The main problems with this church was the size of the gutters and the downpipes. They were badly undersized. Which meant that the Greenbank United Church needed a lot of work. And the biggest challenge was the height of the building. In some places it was over 70 feet high! Which meant that we needed to use a boom truck to install commercial gutters and downpipes on this building. You can see it in the photos below.
Also, the existing steel roof had no snow guards to protect the gutters, which caused all sorts of icing problems and water problems during the winter months. Most notably, a constant dripping at the back of the premises by the rear entrance doors. It was a challenge, but the True North crew was up to the task!
Installing 5″ Commercial Gutters and Downpipes
The first thing we did was to remove the existing eves and replace them with 5″ commercial gutters. This was to make sure we could accommodate the water flow coming off the large metal roof. As well, we used a higher grade of steel instead of aluminum for these gutters. And to further increase the durability, these steel gutters were painted on both sides, which stops the oxidization process. We then installed the Alu-Rex Continuous Hanger system, which increases the durability and makes the gutters ultra-solid!
This next step is crucial on such commercial installations: we properly graded the evestroughs. We also do this for residential gutter installations, as it enhances the functionality of the gutter system by ensuring that the gutters are never holding water in them. I’ve seen this in so many installations – it’s probably the biggest problem we see with existing gutter systems, especially on older homes. And then to guarantee proper flow from the gutters, we doubled the downpipes which automatically increases the amount of water flow.
Snow Guards for the Metal Roof
To prevent the gutters from lifting and icing during the winter, we then installed snow guards on the metal roof along the back of the church. With proper grading and increased water flow, it wasn’t necessary to install heating cables. I find heating cables are sometimes a “band-aid” solution that covers up a bad installation. However, there are instances where heating cables are necessary, but they are to be installed by a certified professional electrician. Please keep that in mind if your home or commercial building needs these installed.
All in all it was a great job since it gave the boys a bit of a challenge. It’s not everyday in our industry that you get to work with a bucket truck, to install commercial gutters and downpipes, so it was a nice change of pace.
As always at True North, Safety is our #1 priority!
A big Thank You to the Greenbank United Church for the opportunity to work on this for them.
They are set to go for another 25 years!
