Beautiful Downpipes

When you are restoring a house, small details are important. They make a huge difference to the overall look and feel of your home. This is particularly the case when you are talking about the outside of a home.

The other day I was looking around the neighborhood and noticed that many of the homes appeared to still have their original downspouts or, as the Brits call them drainpipes. That got me thinking and wondering how that was possible, after all many of these homes are over a hundred years old.

When they were built there was no plastic guttering available. Most gutters and drainpipes were made out of metal, which I would have expected to rust away over the course of a hundred years.

The majority of the above ground drainage systems installed at the turn of the last century were made from cast iron, which is a high maintenance material. However, provided the guttering was painted regularly the metal was protected and did not rust. As a result, many homes still have their original guttering and drainpipes.

However, a few have had their old systems stripped out and replaced with plastic decades ago, and to be honest with you that is a shame. It completely changes the look and feel of those houses. Talking to one of my neighbors I realized that the main reason the systems had been replaced with plastic instead of cast iron was that years ago it was that up to a few years ago it was hard to buy guttering made from traditional materials. Those who wanted to maintain the traditional look of their home had to turn to recycled building material yards.

Now, things are much easier. There is a lot more emphasis on preserving the look and feel of old buildings, which means that it is now possible for manufacturers to make a profit by making and selling replica building materials.

Looking around online, I found several firms offering home rainwater systems made from cast iron. This is great, but from what I saw real cast iron drainage systems are still expensive to buy and labor intensive when it comes to maintenance. Modern finishes mean they do not have to be painted as often as the old systems, but they do still need regular re-painting. In addition, they are heavy making them hard to install.

Fortunately, there is a middle ground. There are now specialist firms making U-PVC guttering systems in the style of cast iron. These guttering systems look very much like traditional cast iron does, with the same high gloss finish and decorative detail, but because they are made from plastic, the pipes are light and easy to work with. This makes installation easy, and because it is not a specialist job far cheaper.

Once installed this guttering is also easy to maintain. The finish is designed to withstand sun and rain and stay looking good for many years. This means that it maintains its high gloss look for decades.

If you need to replace the guttering for your period home, doing so is no longer difficult. Just go online and find high quality U-PVC guttering that replicates the style of your existing gutters and downpipes.