Gutter Cleaning and Repair Guide
How to clean guttering in the UK?
Most of us in the exterior cleaning industry in the UK are pretty familiar with cleaning out gutters.
But there's a little more to the job than first meets the eye.
Our job as professionals is to solve people problems.
Unfortunately our jobs isn't just to clean gutters, so we slowly find ourselves moving into the repairs.
This can be daunting at the start, but pretty easy after the first few repairs
So I thought I could share how I go about cleaning and repairing gutters over the last few years.
When I've had a customer that wants their gutters cleaned I always like to start with a few simple questions.
"Do you currently have any issues with your guttering right now?"
You might be surprised with the answers you get back.
Just asking this simple question has saved me so much time gutter cleaning and has also given me the business owner the opportunity to help and solve a customers problem.
Often times when our customers call around gutter cleaning there is usually a reason for the enquiry. Sometimes this is problems with the guttering so identifying the root cause of the issue is key to a happy customer.
The part of the job that's a real pain at the start is having any call back from the client after a repair because the underlying issue or repair hasn't been fixed.
First Step when cleaning gutters is emptying the gutters themselves
This can be easy or hard depending on the access. The most important thing here is that you can empty them.
The second step is checking that the downpipes are clear too.
Being that we use a window cleaning van, I like to flush the downpipe through with a low pressure hose. But a hosepipe usually does.
From here we can successfully say that the gutters have been cleaned which is the first step.
So how do we repair gutters?
How to repair guttering in the UK?
Here in the UK, UPVC guttering is super popular and I would personally say 90% of the homes we gutter clean in the West Midlands have this guttering material.
This guide of for UPVC guttering repair.
A helpful repair guide to cater for 90% of the guttering we come across.
When completing a gutter repairs there are a few core principles.
Firstly identify what the root cause of the problem is:
This is where your investigation skills come into play.
The role of guttering is to move rain water off the roof tiles, across the guttering and down the down pipe away from the home.
With this in mind, when your looking at a gutter repair you need to ask yourself. Where is the water going?
When we first greet the customer it's always best to ask if they currently have any gutter issues going on. This help identify the root cause of any guttering problems.
To give you some examples, most of the guttering ussies we come across are: Blocked downpipes, Broken gutter clips, Missing and worn Seals, Guttering without the correct run off angle (Specifically on corners)
Providing you have found the root cause of the problem, its time to identify the parts that need replacing.
How to identify the correct guttering for replacement?
There's nothing worst than having to make a second trip only to have bought the wrong part.
Almost all guttering has a part number stamped on it.
The hard bit of this job is finding the EXACT part number because often parts are old and hard to read.
But when your out cleaning you need to find the right part number.
Replacing it with the correct part will give you a successful repair most of the time resulting un a happy customer.
Typically the part numbers are found underneath the gutter piece or stamped on the side.
If you have looked everywhere for the part number and you simply cannot find it, here's a good place to start.
Try and find another easily accessible part of the guttering where you can find the gutter part number stamped on it.
This allows you to confidently buy the same guttering manufacture based on what is installed elesewhere on the home.
Remember homes may have had extensions, previous repairs so do spend some time here to confidently identify the right part.
Which gutter manufacturers are compatible with each other?
Step 1: What style of guttering is fitted?
The image on the right shows the side profiles of all the different guttering styles.
As an example 114mm Square line is very popular in the UK Manufacturer by Flowplast.
Step 2 : Can you find a direct replacement?
Its best to use a direct replacement but there is compatibility between many manufactures
An alternative to 114mm Squareline is:
- Hepworth (Clickfit)
- Brett Martin (Squarestyle)
- Polypipe
- Hunter (Squareflo)
- Marshall Tufflex
Here's a quick video on how to identify parts
Tools Required For Gutter Repairs
Hacksaw
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004AEVIJE?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_sem_6WKND1E81DCC3THZNDSW
Stanley knife
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00466EVAE?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_sem_PBZZ9SENTEK6E1ZZ0G40
Tape Measure
https://amzn.eu/d/79VNzMp
Long Handled Screwdriver
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003P90E7M?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_sem_P4DS7KHT1KZ2M97WAKWQ
Optional extras
SDS Drill bits
SDS Drill + Battery
Impact Driver + Battery
