Best Ways to Maintain Concrete Gutters

Finlock gutters, the technical term for concrete gutters, are extremely hard to maintain. Finlock concrete systems are heavy, and they suffer from frequent downward




movement, especially over window frames, which cannot usually handle the weight. With this in mind, it does not take time for small cracks to occur. There are three main ways to maintain finlock gutters.

Sealing

This option is usually best and cheaper if you do it yourself.

• Remove all debris from gutter and allow them to dry.


• Use a wire brush to brush inside of gutter to remove any existing flaky sealant.


• Fill the gaps inside gutter with fast setting cement.


• Coat the inside of gutter with an acrylic roof sealant.


• Apply a thick coat of sealant or two average coats.


• Avoid cheap alternatives such as Bitumen as they have a shorter life expectancy.

This should last about 6 to 10 years. After that time it should be done again. In addition, you may need to remove the first row of roof tiles for convenient access to the gutter.

Gutter Liners

Another method is to secure a liner to the inside of the concrete gutter. There are three types of gutter liners available: rubber, aluminum and torch on felt.

This type of work needs to be carried out by specialist roofing contractors and extra care must be taken when lining the gutter. If your property is semi detached or in a terrace and your gutter is shared with a neighbor, neighboring gutters should be lined, if possible. If neighboring gutters are not lined, a seal will need to be created on the boundary and this is a common weak spot in the system and known to cause leaks.

The life expectancy of torch on felt is over 15 years and for both the aluminum and rubber liners it's in excess of 20 years, assuming the work has been done to a high standard.

Removal of the Finlock System

It is possible, but expensive, to completely remove the concrete gutter blocks and replace them with a more attractive and leak resistant alternative.