Leaking gutters, especially those big ones on schools and other communal
buildings, used to be an expensive nightmare to fix. But that was before
Gutterline! Bill Lancashire explains.

With budgets becoming increasingly squeezed by today’s economic climate, the last thing any property manager wants to hear is that the gutters are leaking. Rainwater entering a building is always bad news because not only can it result in internal damage to the electrics, the contents of the property and indeed the fabric of the structure itself, but pools of water lying on the floor can also lead to horrendous health and safety issues.

Getting the gutters fixed, however, has frequently proved to be a huge nightmare that can be costly, time consuming, and especially with the British weather to consider, not always
reliable. The good news though is that there is a proven remedy that will stop gutters leaking – instantly and for good. Better still, this solution is easy and economical to achieve. It can be fitted even during poor weather and it has been tried, tested and trusted for almost 25-years on all types of buildings and all sizes and profiles of gutters. Remarkably, it even carries a 20-year guarantee.

Made-to-measure

When Mr H D Sharman introduced his patented Rubberised Plygene Gutterline system as far back as 1985 he immediately solved what had long been a major problem for property owners and roofing contractors. Instead of the traditional paint ‘n’ patch or torch on felt repairs that depended on clean gutters and prolonged dry spells of weather to be effective, the Gutterline system is made-to-measure for each project, which means it can be fitted quickly and cost-effectively in most weather conditions. When fitted to the manufacturer’s instructions it creates what is in effect a gutter within a gutter, so there is no need to repair the original structure because no water is ever able to penetrate behind or beneath the Gutterline liner.

Gutterline, which carries BBA Approval, is also a well thought-out, fully comprehensive
system that incorporates a full range of outlets, including syphonics, plus corners, weirs,
sideboxes and stop ends etc. So whatever the shape of the gutters, and no matter how long or how wide they are, H D Sharman’s Gutterline, which is supplied on a one-piece, joint-free roll, is today’s simple, effective and permanent solution.

Ideal remedy for hospitals

Local authorities, as well as other public sector organisations have all been enthusiastic in
their embrace of the Gutterline system and it has been used by numerous bodies and on all
types and styles of public buildings. For instance on the Lincoln County Hospital Gutterline was specified to stop over 1300 metres of 20-year old galvanised box gutters from leaking.

Another hospital that decided to cure their leaking gutter problem with Gutterline was
Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford. Despite the fact that their big galvanised gutters were on top of a three-storey building, this posed no problem for the contractors who, because the liner was delivered in made-to-measure rolls, were able to position and fit them without too much
difficulty.

At the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, which is a listed building, the gutters were cast iron OGEE profiles, but because the Gutterline system has evolved to solve all the most commonly encountered problems, H D Sharman were able to provide a customised fixing kit that enabled the liners to be sealed in place without compromising the status or appearance of the historic building or its elegant gutters.

Passed the college test

In addition to hospitals, Gutterline has been used on many schools up and down the country. Seymour Primary in Manchester and Stockport Grammar School are just two of them, while at Farnborough College of Technology, almost 2,400 metres of Gutterline, plus custom-moulded corners, overflows and outlets were employed to stop the leaks on the college’s glasscovered corridors, atria and classrooms.

When Sparsholt College in Winchester contacted H D Sharman their ‘leak problem’ was
rather unusual in that rainwater from the college’s roof was diverted for storage into huge
concrete troughs. Over the years this concrete had become porous, but Sharmans solved the problem by fabricating bespoke Rubberised Plygene linings, which sat snugly and invisibly inside the troughs.

Versatile

Over the years H D Sharman have supplied their Gutterline for countless public sector
buildings and they can include prisons, libraries, police stations, railway stations, community buildings, exhibition halls, as well as leisure centres, swimming pools and sports halls among their portfolio of projects. With an additional Gutterline system specially developed to solve the problem of leaking Finlock type sectional concrete gutters, it has also been specified and used on thousands of residential properties by LAs, HAs and ALMOs in every region of the country.

Rubberised Plygene Gutterline is manufactured and supplied exclusively by H D Sharman Ltd who are always happy to provide any help and advice property owners or contractors require.

• Bill Lancashire provides marketing services for H D Sharman Ltd.