Victorian semi cast iron gutter repair / replace, diy or not?

[TJ130289]

Hi all, first time poster hoping for some ideas and insight.

I have recently moved into a Victorian semi with its original ogee ( I think) cast iron gutters / wooden soffits still in place.

Over the recent winter I have noticed that there are a lot of leaks where the gutter sections join. I expected I could break the joints, re seal with linseed putty and get plenty more use out of them but…

I have been up and inspected and there is a lot of rust, some areas have rusted holes in the base and a lot of areas are rusted away at the back side.

Also the leaks have caused a lot of rot to the underside tongue and groove soffit boards

I’m thinking this may be beyond repair but I’d love to hear if anyone thinks there is a diy repair option for me.

I got a couple quotes for the replacement of gutters and pvc soffits and they are all coming in at around 12-14k for aluminium gutter and 10-12k for pvc gutter.

This seems outrageously expensive to me but maybe someone here can advise on that? The length of gutter / soffit would be a total of about 30m with a bay window at the front, keeping all existing down pipes.

I’d love to hear if people think the price is correct and also if this is a job a keen diyer could tackle over a couple weeks.

I also wanted to note that I cannot see any brackets holding up my gutters they appear to only be held in with nails is this normal for gutters this age?

 

[TJ130289]

I have included some pictures for reference.

 

[Alastairreid]

The gutters are fixed onto the back plate with coach bolts.
You can get replacement og in aluminium around £80 for a 2m length.
You would need a scaffold tower at a minimum, possibly rotten rafter tails facings etc.
Not really a DIY job as far as I'm concerned due to the weight in those gutters and the inevitable rot you will come across.
Get more like for like quotes.
I wouldn't use plastic on a victorian building either.
Finally these type of cast og gutters rot at the bottom and back first and have a habit of crashing down when you start removing them.

 

[TJ130289]

Thanks for that.

yeah I’ve plenty rot at the back and bottoms. The rafter tails that I have been able to look at appear good. All the rot appears to be with the facia board and soffits.

I was planning to get a scaffold tower for the repair but more and more it’s looking like a full replacement job.

Obviously a scaffold tower would not be sufficient for that so Im wondering if I rent full scaffolding round the whole building, could I with the help of a friend get the old stuff removed. Im pretty sure that is doable.

it just a matter of how easy it would be for me to then fit all new aluminium gutter and possibly repair /replace the timber facia boards and soffits.

may main concern being the time it would take and the time my loft is open to the element / birds that it would attract.

I will continue to get more quotes in the hope that the ones I have are extremely expensive.

thanks

 

[Alastairreid]

If you are confident and careful there is no reason you cannot do it yourself...a section at a time would be the way to go.

 

[ETAF]

i had to do the back of an old 1904 (edwardian) house.
I used some matching gutter , which had been been black powder coated black, with joining screws and seals.
Much lighter then the cast iron. I also used some CT1 on the join.
the guttering came from a large specialist Guttering supplier in Surrey (sutton/tadworth area)
This was in 1997 - and i had scaffolding installed around that part of the building £450.
repaired the facias where they had rotted - surprisingly little rot, in my case.

I just had a bungalow down in 2017 replacement soffits / fascias for plastic and the first 10 tiles removed, joist checked, repaired , insulation installed.
also included a new warm flat roof
Gable end wood - and removed and treated
So a bit of work, and little scaffolding needed as only 1 story


But they quotes were separated and £3K was just for the facias / soffits and plastic guttering

Maybe get some more quotes , and also quotes for the scaffolding and how long it would be up for - Mine was 4weeks

BUT at the moment , i know trades are hard to get and prices are increasing a lot.... As i wanted a small 1mx2m cloakroom down , and just labour was 2.5K - so i did that myself.

 

[catlad]

If you just want to stop the gutters from leaking then with a scaffolding tower you could use acropol and some fibreglass matting and make your way round the building.

 

[TJ130289]

Thanks for all the input guys. I had another quote from a reputable company today for around 6k which is closer to what I was expecting. That’s for all black pvc soffits and pvc ogee gutter with 18mm facia board.

I’m just waiting to confirm a few things but with that including the scaffolding and waste removal I think I will go with that.

i will post completed pictures in case it helps anyone in the future

 

[TJ130289]

Hi all,

I wanted to update and show the completed job in case it can help anyone looking for similar in the future.

Pictures show the nee pvc soffits, facia and ogee gutter complete. Ended up costing 6k with scaffold and waste included. It took 4.5 days total.

I originally worried about how the pvc might look on the old building but I’m happy with how it’s turned out and look forward to not having to paint it in the future .