Introduction to Extruded Aluminium Guttering

Aluminium may arguably be the ultimate sustainable building material in terms of its infinite recycling capabilities. This has led it to the point of being one of the most popular materials for guttering recently across the UK and Ireland.  However, if aluminium does not meet a whole host of other performance criteria, it isn’t going to be specified. It’s just as well that it does!

Aluminium is generally used as a cheaper and lighter alternative to cast iron, particularly on heritage projects. This is because it is 65% lighter than cast iron which also makes it easier to transport and install. Extruded aluminium is now increasingly being used in place of PVC and other plastics, for a whole host of reasons.

Why choose Extruded Aluminium Guttering?

Weather Resistant

One of the most stand out benefits to extruded aluminium guttering is its weather resistance, even in today’s era of climate change and increasingly severe meteorological extremes. While other guttering materials may crack, warp, or distort in extremely hot or cold weather, extruded aluminium is thermally resistant. This is why it is more often used as a building material in warm countries and environments. It can even be re-shaped.

Aluminium guttering is also robust and rust-proof, with an expected, and often warrantied, service life of more than 45 years with little or no maintenance. In addition, its colour will not fade, being available in a peerless range of architectural-grade polyester powder coated colours, with more vibrant shades than plastic. The PPC process in state-of-the-art factories also means that extruded aluminium guttering can be colour matched precisely to the property it is protecting.

Aesthetic Variety

Extruded aluminium guttering can be fabricated in a wide variety of aesthetic shapes to suit both traditional and contemporary structures. Such contemporary structures include the traditional ogee, (which is manufactured to BS 8530, the original design standard for cast iron), to the more contemporary half-round. This is as well as complementing a residential or commercial building with its color.

Consideration needs to be given here into not just the FORM of aluminium guttering but its FUNCTION – its flow rate. The extruded half-round aesthetic is typically more slimline, so best suited to relatively small roof areas, while the ogee and secret fix box aluminium gutter system are both capable of carrying large volumes of rainwater.

Extruded Aluminium Guttering Systems from North West Aluminium

While it can sometimes prove difficult to distinguish extruded aluminium guttering between other types, a quick cleaning out of the leaves and dirt will reveal that as well as the environment, today’s focus on life cycle costs and risk management means the time has never been better to specify this marvelous material.