Man Friday GRP Solutions

Radius Gutters & Curved Guttering from Man Friday GRP Solutions

Man Friday’s GRP gutter is handmade and bespoke to follow the exact curve of round towers, turrets, bays, Oast Houses and similar curved buildings. We’ve heard it called everything – arched gutter, loopy gutter, twisty gutter, semi-circular gutter, curved gutter, bowed gutter, bendy gutter – the list goes on and on.

The correct term is Radius Gutter and we individually manufacture radius guttering to follow the exact curvature of your building project, whether it is an outward curve, convex (as a tower), or inward curve, concave or even a mixture of both.

You supply either the dimensions of the radius of the curve to the building or a template / pattern to the fascia of the wall and we will manufacture the radius guttering to your exact shape. This will create a smooth designed finish to your building with neat butt joints and union inserts hidden from view rather than the "stuck on afterthought" thrupenny bit effect. It also eliminates the need for unsightly multiple unions and the leak potential of using short straight lengths of conventional gutter.

Our radius gutter is moulded in coloured, maintenance free glass fibre in 2 metre lengths and requires no painting. It has a far longer life and colourfastness than PVC gutter systems. Standard profiles are Niagara ogee (which has the pleasing appearance of Victorian cast iron guttering) or straight box section for a modern un-fussy look. Standard colours are black, white and brown although we can mould in any BS or RAL colour on request. We also supply all the necessary gutter ancillaries such as wall brackets, unions, stop-ends, internal and external corners, downpipe fittings as well as bonding sealant to ensure watertight joints.

As it is not advisable to mix fibreglass gutters with other systems we also manufacture straight gutter, again in 2 metre lengths using the same profiles and colours as the radius gutter sections, thus retaining a matching system and a consistent look around the building. If there are breaks in the building line we will mould corners to suit whatever angle is required. These can be radius to radius or radius to straight.

The Niagara profile fits standard ogee brackets. For roofs where brackets are not wanted (often for access or aesthetic reasons) we offer the option of a high back wall at 120mm which allows the gutter to be screw-fastened directly into the fascia of the building. The standard flow rates for Niagara and Box gutters are 2.7 litres per second. For larger roof areas, especially where two or more gable roofs run into a valley prior to the gutter, we will produce collector boxes, hoppers or wider section gutter to cope with the increased flow.

Please note that as Radius Gutter is a bespoke item made to order, we charge a one-off mould set up fee of £125.00 for each & every order.

GUTTER PRODUCTS

PRODUCT	DESCRIPTION	CODE
	NIAGARA RADIUS STANDARD	N80R
	NIAGARA STRAIGHT STANDARD	N80S
	NIAGARA RADIUS HIGH BACK	N120R
	NIAGARA STRAIGHT HIGH BACK	N120S
	BOX RADIUS STANDARD	B80R
	BOX STRAIGHT STANDARD	B80S
	BOX RADIUS HIGH BACK	B120R
	BOX STRAIGHT HIGH BACK	B120S
	STOP END - LEFT HAND These are fixed with our sealant inside the end of the open gutter to seal it.	S/LH
	STOP END - RIGHT HAND	S/RH

PRODUCT	DESCRIPTION	CODE
	UNION Fits inside the gutter, bonded with our sealant to form a watertight joint. Because they are fitted inside there are no unsightly lumps spoiling the aesthetics of the curving gutter line.	U/1
	ROUND DOWNPIPE ADAPTER These fit into a standard 65mm plastic downpipe and are fitted in minutes. They can be positioned anywhere in the gutter to suit your chosen outlet position. Use a 55mm holesaw and hand screw the two halves of the self-sealing adaptor in place.	RDP/1
	SQUARE DOWNPIPE ADAPTER Fits 65mm plastic downpipe	SDP/1
	BRACKETS - Niagra Usualy spaced at 700mm intervals. The Niagra is a screw to wall and then clip in place.	BN/1
	BRACKETS - J Usualy spaced at 700mm intervals. The Box is a J bracket that screws to the wall and the gutter is bonded with our sealant.	BJ/1
	INTERNAL CORNER 90°	IC90
	EXTERNAL CORNER 90°	EC90
	BESPOKE CORNER We can make corners to any angle required, eg where a curved bay connects to a straight length.	BC/1

Further Information

Ogee Radius Gutter Diagram

Box Radius Gutter Diagram

Radius Gutter Fitting Guidelines

Ogee Niagra Brackets - Screw fasten gutter brackets at fascia at ideally 700 mm spacing using No. 8 screws. Clip the first length of guttering into the brackets. This works best by putting the front edge of gutter into the bracket clip first and then pushing the back of the gutter down into its correct position. You will need to twist the gutter length in to achieve this (more so, the tighter the radius) being careful not to twist too far and damage the length.

Box Gutter Brackets - Screw fasten gutter brackets to fascia at ideally 700 mm spacing using No. 8 screws. This gutter sits loose in the u-shape brackets and should be bonded to the bracket using a suitable bonding sealant only. Where the brackets are visible it is highly recommended that this bonding sealant is a suitable colour.

...then, for both types of Gutter Bracket - Continue fitting gutter sections as above, pushing them together to make a butt joint. As the sections are trimmed by hand, it may be necessary to sand the two faces to achieve the neatest joint. Joins – The union sections fit to the inside face of the two lengths – across the butt joint. The back face of the union and the inside of gutter, where the union fits, should be lightly keyed-up using a medium-coarse 40 – 80 grit sandpaper. A generous smear of sealant is then applied to both faces and the union pushed into place. Excess sealant should be removed and can be cleaned off using either white spirit, acetone or paint thinners.

TIP (1) – Apply masking / duct tape to the front faces before applying the sealant. This will help keep the guttering fascia in line and will stop the sealant oozing out of the join.

TIP (2) – Occasionally, if the radius lengths are stored for a long time prior to fitting, the ends may have warped slightly and the joining surfaces will not line up correctly. In this case it is easier to pre-fit the union and allow it to fully cure to one half of the join only, before fitting the other length to the other side of the join. Tape or G-cramps can then be used to hold the edges of the subsequent radius length in the correct position while the sealant cures.

NOTE – The sealant can be applied in damp conditions but works best if all faces are totally dry. Leave the sealant to harden for 12 hours after application before removing any tape, etc.

Stopends – As with the unions, key up matching faces, apply sealant and push stopends into position. Remove excess sealant.

Downpipe adaptors – Round – Choose best position for downpipe. Mark on the inside of the gutter the central spot. Using a 55 mm hole saw, cut the hole in the bottom of the gutter length and attach the adaptor by screwing the two halves together.

Downpipe adaptors – Square – Cut a square hole 65 mm x 65 mm. Key top edge of adaptor and area around hole, apply sealant and push into position. Clean off excess sealant.

Corners - Using the method already described, attach a union to one side of the corner and to one end of the radius length and allow these to cure / harden before fitting the corner. The pre-fitted unions can then be used as solid points to attach the corner as per radius length joints.

Download these Radius Gutter installation guidlines in PDF format