we have a gutter at the front of the house that is hidden behind the front wall. It's a big metal trough (zinc, maybe?), about 9-10" wide with the slates overlapping the back edge. At the front it is inset into the upstand of the wall.

There is a leak somewhere - looking in the loft, the wood supporting it is sopping wet when it rains. I cannot see an obvious hole so I'm guessing that it is sitting on a nail head and has corroded through at that point. Alternatively water could be coming down inside the wall and getting to the underneath of the trough that way, though it's hard to see how it could get so wet like that.

What to do? Replacing the metal isn't an option - it runs across 4 houses in the terrace and would mean stripping off the entire slate roof. I'm wondering about sticking flashband strips over it, or maybe getting a long strip of EPDM to stick over it. Any suggestions? It's near the limit of my longest ladder - can reach into the trough but not easy to climb over and walk around.

On Friday, 13 July 2018 14:31:08 UTC+1, Joe90 wrote:
we have a gutter at the front of the house that is hidden behind the front wall. It's a big metal trough (zinc, maybe?), about 9-10" wide with the slates overlapping the back edge. At the front it is inset into the upstand of the wall.

There is a leak somewhere - looking in the loft, the wood supporting it is sopping wet when it rains. I cannot see an obvious hole so I'm guessing that it is sitting on a nail head and has corroded through at that point. Alternatively water could be coming down inside the wall and getting to the underneath of the trough that way, though it's hard to see how it could get so wet like that.

What to do? Replacing the metal isn't an option - it runs across 4 houses in the terrace and would mean stripping off the entire slate roof. I'm wondering about sticking flashband strips over it, or maybe getting a long strip of EPDM to stick over it. Any suggestions? It's near the limit of my longest ladder - can reach into the trough but not easy to climb over and walk around.

Line it. If necesary paint it instead with bitumen, adding fibres onto the 1st coat then overcoating.


NT

Joe90 Wrote in message:
we have a gutter at the front of the house that is hidden behind the front wall. It's a big metal trough (zinc, maybe?), about 9-10" wide with the slates overlapping the back edge. At the front it is inset into the upstand of the wall.

There is a leak somewhere - looking in the loft, the wood supporting it is sopping wet when it rains. I cannot see an obvious hole so I'm guessing that it is sitting on a nail head and has corroded through at that point. Alternatively water could be coming down inside the wall and getting to the underneath of the trough that way, though it's hard to see how it could get so wet like that.

What to do? Replacing the metal isn't an option - it runs across 4 houses in the terrace and would mean stripping off the entire slate roof. I'm wondering about sticking flashband strips over it, or maybe getting a long strip of EPDM to stick over it. Any suggestions? It's near the limit of my longest ladder - can reach into the trough but not easy to climb over and walk around.


Is it definitely a leak on your bit? Or a neighbouring house's
leak that is running onto your house's supporting
timbers?

If yours, line it with fibreglass?
--
--
Jim K


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"Joe90" wrote in message
...
we have a gutter at the front of the house that is hidden behind the front
wall. It's a big metal trough (zinc, maybe?), about 9-10" wide with the
slates overlapping the back edge. At the front it is inset into the
upstand of the wall.

There is a leak somewhere - looking in the loft, the wood supporting it is
sopping wet when it rains. I cannot see an obvious hole so I'm guessing
that it is sitting on a nail head and has corroded through at that point.
Alternatively water could be coming down inside the wall and getting to
the underneath of the trough that way, though it's hard to see how it
could get so wet like that.

What to do?

I'd have a look in the loft as it starts to rain and see if you can see
where the wood starts to get wet first. That should allow you to
see where the leak is. Then just fix the leak when you find it that way.

Replacing the metal isn't an option - it runs across 4 houses in the
terrace

It may not be one continuous length of metal that long and so the
leak may be at a join along the length. Likely that has been soldered.

and would mean stripping off the entire slate roof. I'm
wondering about sticking flashband strips over it, or
maybe getting a long strip of EPDM to stick over it.

Tricky getting the ends waterproof.

Any suggestions? It's near the limit of my longest ladder - can
reach into the trough but not easy to climb over and walk around.

I think in such a situation it might be a case to approach the other people
involved and see if they can get an inspection done. If there is one hole
there could be many and if its wood that is getting wet, its only a matter
of time till a big problem occurs for everyone.
Sounds a bit of a daft design, a bit like building the roof first.
Brian

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"Joe90" wrote in message
...
we have a gutter at the front of the house that is hidden behind the front
wall. It's a big metal trough (zinc, maybe?), about 9-10" wide with the
slates overlapping the back edge. At the front it is inset into the upstand
of the wall.

There is a leak somewhere - looking in the loft, the wood supporting it is
sopping wet when it rains. I cannot see an obvious hole so I'm guessing
that it is sitting on a nail head and has corroded through at that point.
Alternatively water could be coming down inside the wall and getting to the
underneath of the trough that way, though it's hard to see how it could get
so wet like that.

What to do? Replacing the metal isn't an option - it runs across 4 houses
in the terrace and would mean stripping off the entire slate roof. I'm
wondering about sticking flashband strips over it, or maybe getting a long
strip of EPDM to stick over it. Any suggestions? It's near the limit of my
longest ladder - can reach into the trough but not easy to climb over and
walk around.

On 13/07/2018 14:31, Joe90 wrote:
It's near the limit of my longest ladder - can reach into the trough but not easy to climb over and walk around.


You should never work with a ladder that isn't plenty long enough. Don't
do it.

Bill

In message , Brian Gaff
writes
I think in such a situation it might be a case to approach the other people
involved and see if they can get an inspection done. If there is one hole
there could be many and if its wood that is getting wet, its only a matter
of time till a big problem occurs for everyone.
Sounds a bit of a daft design, a bit like building the roof first.

Common on farms. Maybe this is a part Q farm building conversion.

I don't know who originated the idea but my first one came from Wales,
steel frame agricultural barn BS5502 class 2 made by Shufflebottom. (
Their logo is the rear view of an elephant:-)

Portal frame with Z purlins. The *clever* idea was to fit a strong,
galvanised steel gutter to the top of the stanchions. The roof material
is secured to the top of the inside edge. Makes an easy to erect
building with no gutters sticking out the sides.

What they failed to realise is that a portal frame barn is normally
constructed within 1/2" of level. There is no fall to the eaves beam
gutter which inevitably retains some water providing an ideal home for
fungal growths and rapidly corrodes the steel once the Zinc is damaged.

--
Tim Lamb

Sounds to me like a parapet gutter of the kind found on lots of terraces
in everything from lead through zinc, aluminium and asphalt to EDPM and
more. There are lots on quite modest terraces built before it became
acceptable to have your front gutters on display


On 13/07/2018 20:24, Brian Gaff wrote:
I think in such a situation it might be a case to approach the other people
involved and see if they can get an inspection done. If there is one hole
there could be many and if its wood that is getting wet, its only a matter
of time till a big problem occurs for everyone.
Sounds a bit of a daft design, a bit like building the roof first.
Brian



--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid

In article ,
Bill Wright writes:
On 13/07/2018 14:31, Joe90 wrote:
It's near the limit of my longest ladder - can reach into the trough but not easy to climb over and walk around.


You should never work with a ladder that isn't plenty long enough. Don't
do it.

Price up scaffolding - you won't regret it.

--
Andrew Gabriel
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