Replacing and removing cast iron guttering

Choosing a replacement

Assuming you won’t be using cast iron again – you’ll have a job getting hold of it and even more of a job putting it up, apart from the fact that it’s expensive – your choice is between aluminium and plastic. Plastic guttering is made of UPVC (unplasticised polyvinyl chloride).

It’s probably the better choice for a do-it-yourself installation: it is far more widely available than aluminium, and has the edge in terms of cost and durability. Two different cross-sections are commonly available – half-round and ‘square’.

The latter is often given a decoratively moulded face similar to the more ornate ogee cast iron guttering. In addition, a semi-elliptical guttering is available – it looks a bit like half-round but is deeper and more efficient. This, together with some brands of conventional profile, can be camouflaged by being boxed in with a clip-on fascia panel. Which type you choose is largely a matter of personal taste, but try to choose something that blends into the style of your home.

More important than looks is the size of the gutter. Too small, and it will be forever overflowing; too large, and you will have paid more for the installation than is necessary. It’s all to do with relating the amount of water the guttering can carry to the amount of water likely to come off the roof during a heavy rainstorm. These calculations are complicated, but you can assume that they were done when the guttering was originally installed. Just measure the existing guttering at its widest point to find its size, and buy the same again. The most commonly available sizes are 75mm (3in), 100mm (4in), 112mm (41/2in), 125mm (5in), and 150mm (6in).

If in doubt, consult the manufacturer’s literature or get the London Roofers to do it. The actual cross-section of the gutter may vary from brand to brand; this can make it difficult to join with existing guttering: for example, the guttering belonging to a neighbour on a semi-detached or terraced house. Most firms offer adaptors to link their product with cast iron guttering, or with a different size from within their range.

However, they tend not to offer adaptors to tie in with the equivalent size from another brand, so if possible stick to one brand throughout the installation. If you have to link up with a neighbour’s gutter, find out which brand was used, and try to use the same. There are many different fittings as well as lengths of guttering available on the market. Before you start buying your new guttering get hold of a manufacturer’s brochure from the stockist you use and carefully check to ensure you have all the fittings you will need. Make sure you understand how the particular system works before you buy anything.

Taking down old guttering

Cast iron guttering is heavy, and may also be rusted into place, so removing it can be tricky. But there is no need to be gentle with it: it doesn’t matter if it breaks. The important thing is to work in safe conditions. If you are wrenching things apart, do it in a controlled way so you don’t fall off the ladder, and so that great chunks of gutter don’t fall down. Try not to drop cast iron guttering to the ground: it shatters easily, and, if it lands on a hard surface, dangerous fragments can fly off. If you toss the guttering clear of the house you might overbalance and fall off the ladder, so aim to lower larger sections gently to the ground with a rope. Begin with the section linking gutter and downpipe.

Cut through the old bolts holding the sections together. Then, if you lift the gutter slightly, you should be able to pull it free from the downpipe. Once it’s out of the way, unmake the joints between the sections of gutter (as if you were repairing them), and lift the guttering off its supporting brackets. It may, of course, be screwed directly to the fascia board. You can now turn your attention to the brackets themselves. These are usually screwed to the fascia board just beneath the eaves of the roof, and can either be unscrewed or levered off with a claw hammer. In older houses the brackets may be screwed to the tops or sides of the roof rafters, to support the weight of the iron guttering. If there is a fascia board to which you can fit the new gutter, the ends of the brackets can be hacksawed off. Otherwise, you will have to lift off some of the roofing to remove them. When all the old guttering has been removed, inspect the fascia board to make sure it is sound and securely fixed. If it is, fill the old screw holes and paint it before fixing the new guttering. If it isn’t, it will have to be replaced.

Roof guttering sagging and Leaking joints

Coping with sags

If a section of guttering has sagged, making it lower than the top of the downpipe, the water will not drain away properly. And you will be able to see this from puddles of water collecting in the guttering itself. You must decide whether to raise the sagging section, or lower the mouth of the downpipe to bring everything back into line.

If you flex cast iron guttering more than about 25mm (1 in) you’ll break the seal on the joints, causing a leak. So choose the option that involves moving the guttering least. In order to reset the guttering to the correct gradient you’ll need to fix a piece of string taut between two nails hammered into the fascia board.

Cast iron guttering repairs

You can then use this as a guide as you reposition each gutter support in turn. Leaking joints Joints in cast iron gutters are made by overlapping the two lengths of gutter, and bolting them together with a layer of sealant in between to form a watertight sea!. As this sealant begins to deteriorate with age, the joint starts to leak. To make the repair, first remove the bolt holding the joint together. Often this is too rusty to undo, so hacksaw off the bolt between the nut and the guttering, or drill out the rest of the bolt. Lever the joint apart with an old chisel, and scrape away all the old sealant. Clean up the joint with a wire brush, then apply a finger-thick sausage of new sealant and bolt the sections back together using a new nut and bolt and a couple of washers. Scrape off any sealant that has oozed out before giving the repair a coat of bitumen-based paint on the inside of the gutter.

GUTTER SIZES
Plastic gutters come in three common sizes (measured as the width from lip to lip):

• 75mm (3in) – for extensions and outbuildings

• 100mm (4in) – for most house roofs

• 150mm (6in) – for house roofs of very large surface area The 150mm size carries roughly seven times the volume of water that the 76mm size can take, and three times as much as the 100mm size.

A CAST IRON ALTERNATIVE

It is still possible to buy a new cast iron guttering in several ‘classic’ profiles as a match for existing gutters, but it’s expensive and very awkward to install.

Repairing and Replacing Roof Guttering

The chances are you won’t realise there is anything wrong with your home’s guttering until it leaks.

The gutters on your home are supposed to capture all the rain falling on the roof and channel it to one or more downpipes. In turn these downpipes take the water into the main drain, a storm drain, or to a soakaway in your garden. This efficient removal of rainwater is important to keep your outside walls sound. Any missing, damaged, or blocked guttering will result in water cascading down the face of your wall, leading to dampness, and eventually mortar and brick decay.

You may be able to repair it; or you may be faced with having to replace whole sections or the complete system. Until the mid-1940s most guttering was made of cast iron, although asbestos enjoyed a brief popularity. Cast iron had the disadvantage of being very heavy to work with – as you’ll find if you take some of it down. It is also prone to rusting if not properly maintained. Asbestos was heavy, unhealthy,looked rather bulky in appearance and was easily damaged. When plastic piping and guttering was introduced, it became an obvious choice. It is light to work with, doesn’t need painting and its smooth surface allows water to flow through it more effectively. In any case, cast iron is very expensive these days, and not particularly easy to obtain.

Blockages

You should check why a blockage has occurred in the first place. This may be due to sagging, or poor installation preventing a free run for the water. Or the blockage may be combined with a faulty joint which may be possible to repair. But if cast iron guttering is at all cracked it needs replacing. If your gutter overflows during heavy rain, the chances are that it’s blocked with leaves.

Building hardwood conservatories and hardwood orangeries

We can build hardwood conservatories and hardwood orangeries, working together with a joinery shop based in London. All aspects of the traditional hardwood orangery, conservatory,roofs, windows and doors.

Windows may be a vital barrier against the elements but they’re also quite fragile and can be broken easily. When this happens the glass has to be replaced.

Windows may be all shapes and sizes but basically all have a main frame containing one or more fixed or opening frames. The glass is held in a rebate – a narrow ‘shelf – on the outer face of the window, and is kept in place with either angular metal nails called sprigs (on wooden frames) or wire clips (on metal frames). Old windows and doors glazing are then covered with putty, a pliable material which hardens when exposed to the air and provides a waterproof bedding for the glass.

The technique for reglazing a window depends mainly on what the window frame is made from – and wooden ones are by far the most common. Removing the glass Obviously, this has to be done carefully. If necessary, tap the old pane with a hammer until it is sufficiently broken to let you pull out most of the pieces by hand – you should wear thick gloves for protection.

Preparing the frame

The professional glazier uses a tool called a hacking knife to chop out the old putty.

Preparations for cutting glass

Great care is needed when cutting glass. Professional glass cutters wear protective wrist bands, since a splinter of glass could cause serious injury. It is advisable, then, either to wear wristbands or to wrap your wrists with household bandages or something of the sort before cutting glass. You will also need a large, fiat surface to lay the glass on, such as a kitchen or dining table. Place the blanket on the table to protect it and the surface of the glass from being scratched. Where odd shapes must be cut, always make a template first from a stiff card, carefully checking its accuracy. Be sure to make this 3.2mm (|in) smaller all round than your measurements to allow for the distance between the edge of the cutter and the cutting wheel. A steel wheel glass cutter is adequate for nearly all types of glass cutting and is also much cheaper to buy than the traditional glass cutter’s diamond.

Try to choose a cutter on which the wheel is clearly visible while the tool is in use, as this will promote greater accuracy. If you anticipate doing a large amount of cutting, you may find it useful to buy a good T-square to guide the cutter through the stroke. You will also need a ruler or steel tape for measuring. To mark the glass, a felttipped pen, chinagraph pencil or crayon can be used. Straight cutting Before doing any cutting, clean the surface of the glass by wiping it with a proprietary glass cleaner, such as Windolene, or with some methylated spirits. Mark the cutting lines on the surface and re-check the dimensions before cutting. Lubricate the glass cutter beforehand by wiping it over a piece of felt which has been soaked in light machine oil.

Hold the cutter so that the handle rests between the first and second fingers and the bottom of the hand remains clear of the glass. With a straight edge held 3.2mm (|in) from the marking line (to allow for the thickness of the wheel), score the surface of the glass along the line with the cutter. Cut with a firm, smooth stroke, drawing your arm back while keeping the rest of your body still. Do not backtrack, as the glass may break at a point other than where you want on your cutting line. The scoring should be completed in one operation—the object being to score the surface of the glass evenly so that the piece can be easily snapped apart. Once the score mark is made, lift the glass and tap it gently from underneath along the length of the mark. Then position the edge of a small batten, about 50mm (2in) wide, directly under the cutting line. Place your hands on the glass surface, one on either side of the line and as close to it as possible, and press down slowly and firmly with your fingertips until you get a clean break along the cutting line. Where you need to remove small strips or pieces of glass, score the line as before and then, using the jaws of a pair of pliers, break off the waste pieces in small bits. Do not use the notches along the outside of the cutting wheel for breaking off small segments of glass—they are intended only to be used as gauges. Curves and angles can also be cut by scoring the glass to the shapes required from cardboard templates. Once the glass has been scored to the shape, tap it carefully from the underside and then, gripping the piece firmly on each side of the score marks, snap evenly downwards to break the glass.

Cutting circles

A special instrument called a radius cutter is needed to cut accurate circles in glass. This cutter is best used with the glass resting on a flat surface, although it can be used on a window which is already in position. It consists of a cutting wheel mounted on an adjustable arm which revolves on a central pivot fastened to a suction cup. The first step in cutting out a circle is to find the centre point by marking diagonals on the piece from corner to corner. If the circle is not to be in the centre of the sheet, mark out a rectangular area where it will be and work accordingly within this area. Do this with a felt-tipped pen or crayon and then measure off the exact radius of the circle to be cut along one diagonal, beginning from the point where the diagonals cross. Fix the suction pad of the cutter on this central point where the diagonals meet and set the arm so that the cutting edge just reaches the length of the radius. Now scribe the circle, holding the cutter firmly and applying even pressure all around. Once this is completed, move the cutting edge in about 19mm (fin) and scribe a second circle—this is known as a safety circle because it helps keep the edges of the glass from splintering and cutting your fingers. Using the metal tip of an ordinary glass cutter, tap the underside of the glass upwards towards the cuts. Work slowly and carefully around both circles—the object of doing this is to open up the cuts so that the eventual removal of the waste glass is both clean and neat, without any splintered edges.

Drilling glass

Normally, the only type of glass you will need to drill will be mirror glass in order to provide holes for the fixings. Special bits, made expressly for the purpose of drilling glass, should be used with a hand drill or brace. Power drills are generally not suitable (unless fitted with a speed reducer) because the speed should not exceed 350 revolutions per minute. First, lay the glass on an absolutely flat surface. Mark the drilling position by pressing the tip of the bit on to the glass. This is to fracture the surface which will, to some extent, prevent the bit from wandering while drilling.

Remember to start on the nonreflective side to prevent damaging the silvering. Lubricate the end of the bit with turpentine and begin drilling, keeping the drill at right angles to the surface. Do not use too much downward pressure as this will break the glass. The powdered glass thrown up by the bit will turn the turpentine white and, when this happens, more turpentine should be added. A useful tip is to make a small ‘well’ around the drill hole with a ring of putty to contain the lubricant. Proceed carefully as the bit nears the other side, but do not stop turning or you will run the risk of splintering the glass around the edge and ruining the piece.

Removing rough edges

After the drilling has been completed, any rough edges can be smoothed away using two Carborundum stones—a No. 121 fine and a No. 122 medium. You will also need a natural pumice stone, some pumice powder and a wood block. Both the Carborundum and the pumice should be kept wet at all times when being used. The first stage, called ‘arrising’, removes the sharp edge. Use the medium stone for this, holding it at an angle of 45°, and rubbing it downward in one direction. Once the edges have been arrised, the flat part of the edge can be ground with the face of the medium stone. Rub it up and down, keeping it in contact with the glass at all times. Follow this with the fine stone to produce a sheen. Basic polishing can now be done with the pumice stone.

Rooflights, skylights and roof windows roofers in London

Using daylight

It is as much a part of planned lighting as the most sophisticated artificial light. Where the opportunity arises of influencing or dictating the positioning of windows, these should be carefully planned to achieve a good balance of light in the building. Very large windows are not necessarily the answer. Large rooms are for the most part better lit with more than one window, preferably in different walls. But the positioning of windows involves far more than simply its effect on the daylighting of the interior; orientation, view and the external design appearance of the house are also major considerations.

Roof-lights, sun-tunnels, roof windows and skylights are invaluable for giving extra day light, particularly at the top of the stair well, or let the into a flat or sloping roof over a dark room.To install a roof window or a roof light into a flat roof, the position of the joists needs to be modified to make room for it.