WHY is it that my articles seem to revolve around the weather? I’m not obsessed with the weather or at least no more than the average Englishman, it’s because defects in our homes usually start with the effect of the weather.
As our homes are just a sophisticated shelter, their primary purpose is to protect the occupants from the wind, rain and temperature.
This week was our summer monsoon season. It had to come. Not quite like Gene Kelly, we should have been out with our brollies checking the gutters and downpipes. Modern plastic and aluminium rainwater systems rely heavily on neoprene gaskets to make the joints watertight. Warm dry weather can strain these joints and we finish up with leaks.
One area of gutters that we often overlook is the hidden valley or parapet gutter. These gutters are tucked out of sight and we don’t notice the leaks until they appear on the ceiling. Valley gutters between two or three pitched roofs are quite common on older properties that have been extended in the past. In big old houses there is often an access hatch or roof light to allow you to get out and clean them but too often we find modern extensions fail to give this access. Parapet gutters will be tucked behind decorative parapet walls on the front face of the house.
Both of these hidden gutter types can be a problem near the coast where seagulls have a habit of nesting in the sheltered valley. The nests may not be a problem in normal showers but once we have heavy downpours the nests will wash down the gutter.
Modern roofs often have pivoting Velux-type roof lights fitted. These roof lights are usually very reliable and rarely give problems but sometimes debris can build up in the gap between the roof light and the tiling. Normally the flashings can cope with this but during our monsoon season the amount of water can be so great that it overflows into the roof. Fortunately the debris is easy to clear, as long as you can get up to the roof light in the first place.
Some of our older houses have more traditional roof lights. These are the large plates of glass fixed into wrought iron or timber glazing bars. Waterproofing of these glazing bars can be a problem. Short of completely replacing the roof lights, you may have to resort to new strips across the glazing bars to stop the leaks.
Rainwater pipes can also be a problem. These rarely have watertight joints, relying instead on simple spigot and socket connections and gravity. Unfortunately, if the pipe blocks, the water will overflow out of the joint above the blockage. It may require the full pipe to be taken down to clear the blockage rather than standing on a ladder at the top with a long pole poking the debris down to the bottom.
So the monsoon rains may be very disappointing after the nice weather but try to look on the bright side, they do give us an early opportunity to check for problems so we can get them repaired before the winter sets in.
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