Leaking guttering

[Steve Maskery]

At some point in my house's history, someone has replaced the guttering. The original was half-round cast iron, the rep[lacement is square UPVC. Needless to say, where mine joins on to next-door's, the two systems are unhappy.

I've not been up myself, but my neighbour tells me that there is some sort of mesh where the two meet. It doesn't seal it and grass grows up there.

I know nothing about guttering, so can anyone give me some good advice about how to make it sound? My mate Charlie is coming over tomorrow with some ladders.

Many thanks
Steve

 

[AndyT]

Adaptors exist but are more likely to be found in a specialist merchant than an ordinary diy shop, so it's worth searching round properly before making a bodge.

I am not a guttering expert either but I am sure that grass is not a good sign!

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

What you really need is a converter which has square on one side and half round on the other. If you cant source one with the appropriate fittings then there is a bitumen based liquid sealant you can buy for a bodge between the two badly fitting joints which I've used on mine which does help. But to be honest I don't have a huge amount of faith in that stuff because on mine it did fix a leaking joint where the parts were MEANT to fit and even then it was tricky.

Failing that, you need to improvise!

Edit: Crossed in the ether with Andy's. Don't worry too much about the grass, that just means the gutter hasn't been cleared out for a long time. What happens is the smaller leaves get blown in on the wind and rot down forming a mulch (soil of a kind). Then weed and grass seeds get dispersed by wind and birds and take root in the leaf mulch so your gutter becomes a little garden. This little ecosystem doesn't take at all long to form (about 6 months at the right time of year). So the trick is to clear the guttering, typically after Autumn when the problem is at its worst and maybe again about September time and you wont get any growth.

 

[ColeyS1]

Worst case scenario, fill up the joint with stixall, if you can't find the correct connector.I'd have been tempted to cut a bit of Tricoya roughly to shape, then stixall/seal any gaps. It's really remarkable stuff ! Comes in clear, white and black which might mean you won't need to paint it.

Coley

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[flying haggis]

any good

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead ... ILA&adurl=

 

[Lons]

The adapters are in most of the main manufacturers catalogues but it would be helpful if you knew what make the pvc is as they are not all compatible sadly. Cast iron to pvc / round to round are common though not seen round to square but worst case would be 2 adapters in line as can also get pvc square to round.

As Bob said it can be botched. I did one years ago as a temp and it never leaked. Has to be dry and clean, apply a patch of flashband after painting on a coat of sealer then some of the all weather bitumen proofing on top.

Bob

edit

Here are some Steve
http://www.gutterspares.co.uk/gutter-adaptors-73-c.asp

 

[morturn]

The mesh is possibly a job done by the denso tape brigade. Denso tape is the cowboy plumbers best mate.

You really need to get up and take a look. If each house has two different profiles in the guttering, there are adaptors out there on the market, most good plumbing stores have them.

An alternative that I have use a few times is to put an individual stop end on each gutter back to back so they almost touch, then slide a lead tinkle under the roof tiles just to bridge over the joint. Of course, this only will work if both houses have their own down pipe.

If you have a lot of grass growing out of the gutter, then while you’re up there check the falls are correct, as this indicates the gutters are not draining away properly.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Thanks chaps. I've no idea what make my guttering is, so the chances of finding the right adapter are slim, I fear.
I think I'll wait to see what the damage is first and then decide whether I can get away with a tube of black gunge or it needs something more drastic.
Thank you all for the helpful replies.

 

[xy mosian]

Between us my neighbour and I had non-matching plastic guttering. The solution was, as both had a downpipe, to stop both ends. A small piece of lead was then trapped under the edge of the tiles and draped over both ends bridging the gap.
This may not apply in your case of course, but just might.
HTH
xy

 

[Woody2Shoes]

Hi - One cheap and environmentally sound way of sealing joints in guttering is to use linseed oil-based glazing putty - what the old timers used before modern silicone/acrylic gunk was invented. A worthwhile thing to do is to check (with a hosepipe/watering-can) that there's no 'sagging' of the run of guttering - so that puddles don't form (IME all veg. grows in 'puddles' where dust and water collect). Cheers, W2S