January 18, 2021 12:07 pm
Published by Summit Cladding
If every picture tells a story the photograph of the wall of this house before work was started on our latest project speaks volumes. One glance at the damp brickwork underneath the large concrete gutter tells you all you need to know about so-called Finlock gutters. Actually, there’s a lot more to know about Finlock guttering, as we’ve discussed on this blog before. This style of concrete guttering was all the rage in the 1950s and 60s, when there was plenty of concrete available, but not much ironwork because so much had been used up in the war. Design flaws with Finlock guttering Summit Cladding was called in by our clients in Brookmans Park, Hertfordshire, to sort out the many... View Article
February 13, 2018 8:10 am
Published by Summit Cladding
If you’ve read our blog before, you might remember previous reports about the horror that is “finlock concrete guttering” — three words to strike fear into any householder! This system, which was popular with some builders in the 1960s, is where a concrete gutter is fixed to the top of the house wall, instead of a conventional gutter being attached to the end of the roof joists. And as sure as night follows day, the concrete eventually starts to break down and moisture leaks into the top of the cavity walls. Time to fix it! Katie and her partner, from Enfield, knew they had a problem with their finlock gutters and they’d tried to keep out the damp by getting... View Article
April 10, 2017 6:08 am
Published by Summit Cladding
Previous posts on this blog have told the story of the dreaded Finlock concrete gutters – and here’s another! Our client, Jane, had some unwelcome news in the survey report from her mortgage lender on her end-of-terrace house in Epping. There was some urgent work required. First, part of the roof was leaking badly and second, the Finlock concrete gutters needed removing. These gutters, as we’ve reported before, can be a nightmare for home owners, with a risk of cracking and damp penetration in the walls. Search for specialist Jane had looked on the internet to find a company that specialises in removing concrete gutters, but all those she found were based in the Midlands. But then she discovered that not... View Article
March 8, 2017 6:13 am
Published by Summit Cladding
A recent insurance company survey revealed that one in ten DIY jobs are so badly botched that a professional builder has to come to the rescue. Luckily Summit Cladding’s latest job didn’t get to that stage because the householder was wise enough to come to us before the problem arose! Sylvia contacted us on behalf of her mum who’s lived in her terraced house in Edmonton, North London, for over 30 years. She explained that her mum was extremely proud of her home — except for the exterior. She was worried that a DIY canopy above the front door might fall off the wall and injure someone. Concrete gutter issues Also, there was concrete guttering above the front bay window,... View Article
February 27, 2017 6:31 pm
Published by Summit Cladding
World War Two may have ended more than 70 years ago, but its effects are still being felt in the sort of work that Summit Cladding carries out. How so? Well, although there was a house-building boom just after the war, there was still a shortage of steel. So much had been used to make ships, weapons, aircraft and ammunition that builders had to look to other materials. One of these materials was concrete and in this case, concrete guttering. So-called finlock gutters were frequently used in the construction of post-war houses – but they can be a bit of a headache. Concrete gutter problems Summit recently completed a job to remove finlock guttering for Julia and her partner, who... View Article
