The gutters and downspouts of a building can give a lot of style to its facade. Above all, however, they need to have the necessary qualities for long life and trouble-free operation.
Before comparing steel and other metals, there is the question of PVC gutters. In addition to the low initial investment, plastic gutters lag behind metal gutters in all other criteria such as: durability over time, resistance to geometric shapes, color fastness, maintenance costs and more.
Material
No matter how high quality polymer is used in the production of plastic gutters, steel will surely outlive any such material. An important element for this to happen is the corrosion protection, which is provided by an additional applied zinc coating on the steel core. It is bilateral and is measured in gr./sq.m. The products widely offered in the trade network are produced from raw materials with up to 140 g / sq.m. zinc coating to achieve a lower cost. However, this is extremely insufficient. There are standards in which the minimum coating of steel for use in exterior products must be 275 g / sq.m. Zinc has the ability to "self-medicate"! In case of scratches and in the places of cutting, the formation of a protective layer of the so-called "Migrating" zinc ions.