FinLock Concrete Gutters...

[PCM]

... we have them on out 1950s house.

Sometimes they drip a bit.

Quotes to 'fix' vary hugely!

Just wondering if anyone has been successful fixing theirs?

[Malc1]

never heard of these but I do remember having a craftcast concrete house built just postwar time .  wonderful huge house, built like an air raid shelter, bomb proof, with gutters in the roof mould but bitumened along with the roof covering .........  never had that drip problem BUT I might suggest leaving well alone if it's just drips during rain time .  so long as it's not penetrating the house fabric ..  it's only rain !

Huge repair costs prevail in many building trades ..........  pot of bitumen along the whole length or maybe just bitumen the cracks and joints ..........  it's only rain drips  .  save your £££££ for the Lexus !  ( Toyota )

Malc

[Boomer54]

54 minutes ago, PCM said:

... we have them on out 1950s house.

Sometimes they drip a bit.

Quotes to 'fix' vary hugely!

Just wondering if anyone has been successful fixing theirs?

Not surprised the quotes vary wildly. Is that because they are offering radically different solutions? lead lining for example would be hugely expensive. Applying a coat of flexible solution perhaps bitumen based would be less so. Patch fixing where sections join even less so. Half of the problem these days is so few trades will work off ladders so you are into scaffolding which ever solution you take and basically that's a sizeable fixed cost to begin with. Given that is the case you clearly ae better served with a solution that has at least some degree of longevity. Hence, probably not a patch fix, but by the same token leadlining might just be too much of a cost hit. I paid nigh on £3k a good 15 years ago and that was just releading a bay so not even the whole gutter. Albeit, no problem since and indeed the first leading dated from 1874 so plenty of longevity.

That's another factor, are you likely to be staying there awhile? Whatever the fix you are likely to want to match it to that situation.

When you say 'drip' is that just at section joints, or more systemically?

[PCM]

Thank you.

Yes... drips.

And I think the scaffolding vs ladder 'issue' is spot on, and probably the biggest part of the cost!

 

[Boomer54]

5 minutes ago, PCM said:

Thank you.

Yes... drips.

And I think the scaffolding vs ladder 'issue' is spot on, and probably the biggest part of the cost!

 

Everything you didn't want to know about Bitumen.

What is Bitumen: Key Properties and Applications - Structural Guide

If you have only odd spots where it drips from joints you could if you don't mind the ladder slap some on with a brush and probably get a couple of years out of it at least.

Alternatively me and Malc can come along for the cost of a pint and sort it. I'll hold the ladder while Malc nips up 'like a whippet up a stick' and hits it with the brush.😀

[Malc1]

Or we get Basil t’ Brush up there to zip along the gutters with a pot of bitumen 

Overhead amateur camera drone might help identify the exact issues you’re facing …… my son in law ( teccy geek ) a while back did this for me trying to identify where the heck I had a problem on my 400 y/o house roofs and ridges ….. never did find them …… rain has a habit of entering and travelling some distance before it penetrates that weak spot somewhere in the house 🥵

If it’s just rain drips and they aren’t penetrating the house then I’d be inclined to de-stress,  relinquish the worry and have another cuppa 😇

Malc

[PCM]

26 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Alternatively me and Malc can come along for the cost of a pint and sort it. I'll hold the ladder while Malc nips up 'like a whippet up a stick' and hits it with the brush.😀

Great idea! Love it.

A fiver each seals the deal - and the gutters.

[Boomer54]

1 minute ago, PCM said:

Great idea! Love it.

A fiver each seals the deal - and the gutters.

By the way the Drone idea from malc is good if you don't think you know the exact problem point(s). My neighbour bless him has a drone and has helped me out a couple of times with it. You can blow up the images and get right to source usually.

[DavidCM]

There are several problems with Finlock guttering.

The joints can leak,as already mentioned. The repair systems used to line (or reline)vary a lot depending on the materials used..like everything,you get what you pay for.Lead, properly applied,would be my recommendation,then running down to bitumen or heaven forbid,mastic gun man..Al at lowering cost/effectiveness/longevity.

Often properties with Finlock gutters date back to when galvanised metal window frames were used.These provided partial support for the heavy gutters.Many have been replaced by pvc u frames and few of these allow for the extra weight and settle ,causing cracking at the joints,leading to leakage.

The concrete,running laterally from cold outside to warm inside can lead to condensation and mould growth.

I no longer have my surveying textbooks and can't remember if the gutter sections have steel reinforcement which could corrode......

Apart from that, there's not much wrong with them.