Copper guttering and Conservation Officers

[windyhillpat]

Hallo, I am new to this forum and hope I can get some advice. I have a Tudor farmhouse in Wales, in the Snowdon National park and am about to start on renovations - still waiting for the LBC 6 months after submitting the application. The house currently has some very leaky guttering - mostly plastic with bits of aluminium. The Conservation Officer's knee-jerk response was that cast iron was traditional. I would prefer to replace it with copper, which is cheaper, lighter, greener and much easier to maintain. Cheaper is obvious, lighter is important as the house is made with some very flakey slate. Greener is important to the planet and easier maintenance is because I am 65 and can't see myself climbing ladders in 10 years when it needs a repaint. And personally I like the colour once the verdigris has taken over.

Does anyone have any experience of successfully persuading a CO that copper gutter is acceptable? The idea that Victorian cast iron is more traditional on a Tudor house seems daft to me - the house was probably built without gutters - even though it is in Wet Wales - and Arts and Crafts copper is only 10 years more modern that cast iron. Any experience would be helpful. Many thanks.

 

[Feltwell]

No experience of copper guttering, but I think you're spot on with the view on cast iron being no more authentic on a Tudor building!

I think you can only hope to persuade based on what is practically best for the building and visually unobtrusive. Indeed, one view is that if no guttering was there originally but it's now needed for the good of the building then a modern guttering with as plain lines as possible is the way to go - have a look at Lindab Rainline - should fulfil your green criteria, can be bought in copper or in painted steel if CO insists on black. Very light stuff, easy to handle and put up.

http://www.lindab.com/uk/pro/products/pages/campaign/rainline.aspx

 

[88v8]

Copper guttering widely used on the continent. However, in conservation terms I suppose guttering has to 'fit in' with ye olde aesthetic of an area.

Is the whole perimeter of the house visible from public spaces?
Perhaps more permissible where not visible, and if it is visible you could paint it.
The primer would be critical, I'd seek manufacturer's advice on that.
As to paint, this will never need redoing, and weathers to a lovely dusky pseudo-lead appearance.
http://www.rust.co.uk/em-121-epoxy-rust-proofing-chassis-paint/c28117/

That paint is also applicable to cast iron - two coats then never again. In that case use a high-zinc primer.

Longbottom... all the cast iron one could wish. The only disappointing aspect was their rather perfunctory standard support brackets.
http://www.longbottomfoundry.co.uk/
They are so anxious that the product reaches one in good condition, that they send it out on their own lorry.

Ivor

 

[LadyArowana]

If the CO doesn't like the idea of copper then maybe you should just do a like for like repair/ replacement of the plastic and Al?