The water collected by the cover must be able to be collected and evacuated without risking damaging the walls of the house. This is the role of gutters and their complementary elements. If they are in poor condition, do not hesitate to replace them.
Several solutions are available to you.
Metal gutters
The traditional gutters of our houses are made of zinc , a metal that is easy to work with and which has the advantage of being little sensitive to corrosion , once the surface oxidation phase has passed, which makes it matte gray. The drainage and rainwater evacuation system includes the gutters themselves, half-ducts installed horizontally around the edge of the roof, but also the connection parts to the downspouts and, finally, the accessories for fixing them. A very common intermediate configuration includes a simple gutter elbow evacuating water towards a manhole, itself connected to the rainwater drainage network.
Zinc gutter
The zinc gutter is typically offered in half-round elements 4 m long and 0.65 mm thick, in sizes of 16, 25 and 33 cm. The downspouts are available in 80 or 100 mm diameter in 2 m long elements. Zinc gutters are assembled by tin soldering, or by fitting and joining (easier to install for the amateur).
Copper gutter
Very elegant, copper also guarantees optimal resistance to corrosion and deformation. For gutters, however, its price limits its use.
Aluminum gutter
The main advantage of aluminum is obviously its lightness. But it is also a very solid material, not very sensitive to temperature variations, chemical and climatic attacks and generally to corrosion . The elements do not include any welding and are assembled by interlocking. They can be powder coated in a multitude of colors.
PVC gutter
PVC having invested and ended up completely dominating the field of interior sanitary evacuations , it is not surprising that it has won the gutter sector. Produced by manufacturers of sanitary PVC tubes , the PVC gutter initially copied the zinc gutter purely and simply, the gray color of the material used for plumbing pipes bringing it closer to zinc. Unalterable, PVC constitutes an interesting alternative to metal, which we know nevertheless ends up degrading as it ages. Above all, it is much cheaper, which has allowed it to carve out an important place in the field of residential construction, where cost is a very important economic factor. They had the same half-round shape and the same dimensions. The accessories were directly copied from those used for installing zinc gutter systems. Assembly by gluing is very practical.
Colors of PVC gutters
PVC gutters were first gray, by analogy with the zinc they were intended to replace. PVC gutter is available today in a wide variety of colors: white, sand, brown, which helps meet the diversity needs of architectural projects.
