to fit in the guttering width. Once at the top of the ladder you'll need a bucket or ideally two; one for the tools and one for the debris. We sell a fantastic ladder bar which fixes to the ladder and allows the buckets to hang accessibly. It would also be useful to have a garden hose with an adjustable nozzle. For any repairs you may need some gutter sealant.
Cleaning
It’s easiest to clean gutters when there’s been a day or two with no rain so that the debris is looser. Start near the down spout and begin with any large debris, removing by hand and placing into the bucket. Use the trowel for any smaller debris, if there are any down spout strainers take them out and clean them too.
Flushing
Once all the large debris has been removed, flush out anything that remains using a garden hose starting at the end that is opposite the down spout. If the water doesn’t drain there is likely to be a clog in the down spout. To fix, remove the bottom piece of the guttering and place the hose up the spout blasting it at full pressure, then feed the hose up the spout until the debris comes out.
Repairs
IF there are any breakages or cracks beyond repair on a part of the guttering, you’ll need to replace that part. We sell angled fittings, stop ends, brackets, running outlets, bends, branches, pipe shoes, sockets, clips and leaf guards. Just ensure that the guttering is always sloping correctly – ¼ inch every 10ft (1.35cm in every 3.5m). Secure using roofing bolts or guttering screws spaced every 2ft along.
Sealing leaks
If there are any gaps in the guttering that is leaking water you can use guttering sealant. Wait until the guttering is dry. For leaks at the seams ensure the gutter lengths are tight against each other then run a seal around the join. For ends run the sealant around the whole join.
Finishing
If you do need to paint any guttering to give it a perfect finish we’ve got a wide range of decorating tools to help you, including many different sized paint brushes, paint kettles, wipes, white spirit and more.