How to seal leaky metal gutter trough?

[Joe90]

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 sl ates overlapping the back edge. At the front it is inset into the upstand o f 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 th at it is sitting on a nail head and has corroded through at that point. Al ternatively water could be coming down inside the wall and getting to the u nderneath 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 won dering about sticking flashband strips over it, or maybe getting a long str ip of EPDM to stick over it. Any suggestions? It's near the limit of my l ongest ladder - can reach into the trough but not easy to climb over and wa lk around.

[tabbypurr]

t 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.

s 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 ge t so wet like that.

s in the terrace and would mean stripping off the entire slate roof. I'm w ondering about sticking flashband strips over it, or maybe getting a long s trip 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

[Brian Gaff]

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

[Bill Wright]

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

Bill

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Brian Gaff writes

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.

[Robin]

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 ;)

[Andrew Gabriel]

Price up scaffolding - you won't regret it.