When a roof fails, the culprit is not always the metal roofing sheets or metal tiles, it’s often the path water takes after it lands. Effective water management means capturing rain at the eaves, conveying it safely via downpipes, and discharging it away from the building without leaks, overflows or backflow.
Why continuous spouting prevents leaks
Sectional gutters have joins every few metres — and every join is a potential leak once sealants age or expand/contract through seasons. Continuous spouting rolled to length on site eliminates most of those joints, dramatically reducing the chance of leaks, staining and fascia damage. It also looks cleaner along the eaves and can be formed in a range of profiles to suit your home.
Choosing a spouting profile
Your profile isn’t just a style choice, it influences flow capacity and how debris behaves.
Continuous Spouting Profiles
The continuous spouting can be either quarter round profile or old gothic profile. These are available in a wide range of colours from the Colorsteel and ColorCote.
Old Gothic Profile vs Quarter Round Profile
A time‑tested classic old gothic continuous spouting suits character homes and modern builds. A quarter round profile on the other hand can be seen on many traditional New Zealand homes and it looks clean and contemporary on new builds.
Sectional Spouting Profiles
Sectional spouting is usually in lengths up to 8.5 metres. We have different types of box gutter profiles, half round, quad gutter, internal gutter, architectural box, commercial box, galvanised box and D spouting
Downpipes: the unsung hero
Even the best gutter fails if downpipes are undersized, poorly placed or blocked. Correctly sized and positioned downpipes reduce the risk of overflow into soffits and wall cavities, protect foundations from ponding, and prevent staining down exterior claddings. Good practice includes:
- More than one outlet per long run to share the flow.
- Downpipes near valley discharges to handle peak flow during cloudbursts.
- Secure brackets and straight falls so debris doesn’t lodge and cause blockages.
- Leaf guards and regular cleaning where trees overhang the roof.
Don’t forget the fascia
Fascias carry spouting, set the fall, and protect the eaves. Warped or rotten fascias throw out gutter levels and can cause overflows. When we do reroofing in Christchurch we always check spouting, fascia and downpipes. Where needed, we’ll repair / straighten or replace fascia to ensure the whole eaves system works as designed.
How we integrate water management into every roofing project
Looking to check your roof and roof water management, we can help you! Call 03 331 6578 or send us a message to book an on‑site check.
