Find a Gutter Installer you can trust in Craigavon.

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.

In general uPVC is used for soffits and fascias as it is very strong and durable. It also requires very little maintenance. However, wood can be used and is still popular on listed properties as it retains the original material. Older and listed buildings may require more traditional materials to be used.

Leaves, twigs and moss all have one thing in common which often annoys home and property owners - they are the three main materials that negatively impacts the proper functioning of a roof guttering system. The major cause of water drainage problems for most homes and buildings are these organic materials. Wondering how some leaves and few twigs can cause such a big problem? Over time there’ll be a gradual build up of the natural debris in your gutter system which starts to rot and turn  to a thick and muddy goo which obstructs the flow of water in your drainage. As a result, there’s the need to make sure that your gutters are thoroughly cleaned at least twice annually in order to prevent bigger issues that can be caused by the blockage of a drainage system.

So if you’re considering getting your gutters cleaned by a professional, you’d probably be interested in know just how it’s going to cost. Well, there’s not straightforward and simple answer to this question as there are a number of factors that contributes to the final cleaning cost of your gutters.

In general, in the UK, the average cost for cleaning of gutter is usually around £18 to about £25 per hour. However, you can also be quoted a day rate which is usually ranging between £150 to £200 per day.

The factors that can affect gutter cleaning price includes the type of your property (such as a terraced, end of terraced, detached and semi detached homes) which possesses a varying gutter cleaning price largely due to their size differences, the height of the building ( if you require the service for a property located on the second floor of a building, this would be a bit higher than if it were to be on the ground floor) as well as additional requests.

Soffit is a word gotten from two languages - French and Latin, whereby the root word implies to “form as a ceiling in French, while it means to “to fix underneath in Latin. Basically, soffit is a portion of the ceiling that has been constructed lower than the area that surrounds it. And even though they aren’t that much popular in recent times, they happen to be a common feature in kitchens of older homes in the UK. At times, a soffit can occupy the whole room or area in a home.

Homeowners across the globe make use of this feature mostly as a decorative element in the room , however, there are also times in which they may be required for various purposes. These purposes include using soffits to conceal plumbing pipes or, heating or cooling ducts, which is often the case when sofits are constructed at the lower levels of homes. They’re also often incorporated in bathrooms or kitchens as soffits house light fixtures. For instance, recessed light fixtures fitted over kitchen or bathroom sinks are mostly fitted into a soffit. What’s more? Soffit can also be required in a room because of the home’s structure as the feature can be used to hide a structural beam.

If you happen to own an older home and you’d like to remove an existing soffit, the first step is to ensure that its safe to carry out such plan. You should firstly check for any electrical lines, ductwork, lighting or structural problems that may exist prior to the commencement of the project. If you’re not sure or confident enough to pull this off, then it’s advisable to consult a professional contractor before you proceed.

It can be a huge headache, but cleaning of gutters is a task that needs to be done and even more so when it’s a stained white gutter. Nobody want to do it, but everybody has to. If you happen to lack the required confidence to pull this off as it has to do with working at heights, then we’d strongly recommend that you get in touch with a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results for help and also save you some time and money from potential costly errors. In this post, we’re going to show you some of effective way in which you can tackle stained white gutters effectively.

Firstly, you’ll have to take out the ladder with a pair of rubber gloves. Simply position the ladder safely, climb up the roof and start removing the leaves and other debris clogging up the gutters. You can also make use of a garden trowel to remove the very thick debris. Once done, spray the gutter using a garden hose to flush out the dirt as this will make the stains visible. Then prior to cleaning, ensure to cover the plants or landscape underneath with tarp or plastic sheet since the cleaning solution may negatively impact the vegetation.

Start to clean by spraying an all-purpose cleaner on the stains and srub them off using a scrub brush. You can also try a mixture of 1/4 of water with 1 cup of bleach and 1 teaspoon of dish soap. Dip your scrub brush in this solution to scrub off the stains. The bleach mixture is guaranteed to eliminate any mold or mildew that growing on your gutters with 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

You should replace your soffits and fascias if you are having problems. Soffits and fascias can degrade and rot away over time, and this can cause leaks, faulty guttering, or even allow pests entry to the roof space. If any of these problems occur, you should speak to an experienced roofline company to discuss replacing your soffits and fascias.

You don’t always need to replace your gutters with your roof. Often people think that it’s a requirement, or simply the best thing to do, but it’s not always necessary. The reason why people think it’s required is because to re-roof a home, the guttering often needs to be removed and put back on.

If the time has come to replace your roof, then the chances are that your guttering is pretty old too. When you start to get quotes for your roof replacement, ask the roofer to take a look at your guttering as well. If there are signs of peeling, rust, cracks or sagging, then it makes sense to replace your gutters with your roof. If you get them done at the same time, you’ll save money labour costs, which is the reason why most homeowners do it.

Another reason to replace your gutters with your roof is the risk of damage. Re-roofing is a significant project, so the guttering needs to come off most of the time – running the risk of brackets and pipes getting damaged in the process. So if your guttering is still looking good right now but you think it might need replacing in a couple of years, it might be worth just doing it at the same time as your roof to save you money and the stress if damage does occur.

However, if your guttering has only recently been replaced, then there’s no need to replace it again with your roof. But because it needs to come off, make sure you speak to the roofing company about keeping it safe and doing their best to avoid damage. It’s also worse ensuring that they have the correct insurance to cover you both in case your guttering does get damaged during your roof replacement.