Which guttering is best for you?

Guttering – which is best for you?

At GBP, we sell a large range of guttering, in several colours, styles and varieties. That’s superb, but if you don’t know what they’re used for, then why look past what’s simply the cheapest option?

However, it’s important to make sure you pick the right gutter for the job. Getting rid of your excess water is a vital function of keeping your house running smoothly, and the correct drain is needed to ensure it’s done quickly and efficiently. So, here’s a short guide to our choice of guttering on offer.

HALF-ROUND

The most common, and the least expensive (along with the squareline). There’s a good chance that when you think of guttering, you think of this. It gives good performance, solidly made, and it fits in best with vintage or traditional buildings. The rounded shape offers excellent drainage capabilities. This is the most obvious choice because it doesn’t need the extra utility offered by ogee or Deepstyle guttering. Available in white, black, brown, grey or anthracite grey.

SQUARELINE

Whereas half-round guttering is excellent for period homes, square guttering gives off a modern, contemporary aura. They’re known for being straightforward to install, making them excellent for DIY projects; and the squared edges have a superb water carrying capacity. Available in white, black, brown or anthracite grey.

DEEPSTYLE

Deepstyle guttering is ideal for areas that have lots of rain or are expected to drain lots of rainwater, or for properties with steeper or larger roofs. The increased size gives it a greater carrying capacity than the standard round and the shape of the profile means less time is spent on maintaining the gutter. Available in white, black, brown or anthracite grey.

OGEE

Ogee guttering’s main draw is its aesthetic – it looks great, giving it a style that other guttering profiles can’t achieve with its fluted edges, and it has a lot of the same advantages that deepstyle guttering has: greater carrying capacity than the standard half-round and the design allows for fewer chances of blockages. There are fittings that will allow you to install a new length of ogee piping and connect it with a regular round or square – this means you can easily integrate ogee guttering into your current gutter system without additional replacement costs.

INDUSTRIAL

Industrial guttering is used for the most heavy-duty water draining needs – farm buildings, warehouses, industrial units, factories, basically anywhere that has a large surface area and requires the fastest drainage available. Featuring our largest carrying capacity, this is larger than even the deepstyle, and it’s even more resistant to blockages as what’s likely to block, say a half-round gutter, likely is something that the high carrying capacity of the industrial will simply be able to travel around.

CAST-IRON EFFECT

We’re asked a lot of questions about cast-iron effect guttering, but this isn’t another shape option – it’s a visual effect used for half-round, deepstyle, ogee and industrial guttering.

This is the ideal choice for those looking for the most traditional look on the market. As the name suggests, it’s designed to look like cast-iron, but with all the advantages of uPVC – namely, it’s much lighter, it’s easier to install and it won’t corrode or rust like a “true” cast iron gutter would.

The cast-iron effect is for half-round, deepstyle, ogee and industrial guttering shapes, available in classic black.

GUTTER GLOSSARY

Angle/elbow: Used to redirect a gutter around the corner of a property.

Bracket/hanger/support: Screwed into the fascia and then clipped around the gutter, these keep the gutter in place. A downpipe bracket does the same thing, but for downpipes.

Branch/junction: Allows a downpipe to be attached to another, but at an angle.

Downpipe/rainwater pipe/drainpipe/downspout: A vertical pipe that carries water down from an elevated gutter.

Downpipe connector: Attaches two lengths of downpipe together.

Gutter/channel: The actual, metres-long piece of pipe that water will travel through.

Offset bend: Allows the gutter to be installed around obstacles by changing direction.

Running outlet: Connects the gutter to the downpipe.

Shoe/spout: Attached to the bottom of the downpipe to redirect water. Often used with the downpipe doesn’t empty water directly into a drain.

Stop ends: Caps off the ends of the gutter to prevent water from escaping – external stop ends have their own clips and seal, while an internal one doesn’t. Which one you’ll need will vary by installation.

Union (bracket): Seamlessly connects one gutter to another. It’s possible to have a union have a different shape on each end, i.e. a square to circle union.