Probably everyone knows the saying "Water wears away the stone." After all, indeed, flowing from the roofs, it exposes the destruction of the walls and foundation. To get rid of this unpleasant fact, drainage systems are used. In fact, a gutter is a channel that is the main element of drainage. It serves to collect rain and melt water from the roof of the building and drain it in the right direction. Designed to protect the foundation of the building and its walls from water damage.
Very often, when ordering a project for a building, as well as when repairing a private house, homeowners and repair teams focus on the construction of reliable walls, thermal insulation, heating system, leaving storm water discharge unattended. The absence or faulty state of the system leads to the destruction of the thermal insulation facade cladding. There is a risk of floodingbasements, violation of the strength and reliability of the foundation, which leads to its subsidence and breakage.
It is more convenient to install the drainage system before the improvement of the roof. However, if necessary, this can be done after the completion of the roofing work. This article describes the installation of drainage systems and phased installation.
Elements of the drainage system
The whole design of the drainage system includes a small list of elements:
- drain gutters;
- pipes;
- water inlets;
- knee 900 and 450;
- transitions;
- connectors;
- brackets for mounting on the bearing surface;
- plugs for gutters and funnels.
Gutters that receive water from the roof are divided into:
- semicircular;
- rectangular;
- curly.
It is necessary to note the differences in diameter, material, color.
Sizing the drainage system
It is very important to correctly calculate the dimensions of the pipes and gutters used. If the drainage capacity is underestimated, then with a good downpour, the water will not be discharged in full, and will begin to overflow. A properly sized gutter will serve its purpose and pass the required amount of wastewater.
To simplify the task with the selection of the required sizes, you need to know the standards on which the choice depends. Knowing the arearoof surface, it is not difficult to make a choice of the diameter of the gutter and pipe. According to experts, the dimensions indicated in the table of used water intake trays from the roof area are considered optimal.
| Pipe diameter | Gutter diameter | Roof area |
| 75mm | 90-100mm | up to 30 m2 |
| 87mm | 100-120mm | from 30 m2 to 50 m2 |
| 100 mm | 120-150mm | from 50 m2 to 125 m2 |
| 110mm | 150-190mm | over 125 m2 |
As for the length, it must be taken into account that the gutters must cover the entire perimeter of the building along the roof slopes. Given the standard dimensions of the gutter - 3 meters, and drainage pipes 3-4 meters, they will have to be assembled from separate elements: trays, connectors, corner turns. The exception is made-to-order systems. In this case, the sizes will not be standard.
Having decided on the parameters, it is not very difficult to calculate the required number of pipes and gutters along the length. To count you will need:
- Building height (distance from the ground to the eaves). This is necessary to calculate the length of the pipe, given that the total height must be reduced by 30 cm. This is the distance from the ground to the drainknee.
- The length of the trays for each individual roof slope.
- Surface area of individual slopes. For different areas, you can use different sizes of drainage elements, which will save money. Each area is easy to calculate by multiplying the length by the width. For a roof of a composite configuration, you will need to calculate the area of \u200b\u200beach figure and add the results. It must be remembered that correctly calculated parameters of the elements used will give a positive result during the operation of the system.
Selecting a drainage system according to the material of manufacture
When choosing a system according to the material of manufacture and color, it is worth considering all the options and choosing the most optimal one for yourself. Gutters are commercially available in a variety of materials.
Plastic drainage systems
Gutter plastic is represented by a wide variety of polymers. These are polyvinyl chloride unplasticized (nPVC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP). These species are characterized by the following qualities:
- good resistance to mechanical stress (bending, stretching, twisting);
- high resistance to color loss (fading);
- corrosion resistance;
- resistance to aggressive environments (impact of alkalis, acids, s alts)
Elements made from such materials do not require additional and periodic painting. Many manufacturers guarantee a service life of ≈ 50 years.
Gutter (galvanized)
"Galvanization" until recently was widely used due to its affordable price and ease of execution. These elements can be manufactured not only in industrial conditions. Tinplate specialists, popularly called tinsmiths, easily produce such structures in their workshops and garages from galvanized steel sheets of various thicknesses. In this case, fairly simple home-made equipment is used: metal shears, rollers, a bending machine, a rolling machine for making stiffeners on products. Galvanized gutter was in great demand.
But this material has a number of disadvantages. Zinc coating is easily damaged by inaccurate processing. Scratches, possible damage when bending, at the point of drilling holes for self-tapping screws, rivets or fasteners. When the zinc layer is broken, the base metal becomes easily vulnerable to environmental influences. Corrodes and rots. There is a need for replacement. Over time, paints appeared, the use of which not only improved the appearance, but also increased the anti-corrosion properties. Expanded range of colors. Metal gutter is significantly inferior to plastic.
Polymer coated steel
This material is used more than others in the manufacture of parts for drainage systems. It has better (than plastic) characteristics in terms of strength, it has a longer service life (compared to galvanizing) due to the available setprotective layers. Modern systems are produced on the basis of steel, which is used in the manufacture of metal tiles. The raw material is hot-zinc coated cold-rolled steel, coated on both sides with plastisol and painted according to the RAL color palette. An interesting fact is that among the many different colors, manufacturers preferred brown and white, but on a personal order they are ready to perform in another color. The new types of dyes used give color saturation, brightness, resistance to fading and discoloration.
Zinc-titanium
The basis of such products is an alloy of light weight metal with a shiny surface. Under the action of the atmosphere, a light blue patina appears above this surface (a film that appears on the surface of a zinc-titanium product when it is exposed to oxygen for a long time). Recommended for use in difficult climatic conditions. The service life of zinc-titanium alloy elements is 50 years or more.
Copper
The durability and uniqueness of copper is undeniable. It is a high quality roofing material. Found application in the manufacture of drainage systems. Roofing manufacturers claim that roofs covered with copper can last more than 400 years. Work with such products is allowed at all times of the year, regardless of the temperature regime. But at the same time, the following condition must be observed: the fastening of the gutter, like other parts, must be made of copper or stainless steel. This precaution prevents the occurrence of electrolyticvapors leading to the oxidation of copper and its destruction. For copper, contact with a galvanized surface and with zinc-titanium is unacceptable. Over time, copper products change their color. In the first ≈ 5 years they become black, then green, and after 30 years they acquire a stable green color. All color changes do not affect durability in any way.
Because zinc-titanium and copper are considered to be very expensive materials, maximum care must be taken when working with them. Therefore, it is better to entrust this work to professionals.
Mounting the drainage system
Clamps with pins are used to fasten pipes to the building wall. A hole for a dowel is drilled in the load-bearing wall, a pin is screwed in and a pipe is attached with a clamp. Mounted on the wall through a distance of ≈ 2 m.
The gutter can be fixed in several ways. The simplest is fixing on the frontal board, previously mounted and lined (for example, with plastic) using a bracket. Another method is to attach a long tray hook to a rafter. But this must be done in advance, before covering the roof with roofing material. During installation, it is necessary to make a slope for the drain within 2-5 mm per 1 running meter.
Cost calculation
In terms of preparation for installation, there is another important point. This is a calculation of the cost of the entire drainage system, including consumables and installation costs. The best option in thissituation, there will be an appeal to an organization or firm specializing in this type of work. It is only necessary to provide all the measurements in advance, on the basis of which the specialist will calculate the total cost of the planned project.
