As with anything we purchase such as TV’s or white goods, there is always something extra that the sales staff encourages you to consider.
Or if you are a bit like myself you may just impulse buy without considering what else needs to be included and then once at home have to go all the way back to the shop to buy what I should have bought while I was there.
So if you are looking to purchase a new patio there are a couple of things to keep in mind that might just save you having to run around after it has been installed.
House Gutter
One area of consideration is the house guttering, it’s probably the one detail that can be over looked by the owner.
Our design consultants are very experienced and can often help point out details on the house guttering that may need to be considered before the new patio is installed.
Rusting
Rusted gutters can often be the cause of leaking issues. Not always visible from the out especially if freshly painted however internally there could be holes and cracks allowing water to flow into the eves.
A build up of rust and you can clearly see a crack in the bottom of the gutter.
As you can see the gutter looks almost new, however the rust stains on the fascia below are a clear sign of rusted gutters.
Stained or Water damaged eves
Water damaged eve's due to badly rusted guttering
Debris Build up in Gutters
A build up of leaf matter, twigs from over head tree's can be an issue for any home. This build up if left unchecked can cause rusting in the guttering or block up down pipes.
This house gutter was full of leaves from overhead trees, our experienced installers showed this to the owner who was surprised with the amount of build up
All of these can cause or hide issues that have existed well before the new patio is installed. These unseen issues can often be mistaken for the patio leaking once it has been installed.
At the initial quoting stage our design consultants will take note of any possible issues and bring this to your attention.
Then Great Aussie Patios will provide an option to replace the guttering were the patio is to be located, however if the issue is more than just the proposed patio area then it may be advisable to have this looked properly.
Down pipes
Another consideration is the existing home down pipes. If the home guttering needs to be replaced were the patio is to be located then it may also be best to replace the down pipes in this area also.
For homes that have internal down pipes a tell-tale sign is staining or dark patches under the eaves around the down pipe. This could mean that the down pipe is rusted or broken inside the eve or were it connects to the guttering.
As you can see in the image there is staining on the eve's around the internal down pipe
Once removed the internal down pipe was rusted through and was the cause of the damaged eve's
Blocked down pipes can also become an issue especially when full of leaves or even a build-up of muck from the gutter washing into the down pipe.
While the down pipe looks okay on the outside it’s what you can’t see such as this image shows.
As you can see the down pipe looked okay however all the down pipes along this side were all blocked with mud, leaves and even old screws.
Exposed down pipe with visible rust and a quick silicone fix, best to replace this when a new patio is installed on this side
Based on our consultants experience they can help guide you through these considerations and may suggest a new house gutter, box style gutter were the patio connects to the home and then to also replace and add new down pipes to ensure that this storm water is flowing away.
To have a free onsite quote for a patio give our friendly staff a call on 94937115 or email us at sales@greataussiepatios.com.au