Gutter repairs Dublin

The short answer

A gutter that leaks at one joint needs a joint. A gutter that leaks everywhere needs replacing. We do both, and we tell you which one you have.

We repair and replace gutters and downpipes on houses across Dublin: dripping joints, runs that have dropped off their fall, brackets pulled out of the fascia, split downpipes and cast iron that has rusted through.

Send a photo of the drip or the sag and we will price it. Most repairs are a half day; a full replacement on a semi-detached house is usually a day.

The gutter problems we see most in Dublin

A drip at a joint in rain is the commonest call. uPVC gutter joints rely on a rubber seal that dries out and shrinks after years in the sun, and once it does, the joint weeps every time it rains. On a run with a lot of joints, one going usually means the rest are close behind, and that is when resealing becomes a false economy and a new run makes sense.

The second is a sag. Gutter brackets are screwed into the fascia board, and when a fascia rots at the back the brackets pull out under the weight of a full gutter. The run drops between brackets, water pools in the low spot instead of reaching the outlet, and it overflows at the back edge every time it rains hard. Refixing brackets into sound timber and resetting the fall cures it, but if the fascia itself is gone the fascia has to be dealt with first.

Then there are the downpipes. Split by frost, cracked where a car clipped them, or blocked at a bend with a decade of moss. And cast iron, still on many pre-war houses across the city, which rusts through from the inside at the joints and along the back where it sits against the wall.

Gutter repairs we carry out

Everything is quoted as a repair, with a photo of the fault before we start.

• Leaking joints resealed or the union replaced
• Sagging runs refixed with new brackets into sound timber and the fall reset to the outlet
• Cracked or missing sections of gutter replaced and matched to the existing profile
• Downpipes replaced or refixed, including swan necks, shoes and clips
• Outlets and stop ends replaced
• Cast iron gutters patched, resealed or replaced with a matching profile
• Full gutter and downpipe replacement in uPVC, half-round or ogee to suit the house
• Fascia checked and repaired where the brackets have nothing left to hold

Repair or replace

The honest test is age and spread. A gutter that is not that old with one bad joint is a repair. A gutter that has been resealed before, drips in three places and is chalky and brittle to the touch is at the end of its life, and a new run will cost less over the coming years than a series of patches would. We will say which it is from the ladder, with photos, and quote both ways if it is borderline so you can choose.

Where a full replacement is the answer, the new gutter goes up on new brackets at the right spacing, set with a string line to a fall towards the outlet, and the downpipes are refixed so the water actually gets to the drain. That sounds obvious; it is skipped more often than you would think.

Working on Dublin houses

Single-storey and bungalow gutters are ladder work. Two-storey semis and terraces get a roof ladder or a scaffold tower, which is in the quote. On terraces with no side passage we bring everything through the front, and the old gutter, brackets and any rotten timber go away with us at the end of the day.

We clear the gutters as part of every repair, and we will point out anything else at the eaves that is on the way out, such as the first course of slates or the eaves felt, so you know about it before it becomes a leak.

How it goes

1. Ring or send a photo. A photo of the drip, the sag or the damage, taken in rain if you can, tells us most of what we need. If the fascia looks soft we call out to check it first.
2. Written price within 48 hours. One price for the repair, or two prices where a repair and a replacement are both reasonable, so you can pick.
3. The repair. Most joint, bracket and downpipe repairs take a half day. A full replacement of the gutters and downpipes on a semi-detached house is normally a day.
4. Flush test and photos. We run water through the finished gutter to prove it falls to the outlet, then send before and after photos the same day.

What we do not do

We repair and replace gutters and downpipes above ground. Blocked drains and gullies below the downpipe are a drain contractor's job and we will say so rather than start digging. We do not fit guttering on new-build sites or on commercial buildings that need a cherry picker; houses, extensions and garages are what we do.

Common questions

How much does gutter replacement cost in Dublin?

It depends on the length of the runs, the number of downpipes, the height of the house and whether the fascia needs work first. We quote in writing from the ladder, and where a repair would do the job for now we give you that price as well as the replacement price.

Can you reseal a leaking gutter joint instead of replacing it?

Yes, where the gutter is otherwise sound. We replace the seal or the union rather than smear sealant over the outside, which never lasts. If the run has several bad joints we will tell you a new run is the better spend.

Do you replace cast iron gutters?

We repair cast iron where it is worth saving and replace it where it is rusted through. The replacement can be a matching profile in cast aluminium or uPVC, depending on the house and what you want to spend, and we talk that through on the site visit.

My gutter overflows in heavy rain but it is not blocked. Why?

Usually the fall. A gutter that has sagged holds water in the low spot and overflows there before the outlet ever fills. Refixing the brackets and resetting the fall with a string line fixes it. Occasionally the outlet is simply too small for a long run, and a second downpipe is the answer.

Get a free quote

Call 085 781 4603 or request a quote. Free site visit, written quote within 48 hours.