Odd guttering.

[The Medway Handyman]

I clean a lot of gutters this time of year.

Recently came across some odd ones. One small estate had solid concrete gutters! Lined with what looks like bitumen, seemed to be precast then built into the house.

House built in the 1950's I'd guess.

Unlikely to fall down after heavy snow, but what happens when the rebar starts to rust & big chunks of concrete start dropping off?

Anyone ever seen those before?

The other one was weirder. Downpipe (in the centre of the gutter) went immediately into a right angle bend & disappeared into the clad fascia.

House built 60s/70s I'd guess.

Lady of the house told me the houses were originally built with flat roofs, then a pitched roof was added later. Apparently the downpipe goes across the loft, then down the wall at the rear.

All the houses on the estate were the same.

No reason AFAICS why the running outlet couldn't be moved to the end & then the downpipe go down the wall.

Wonder why they did that?

[Tony Bryer]

They're called Finlock gutters - Google this for lots of info

[The Medway Handyman]

Cheers. They seem like a bloody nightmare!

[damduck-egg]

Our bungalow has them, 1952 construction. I don't think the liner is original as it is plastic as are the downpipes. Seems to do the job with no damp patches or leaks that the system is prone to. Worst problem is that the trough is large enough for a pigeon to walk along out of sight, and on the plastic liner it's quite a racket. First time it occured I ended up looking for rodents in the loft.

G.Harman

[Bert Coules]

My early 60s bungalow had these, as did the whole estate. They are indeed built-in: they're combined gutters/window lintels. The cross-section is like a capital letter E, rotated 90 degrees anti-clockwise: the central vertical strut sits above the outer brick skin of the cavity wall. Being sectional they tend to drop at the joints and then leak, which means that rain water tends to run through into the property. Bitumen (or fibreglass) lining is often applied, but tends only to be partially successful.

Many people locally have had them replaced: I did it a few years ago. The usual technique is to cut off the outer portion, clad the exposed central strut with a well-sealed PVC fascia and then fit conventional guttering to that. I've had no more trouble since it was done.

[docholliday93]

The architect didn't like the idea of rainwater goods cluttering up his car efully designed facade? It sound like a good way to make minor problems with downpipes into major d isasters. Sometimes of course you cant avoid doing that kind of thing, as in the rath er large house I came across once (since demolished). In plan the ridge loo ked like a figure 8, so there were two internal areas which could only be d rained through the loft - they did it using open topped wooden troughs with lead linings...

[Bill Wright]

The council estate built in the 1950s in Scawthorpe has lots like that.

Bill