Questions on Gutters Dublin

Clearing gutters and checking the downpipes on a typical 3-bed terrace or semi in Dublin is priced by house size and access, with detached or three-storey houses costing more.

If a uPVC gutter is still straight and not brittle, replacing the perished rubber seal clip at the leaking union bracket or fitting a new running outlet usually stops the drip without replacing the whole run.

uPVC gutters come in 4 m lengths joined with rubber-sealed union clips, while continuous aluminium gutters are roll-formed on site in one piece with no intermediate joints along the run.

Two-storey-over-basement and parapet roofs in Dublin 4, Dublin 6, Rathmines and Dún Laoghaire sit behind a brick parapet or between two pitched roofs, so rainwater drains along an internal lead-lined or felt-lined timber trough called a box gutter.

On Protected Structures and houses in Architectural Conservation Areas across Dublin, councils normally require like-for-like cast-iron repair or heritage cast-iron replacement rather than plastic.

If clean gutters still spill over the front edge, the brackets may have sagged out of fall toward the outlet, the fascia board may be tilting forward, or a single downpipe is undersized for the roof area.

If the timber fascia board behind the gutter brackets is soft or rotten, replacing or capping the fascia and vented soffit while the gutters are down gives the new brackets a solid fixing.

Labour on residential repair and maintenance is charged at the reduced 13.5% VAT rate, provided the cost of materials does not exceed two-thirds of the total price excluding VAT.

A wire balloon guard or leaf cage at the top of the downpipe stops large balls of roof moss dropping into the swan-neck bend, though the gutter trough still needs an occasional clear-out.

Most blockages sit either in the swan-neck offset at the eaves or at the bottom shoe above the gulley trap; dismantling the offset section or rodding from the shoe clears the compacted moss.

Many straight front and back runs on a standard two-storey house can be reached from standoff ladders or a small mobile tower, while three-storey returns or conservatory roofs need tower bridging.

When the old roofing felt at the eaves perishes and curls back behind the fascia, rainwater running off the bottom row of tiles drips behind the gutter; sliding rigid uPVC eaves support trays under the bottom tiles channels the water into the trough.

Deep-flow semi-elliptical and ogee profiles hold significantly more water than standard 112 mm half-round uPVC guttering, making them better suited to large pitched roofs and steep valleys.

Your request goes to one local gutter company that covers your part of Dublin. They ring you, look at the job and give you a written price.