Guttering is where a lot of Llandudno homeowners over- or under-spend, so it is worth understanding the choices. Standard white UPVC is the most economical option and, for the majority of homes, entirely fit for purpose: it will not rot, never needs painting, and copes perfectly well with the rainfall this coast sees. For most semis and terraces it is the sensible choice, and modern UPVC systems come in black, grey and brown as well as white to suit the house.
Where appearance matters — a period villa on the West Shore, a prominent seafront property, a conservation-area terrace — aluminium and cast-iron-look systems earn their higher cost. Seamless aluminium guttering is formed to length on site with no joints to leak, copes superbly with coastal exposure, and gives the deep, traditional profile that suits older architecture. Cast-iron-look UPVC offers the heritage appearance at a fraction of the weight and cost of real cast iron, which still has its place on listed and high-end restoration work.
Whatever the material, the fascia behind the gutter decides the job. There is no point hanging beautiful new guttering on a rotten fascia board, so we always check the timber and the rafter ends before quoting, and we size the downpipes and outlets for the real rainfall rather than defaulting to the smallest fitting. Guttering hung to the correct fall, draining to properly-sized downpipes, is what stops water sheeting down your walls and rotting your roofline — the whole point of the exercise.
