Why does my guttering leak?

There are many possible reasons, could this article help?

In the UK a leaking gutter system is a nightmare and can cause extensive damage if not picked up immediately. If you have a serious problem with your guttering, and it is affecting your property significantly, we recommend you get a professional out right away to help rectify the situation. In this brief post, we will explore the most common causes, and in turn hopefully help you from having this situation again.

1. Incorrect fall on guttering. This may sound unbelievable, but there are so many instances where we find that guttering has not been installed with the right amount of fall. The recommended fall per meter is 3mm. We have come across a lot of guttering that has less than that or even worse, is just level. When water sits in the gutter and doesn’t have a natural flow, that is when it can either overflow in severe weather, or it will sit and not drain properly leaving your gutter to either corrode and rust (if it is metal) or it will freeze and crack in the winter (if it is plastic). In both cases, this will lead to holes in your guttering that will leak.
2. Gutter is incorrect size for the roof. You should always have the right size guttering to match the size of the roof. If you have a large roof area and only a small (low capacity) gutter, it will never be able to stand up to the flow of water in heavy rainfall. Because smaller guttering is cheaper, it is very tempting to go for this option, but it can cost dearly when the rain is overflowing and damaging your property.
3. Perishing rubber or silicone joints. Depending on the type of guttering that you have, there will be some form of join (unless it is seamless) between the guttering lengths. Over time the silicone or rubber joints can perish, leaving gaps for the water to escape through. Often it can be as simple as changing the joints or adding a fresh silicone seal to stop your guttering from leaking.
4. Broken brackets or brackets incorrectly spaced. This is common, where the gutter doesn’t have enough support, it will belly or sag, allowing pools of water to gather and disrupt the flow to the outlet. This is easily rectified by obtaining enough of the correct brackets to give the guttering the support required. As a guide we recommend spacing your brackets every 800mm.
5. Rust or cracks. As a result of one of the above, this can be a real nuisance. Check the integrity of your gutter, and if you find heavy rust or a lot of cracking, now is the time to get your guttering replaced as a matter or priority!

In all of this, we are taking the assumption that you can access your guttering safely and with relative ease. If not, do not attempt to do this yourself. If you can however, and you have been through the above points, we recommend using a jug or pint of water and pouring it in the end furthest from the outlet. The water should flow at a slow and steady rate and should not gather in pools.