Overflowing Gutters

What causes gutters to leak?

At Camclad over 50% of the calls we receive from new customers are from people with leaking guttering. If your gutters are overflowing, the chances are the problem will be down to one – or a combination of – three very common causes in the UK which are:-

1. Poor maintenance: Over the year dead leaves are trapped on the roof and rot into a nutritious compost which settles in the bottom of gutters and gullies. If this is not cleared out regularly then, when seeds are blown in or left by birds, plants will start to grow, effectively damming the flow of water. Water will collect until the gutter fills up and overflows. If the blockage gets worse or extends to gullies on the roof then as well as leaking down the side of the building water can also escape over the top of drainage channels and leak through the ceilings inside.
2. The lunch time kick around: : Believe it or not, another of the most common causes of overflowing gutters is tennis or footballs which have been hit or kicked onto the roof – sometimes by children in neighbouring houses or sports fields, sometimes by staff playing cricket or football during breaks. When it next rains they are carried down the gullies until they settle in the down drain, like an egg in an egg cup, blocking it.
3. The design of the building: The weather in Britain has changed radically over the last 10 to 15 years, especially patterns of rainfall. Higher volumes of rain fall per hour and this means that modern buildings are designed with larger capacity guttering and drainage. Buildings more than 15 years old were built to comply with a different set of standards devised for different patterns of rainfall. The net result is that, on occasions, the gutters overflow and leak because they aren’t designed to cope with the volume of water running through them.

Easy steps to solve the problem

The best way to guard against leaky guttering is to ensure the problems which cause it don’t arise in the first place. We recommend you have your gutters checked at least once a year so that any debris, or footballs, can be cleaned out. We can do this for you as part of an ongoing property management programme or on a one-off basis, as and when required.

To minimise the chance of leaks and water damage from your roof drainage system, call in Camclad to check and clean your guttering once or twice a year.