Seamless Aluminium Guttering – A Full Guide

Seamless, extruded continuous aluminium guttering is a great alternative to more standard plastic or traditional cast iron gutters, downpipes and accessories.

Although a little pricy, if you do have some budget available, it’s certainly money well spent as it will last for many, many years, is low maintenance and has a sleek and modern look. Find out all you need to know below about this great new product.

What are Seamless Aluminium Gutters?

Aluminium guttering is a top choice for homeowners and builders thanks to its durability, low maintenance, and modern look. Unlike plastic or cast iron, aluminium resists rust, warping, and cracking, ensuring reliable protection against water damage and complete water channelling in all weather conditions.

One of its main benefits is its lightweight strength. Aluminium is easier to handle and install than heavier alternatives like steel or cast iron. Seamless designs further reduce leaks by eliminating joints, ensuring smooth water flow and lower maintenance needs.

Aluminium is also eco-friendly. It’s 100% recyclable and reusable without losing quality, making it a sustainable choice for greener homes.

Available in various colours and finishes, aluminium guttering suits both modern and traditional properties. Powder coating adds durability and enhances its appearance, making it a long-lasting, cost-effective investment that boosts your home’s value.

For a high-performance, low-maintenance guttering system, aluminium is the ideal solution. It combines style, strength, and sustainability to keep your home protected and looking great for years.

When it comes to the seamless form of aluminium guttering, the installer will arrive with numerous sheets of aluminium and a pressing machine in the back of their van as the gutters are actually pressed on site, so no need to transport long lengths and run the risk of anything getting damaged in transit.

Other Aluminium Gutter Systems

Aside from the extruded (pressed into shape) aluminium gutters, due to its versatility and longevity it’s also used for several other purposes.

Cast Aluminium Gutters for Period Properties

Cast aluminium gutters are the perfect alternative to traditional cast iron gutters. They offer a classic look that suits period properties while being lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and low maintenance.

Designed to complement older homes, cast aluminium combines the timeless aesthetic of traditional rainwater systems with modern durability, making it an ideal choice for long-lasting performance and style.

Pressed Aluminium Gutters

Pressed aluminium gutters are perfect for modern and contemporary situations. Their clean, square lines make them an extremely popular choice for self-build projects, commercial housing, and industrial applications.

Economical to produce and incredibly durable, pressed aluminium gutters resist sagging even under heavy rainfall, ensuring long-lasting, efficient performance.

Aluminium Rainwater Pipes, Fittings, and Accessories

Enhance your aluminium guttering system with matching rainwater pipes, hopper heads, valley gutters, and decorative motifs. Aluminium downpipes are available in both circular and square profiles to suit your style.

For added convenience, aluminium gutter mesh can be installed to prevent leaves and debris from clogging the system, ensuring smooth water flow and minimal maintenance.

The Benefits of Aluminium Guttering

Aluminium guttering offers quite a range of advantages, making it a top choice for homes and commercial properties alike. Here’s a quick summary followed by a full breakdown:

• Lightweight and Strong: Easy to handle and install, yet highly durable.
• Rust-Resistant: Unlike other metals, aluminium doesn’t rust, ensuring long-term performance.
• Wide Colour Options: Powder-coated finishes are available in various colours to suit any property style.
• Eco-Friendly: Aluminium is 100% recyclable, making it a sustainable choice.
• Versatile Design: Suitable for modern and traditional buildings alike.

Aluminium is Lightweight and Strong

Aluminium is 65% lighter than steel or cast iron, yet it offers similar excellent levels of strength. While not as light as plastic (UPVC), its high strength-to-weight ratio means less material is needed, providing durability without the bulk.

Unlike UPVC, aluminium guttering is stronger and more resistant to sagging, ensuring reliable performance and longevity.

Aluminium Doesn’t Rust

Unlike steel or cast iron, aluminium does not rust and is highly corrosion-resistant. It naturally forms a protective oxide layer, which repairs itself if scratched, maintaining long-term durability.

Aluminium also resists UV damage, unlike plastic, which can become brittle and crack over time.

To ensure maximum protection, choose high-quality aluminium, like marine-grade, which prevents pitting and corrosion. Avoid low-grade options as coatings alone offer limited protection.

Aluminium Can Be Coated for a Durable Finish

Aluminium guttering can be polyester powder-coated, creating a tough, long-lasting finish that requires minimal maintenance.

Unlike cast iron, which needs regular painting, or plastic, which fades in sunlight, aluminium retains its colour and finish over time. While steel can be galvanised for protection, its tendency to rust makes coatings less reliable.

Aluminium is Sustainable and Recyclable

Aluminium is 100% recyclable and can be reused repeatedly without losing quality. Its low melting point means recycling requires minimal energy, making it an eco-friendly and sustainable choice for guttering.

Rough Costs of Aluminium Guttering

Aluminium guttering costs about 40% more per metre than plastic alternatives but offers exceptional value. When installed properly, it can last up to 50 years with minimal maintenance while maintaining its appearance.

Unlike UPVC, aluminium is fully recyclable, making it a more sustainable and eco-friendly option for your home.

Can I Paint Aluminium Guttering?

Yes, you can paint your aluminium guttering to match your home’s style, whether it’s your front door, walls, or personal preference.

While aluminium gutters are typically supplied with a durable powder-coated finish, you may choose to repaint them later. Learn how to paint aluminium guttering in this guide.

Where Can Aluminium Guttering Be Used?

Aluminium guttering is versatile and fits most buildings, with styles available to suit any architectural period or design.

While plastic guttering is common due to its affordability, it has one key downside: leaking joints. If not installed correctly, UPVC gutters can expand and contract, causing the joints to open and the rubber seals to lose contact. This issue is eliminated with seamless aluminium guttering, which is one continuous piece.

For proper UPVC installation, brackets should be spaced a maximum of 900mm apart and placed near joints. Learn more about installing plastic guttering here.

Another minor issue with plastic gutters is colour fading over time due to sun and UV exposure.

How to Install Seamless Aluminium Guttering

Although it’s possible to install standard aluminium guttering yourself as a DIY job, unfortunately due to the specialist equipment and knowledge needed to operate it and ensure that each section is formed and rolled from scratch, seamless aluminium guttering isn’t really a DIY job.

With this in mind and in terms of the install, your chosen aluminium guttering installers will come and produce and fit the guttering for you at the same time it is fitted.

In terms of the forming and installation process, it generally goes something like the following:

Step 1: Select Guttering Shape and Colour

As you can see from the image at the beginning of this project the actual folding machine in the back of the installers van. For this job it has been set to turn out Ogee shaped guttering (it can also do Taurus).

The ability to choose from a variety of styles not only enhances the look of new buildings but also mirrors the classic shape of traditional cast iron gutters. This makes it an excellent match for restoring or upgrading older properties.

It’s also worth mentioning that aluminium gutters are 5 inches wide, as opposed to the standard 4 with plastic, allowing them to deal with greater volumes of water. The natural strength of aluminium ensures it can cope with the additional weight of the water.

Finally, the desired aluminium colour is chosen. This is simply a personal thing.

Step 2: Press and Fix Guttering

The next step is to press out the guttering. This is done by the installer and they simply set the shape on the machine and then run a sheet into one end, the machine presses it out and it then comes out the other end as a nice piece of guttering.

After the pressing has been completed, the brackets are then clipped into the gutter shape and spaced at correct intervals as suggested by the installer.

The gutter is then carried up to the roof where it is measured for the correct position for the downpipe.

The gutter is then nailed or screwed to the facia board at the correct slope or fall as it’s known.

This process is then repeated until for the remaining sections of gutter have been formed and fixed in place.

Step 3: Test Guttering

Once all the guttering has been fixed into place, the next job is to then test it to make sure there are no leaks and that the fall is correct so that any and all water drains towards a downpipe.

If there are leaks or it’s not draining correctly, the section of guttering in question will need to be re-hung, sealed or possibly even re-formed.

Step 4: Sealing and Stop End

The final job is to then insert and seal in a small plate around the downpipe area to direct any water down into the downpipe

Finally, a stop end is then fixed onto any open ends to finish the job in full.

As you can see, installation is a fairly straight forward job and not only does it enhance the appearance of your home, but it also offers a long-lasting, low-maintenance solution to managing rainwater.