Find a Gutter Installer you can trust in West Midlands.

A gutter is part of the system that takes rainwater away from a building. Every home will have some form of guttering system to stop water from dripping off the roof and into the walls. It’s important to keep your gutters clear because if water starts to seep into your home’s walls, you’re likely to get damp.

A guttering system consists of half pipes, troughs, bends and downpipes. They’re usually cylindrical in shape but they may be square on some homes and in countries outside of the UK. Technically, the gutter is the part that you’ll see across your roof that collects rainwater. The water will then feed into a downpipe from your roof’s edge to the base of your home, where you can collect it in something like a water butt, or it will be discharged to a surface water drain or soakaway.

In early times, gutters used to be made from lined wood or stone. Lead was often used as the liner to stop rainwater from seeping through the material, but you won’t see it used much anymore. These days, most homes have uPVC guttering as it’s a hardwearing plastic that should last a long time. But you’ll also see gutters made from aluminium, cast iron and copper, especially on period homes or those in a conservation area.

Every home needs a guttering system to ensure that rainwater doesn’t affect the foundations of the property. It’s also important to keep the gutters clear of debris like fallen leaves, as this will cause them to overflow, potentially causing water to soak into the walls and causing damp.

If you live in an average home with an average amount of guttering and you’re used to a bit of DIY, it’s relatively easy to replace gutters. But if you have a home that’s more than two-storey or you have guttering that’s more complicated, it’s best left to the professionals.

Lots of homes these days have uPVC guttering. uPVC is a hard-wearing plastic that will last a long time without much maintenance except your usual gutter clearing. It’s relatively light, so lots of people think it’s easy to replace uPVC gutters. If you live in a bungalow, you may be able to just use a ladder to take down your old guttering and replace it with new uPVC gutters, but if you live in a two-storey home it can be a bit more complicated. If you do attempt to replace your gutters yourself, make sure you’ve got a sturdy ladder that will comfortably reach the right height, and never rest it on the fascia or the guttering itself.

If you have cast iron or copper guttering, this is much heavier and bulkier than uPVC. Certainly don’t try to replace these on your own – make sure you have another competent DIYer to help you. Reputable roofline specialists will use scaffold towers to make it easier to handle heavy gutters and they will always work in pairs on this type of guttering, so make sure you have the right tools and equipment to work with.

Just because it’s easy to replace gutters, it doesn’t mean you should. It’s better to ask a reliable roofline company to help you, since they have the skills to fit guttering properly and have experience with working at height.

Soffits and fascias are available in lots of different colours. These include black, grey, brown, white and cream. It’s also possible to get them in brighter colours like reds, blues and greens.

What colour soffits and fascias you get is entirely up to you, unless you live in a listed building, in which case some rules may apply. Most people choose a colour that matches their roof, walls or window frames to give their property an attractive, colour-coordinated look.

You don’t always need scaffolding to replace guttering. If your home is a bungalow, the tradespeople might only need a ladder to replace your guttering. It’s when your home is two storeys or more that scaffolding is more necessary.

You might not need full scaffolding for a simple two-storey home. Guttering specialists use scaffold towers, which are the platforms you see underneath the scaffolding, where the installation is relatively straightforward. You might need scaffolding to replace guttering when there are obstructions to towers being used – for example, if you have a conservatory or the ground is very uneven. It's more likely that specialist roofline companies will use scaffold towers when necessary. Sole traders that replace guttering as part of their services may be comfortable using sturdy ladders.

There’s no legal requirement to say that you must have scaffolding when fitting guttering, but it is a good idea when working on homes rather than bungalows. If you’re unsure whether you need full scaffolding for your gutter replacement project, get a few quotes from reputable businesses of different sizes. If you’ve been quoted by one company that you need full scaffolding whereas everyone else says that only towers are needed, it’s likely that the job is perfectly safe to carry out with just towers.

In the UK, gutters are normally made from uPVC. It’s a hardy plastic that won’t rot, warp or tarnish very easily, which is why it’s so popular. It’s the same material that’s used for most homes’ windows these days; they don’t have to be the standard white as they can be made into a range of colours. Expect to pay an average of £500 for the supply and installation of uPVC guttering, and more if you require scaffolding.

Other materials that are popular for gutters include copper, aluminium and cast iron. These are much more expensive – you might be looking at around £1500 or more for the supply and installation – but they give a more polished look and are often used on period properties or those in a conservation area. If you're considering these types of gutters, make sure you get a few quotes from different roofline companies so you can compare the different materials.

In the past, gutters were made from wood, asbestos concrete or stone. They were often lined with lead to stop the water from seeping through. When it was discovered that asbestos was seriously harmful, it of course stopped being used. Wood was prone to rotting, even with lead lining, and stone is heavy and expensive. So when uPVC came along, it became an affordable and easy material to use for gutters so homeowners could be confident that rainwater will be kept away from the foundations of their properties. It’s important to keep gutters clear from leaves and debris, because if they become blocked, they can make water to fall against your property’s walls, causing damp.

Clean of your conservatory gutter is probably not one of the most enjoyable chores you’d like to take on around the house. Not only is it messy and tedious, but it’s also time consuming and smelly. It’s a job every home and property owner would rather avoid, but unfortunately everyone has to do it. It’s a necessity due to the fact that neglect gutters holds and harbours mould, moss as well as plant debris. It would have been better if this is only disgusting, but the actual truth is that should be the least of your worries as this gradual build up of organic material in your conservatory gutters can minimize their drainage abilities, leading to leakages and spills that can damage your conservatory.

Cleaning of your conservatory gutter is a task that can be done regardless of your level of experience. However, it’s advisable to call in a professional for help especially if you lack the confidence required to pull it off.

• Use a ladder for a closer look. Cleaning your gutters from the ground by poking it with a hooked tool might seem the best way out, but in truth you risk damaging the gutters or brackets and marking the conservatory panes when you don’t see what you’re doing.
• Invest in specialist tools. For expert DIYers, taking off your downpipes from the wall to clean might be a pretty easy task. However, for most people it can be extremely frustrating. As a result, there’s the need to get hold of some flexible gutter brushes. With a bendable stem and stiff bristles, these are able to hook and dislodge dirt and leaves inside your downpipes with relative ease.

Fascias and Soffits, just like any other components of a home, do not last forever. They can become tired and worn out over time which implies that you’ll have to replace them to prevent further damage. Getting this project completed can be quite costly, but it doesn’t have to be. Fitting soffits and fascias is very simple task which will leave you with both a modern and contemporary styling which requires little maintenance and also more savings. What’s more? You don’t have to worry about repainting the fascias and soffits on an annual basis, all you need to do is a gentle wipe down of the features with a damp cloth to have them look good.

If you’re a competent DIYer and confident enough to pull off this task, then all the better. However, if otherwise, we’d strongly recommend you hire the services of a reliable contractor who can guarantee the best results for help. Here are the steps you can follow to fit your fascias and soffits.

Fascias ( a 18mm fascia board)

✓ This is designed for a direct fix without a need for a timber substrate. Simply secure them directly to the rafters with the help of 2 x 65mm a4 stainless steel fixing nails per rafter.

✓ Ensure that the rafters are level.

✓ Cut the boards back 5mm per edge to enable expansion where any white corner trims, joint trims or angle trims is needed.

✓ Secure the guttering to all third rafter.

Soffit ( 9mm soffit board)

✓ Ensure that the preservative treatment to the structural timber has dried out.

✓ Fix all utility boards of about 100mm to 605mm in width at a maximum of 60mm centres.

✓ If ventilation is needed, there are some soffits that are available in 150mm to 605mm widths and also provides the 10mm air gap needed for roof with a pitch above 15 degrees