What Wellington's weather does to spouting
Hill suburbs move a lot more water
Kelburn averages 1,319.1 mm of rain a year over 128.2 days with at least 1 mm, against 957 mm at the airport on older normals. If your spouting overflows in a downpour even when it's clean, it may be too small for the roof, or need another downpipe.
Brackets take every gust
Long spouting runs on exposed sections flex in the wind, and a 1968 gust of 187 km/h at the airport shows what Wellington can throw at them. Loose brackets let spouting sag, water pools in the low spot, and the joints there start to drip.
Salt behind the spouting
Homes within 500 m of the coast or harbour sit in exposure zone D. The metal roofing Code of Practice warns that parts the rain rarely washes collect salt and corrode faster. The back of the spouting and the brackets tucked under the eaves are exactly those parts, so check them, not just the front.
Older homes, older spouting
WorkSafe lists asbestos cement gutters and downpipes among the places asbestos turns up, and says homes built before 1 January 2000 may contain it. If your spouting or downpipes are a grey cement-like material, don't cut, drill or break them. Get them tested first.
Repair or replace your spouting?
A repair usually makes sense for a single leaking joint, one or two sagging brackets, a blocked or split downpipe, or a corner that's been knocked. Ask for the fall to be checked while they're there, so water runs to the outlets instead of sitting.
Replacement makes more sense when steel spouting has rust holes in several places, plastic spouting has gone brittle and cracked after years of summer sun, or it keeps overflowing because it's undersized. NIWA's UV forecast shows Wellington's summer sun is strong enough to prompt sun protection warnings, and that same UV ages exposed plastic.
Near the water, ask your roofer to confirm the product is rated for your distance from the sea. Manufacturers set their own coastal rules, and your roofer should know which apply.
What you can check, and what to leave to a roofer
You can
- Watch your spouting from the ground in heavy rain and note where it overflows
- Look for rust stains or streaks on the walls under the spouting
- Keep the ground-level end of each downpipe and any stormwater grate clear
- Use a ladder only to look, and only if you're comfortable, never in wind
Leave to a roofer
- Cleaning at height, especially on two-storey or hillside homes
- Re-fixing brackets, fixing the fall and resealing joints
- Sizing spouting and downpipes for your roof
- Anything that might be asbestos cement
What makes a spouting job bigger or smaller
Resealing a joint or re-fixing a couple of brackets is quick work. Replacing the full run, adding downpipes, or working on a two-storey or hillside house takes a lot more time and gear.
The written quote should spell out the material and profile, the length of the run, how many downpipes and outlets, the bracket spacing, whether scaffolding is needed, and that the old spouting gets taken away.
Questions to ask before you sign
- What material are you quoting, and is it rated for my distance from the sea?
- How many downpipes, and is that enough for a wet Wellington day?
- How far apart will the brackets be on an exposed site like mine?
- Will you take the old spouting away, and could any of it be asbestos cement?
- Is scaffolding included in the quote?
- What maintenance does the warranty need?
What we'd do with Wellington spouting
We'd get it cleaned in autumn and then watch it in the first proper downpour, because July is the wettest month at the airport. If it's steel near the harbour and rusting from behind, we'd replace rather than patch, and ask the roofer to put in writing which product suits the zone. And we'd keep it clear: blocked spouting that damages walls is the kind of slow damage insurers decline.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.