After having replaced the conservatory roof, the next job on the list for this room was the gutter. The new roof has a much longer overhang at the front than the previous roof, which meant the gutter needed to be lifted forwards to enable it to catch the dripping water. We also needed to fix and hide the peeling and rotten wooden exterior, which was really quite the eye-sore! Here’s how it looked after installing the new roof (with an awkward ‘pose’ from the OH), we’d already removed the gutter here.
The original gutter on the conservatory had horrendous peeling paint and just looked a little tired and dated. Since guttering is so cheap anyway, we decided to replace it. We’ve actually opted for a square-line box gutter (glossy finish) so that it looks different to the rest of the house. The conservatory after all, is different, its a different era, the bricks are different, it just looks very different, so having a matching gutter really didn’t make sense. To bring the new gutter forward in position, we’ve began to clad the conservatory. As much as I love the look of expensive beautifully crafted red wood slats which you see all over the TV home-shows, it was far too pricey for this dated conservatory. The delivery alone was £40+ and I couldn’t find anywhere that stocked it ‘local’ enough to collect ourselves. So instead we’ve gone for a very very cheap alternative from Wickes which will definitely look less stylish, but it made sense financially. Although the cladding is exterior grade, it does need treating first – so I’ve use a decking sealer which I already had floating about the house.
The old gutter had been painted so many times over the years, that removing the clips by simply unscrewing them was impossible. I couldn’t be bothered with the wrestle, so I simply chopped them off with the multi-tool. You can see just how bad and rotten the wood was behind the gutter here as well. I treated it in some wood hardener, but we’re actually not going to be replacing this beam since the cladded front will hide it and also help protect it from further damage. That overhang on the roof is also great for keeping it dry too!
We then installed batons along where the cladding will be attached. We’re installing the cladding horizontally, so the batons are vertical. They’re exterior grade, but we did treat any end cuts.
The cladding we’ve chosen is a tongue and groove variety, very similar to what we have installed in the bathroom actually. We slotted them together and then screwed them into the batons. We did have to notch out little rectangles where the roof glazing bars sit lower than the actual roof, but this was all very easy and done in a very speedy fashion. (Actually, we were racing the weather before it was forecast to rain!)
I’m not going to lie – I’m really not too sure how good this cladding looks. Does it look a little bit like a Scandinavian hut gone wrong? Is it bordering on the line of looking like an outdoor sauna? I’m just not sure!! In my mind, we’ll be having anthracite french doors and the whole thing together as one works, but so far it definitely looks a little iffy. The cladding was so cheap that if we do change our minds, it really wont be no big loss. But I’m definitely dubious about this choice!
We attached the clips for the new gutter and slotted it into place before re-connecting up with the downpipes. We’ve had to use a square-to-round attachment for this so that we don’t have to replace the entire down-pipe. I must say, I quite like the square gutter. It’s slightly larger as well so will be able to collect more water – not that I think this roof needed it.
And that’s it! Eventually we intend on the cladding the rest of the brick front, but not until we’ve replaced the door and windows, so for now it looks very odd. I’m sure our neighbours who have view on this, are cringing at it! But hopefully, eventually, the whole thing will come together and look okay. I just isn’t happening right now!!
What do you think? Do you hate it?
Finally, just a quick mention of a new blog, FourWalls by Ocean Finance. I was recently featured on there and it has heaps of inspiration and ideas for interiors and renovations, so definitely go check it out!
Costs
(rounded to the nearest pound)
New Tools Purchased:
None
Materials Used:
Guttering £7
Clips £2
Attachment and adapters £8
Cladding £9
Batons £3
Decking Stain Free from previous jobs
Screws £1
1 Comment
nice