Proper installation of the drainage system is one of the most important construction stages. Gutters perform the function of protecting the home from rainwater and meltwater. A weak and inefficient water drainage system is a direct road to the destruction of a construction site. Meltwater will look for ways to advance from the roof to the foundation. The load-bearing elements of the object and its roof will quickly become unusable and dangerous for people to be near them. Therefore, choosing drainpipes, give preference to practical, durable and high-quality structures and materials. But how to choose pipes based on these characteristics, if a large number of them are presented for sale. And it is difficult to understand what is best for a particular case.
Varieties of drainage systems
Let's get acquainted with the types of drains. If the gutter is installed in order to save the building from getting wet and breaking, accordingly, it must collect all the water and direct it to the right place. For a more convenient slope of the water in the drainpipes for the roof of the structure, the structures consist of gutters, pipes and funnels, additionally bends are used to help build the necessary bends in the system. Any roof configuration must have a water drainage system. But depending on some of the nuances of the roof, the system may differ. Flat roof structures often have an internal drain, external roof drains are used for pitched roof structures. Such pipes and gutters are placed under the overhang of the cornice or on the facade of the object. Modern drainpipes do not spoil the appearance of the building itself. The fact is that such devices can have a color similar to the color of the walls or roof.
In addition to dividing the system according to the installation option, there are some more parameters:
- Cross section of the drain and its shape. A circle and a rectangle are the most common.
- The sizes and diameter of the drainpipes are selected taking into account the average annual amount of rain and wet snow. Larger diameters of trays and gutters, respectively, will collect more unnecessary water and divert it to its destination.
- Materials used in the manufacture of drainpipes. It can be plastic or metal components, it is possible to use concrete or wood for these purposes. But it should be noted: wood and concrete in drainage systems are practically out of use.
What diameters do pipes have?
The dimensions and diameters of the drainpipes must be calculated by a specialist. According to GOST 1975, the diameter of the pipe ranged from 100 mm to 200 millimeters. Modern products have a diameter corridor from 50 millimeters to 216 millimeters. Choosing the diameter of the drainpipe, it is necessary to take into account not only the amount of precipitation, but also the slope of the roof slope. Count the number of pipes connected to the funnel and see the location of these pipes.
Approximate calculation
If you rely on the established standards, then for every 50 squares of the roof area one pipe is installed. This pipe is capable of receiving drained water from a collecting structure, the length of which is no more than 10 meters. For every 1 meter of roof surface there should be about 1.5 meter of pipe section.
Materials for the manufacture
What is a drainpipe made of? Most of these are modern plastic materials and metal structures. First, consider the positive and negative sides that will open to us when using the product.
Plastic items
Water flowing violently into a plastic pipe makes it delicately and almost silently than a drainpipe galvanized pipe could not boast. Plastic is not affected by corrosion, it looks quite modern and decent. Scratches and chips do not just get to the plastic pipe. Also, plastic drainpipes are very lightweight, they are convenient to mount and transport. The whole system is equipped with rubber sealing elements and connected with plastic locking joints. Pipes have thick walls from 2 to 2.5 mm. For some models, it is possible to heat pipes for better convergence of precipitation. Rotting will not affect the plastic pipe, also such pipes are considered fireproof. Due to the lightness of the entire system, such pipes do not harm the roof with their weight and do not deform it. The price of drainpipes from this material is from 400 rubles per 1 meter. The finished kit can be purchased by paying 5000 rubles without the cost of export. This is several times lower than for metal counterparts, which will cost from 700 rubles per meter with a cross section of 100 mm.
The other side of the coin
The negative quality of drainage systems made of PVC materials is a short service life. Although this period reaches twenty years, there is no guarantee that even earlier you will not want to change the drainage system. Under the influence of ultraviolet radiation and temperature fluctuations, drainpipes can lose their original good appearance, smoothness and strength. In frosty areas of the country, such systems are often capable of being damaged by freezing and bursting under the influence of ice.
Metal pipes - durable pipes
Metal is one of the classic options for making a water collecting system. Popular advantages of these designs:
- Very durable to any mechanical impact. In the case when ice accumulates on the roof, thawing in the sun, crawls like an avalanche and hits the water trough with its weight, this design will survive and not be damaged much. What can not be said, for example, about plastic water pipes.
- The galvanized drainpipe may well have a protective coating on the inside and outside. Such a layer of protection does not allow corrosion to get close to the metal itself in most cases.
- The pipes are able to withstand very large temperature drops, again thanks to the polymer coating. The temperature run from minus forty degrees to plus one hundred and twenty can withstand a metal pipe.
- With regular seasonal temperature changes in climate, drainpipes do not change size and do not require additional heating.
- If the roof of the building is made of metal tiles, then the same metal water drainage system will ideally suit it. The color of the system can be matched to almost any color scheme of the object. Technologies are able to make drain pipes of any color.
- Metals such as galvanized steel or a protective layer and copper are commonly used in the production of gutter systems.
Copper drains
Copper gutters have a not very nice feature - interacting with atmospheric phenomena, such structures begin the oxidation process. In addition, proceeding with the installation of component parts, you will find that it is necessary to solder all the connections. Soldering with soldering is not a very pleasant prospect. Installation in this case is expensive and takes a lot of time.
Negative points in the use of metal drainpipes
Positive qualities, no doubt, show us how beautiful such metal products are. But let's recall the minuses in order to be warned of possible failures.
- The strongest and most terrible enemy of any metal surface is corrosion. Every single element of the system is exposed to a very strong action of water. Water is the main nutrient for any corrosion. And in this case, even if such pipes are reliably protected by special coating, one should not exclude the possibility of damage to it. Water will fall into the damaged point of the pipe and, according to the principle of caries, corrode it from the inside. And after a very short time the site will become a rusty mess.
- The product has a slight roughness on the inside. Due to the fact that the entire system is open to external debris, the pipes, especially the elbows and their joints, are eventually filled with dirt that has fallen on the roof in the form of leaves, needles, feathers, etc. Hence, there may be problems with proper drainage. Pipes and gutters will require periodic cleaning. Entrust the specialist to clean the entire system, only he will be able to disconnect the special fastening elements that require some skill and effort.