Guttering is an important part of any home and it’s important to choose the right type for your needs. There is a range of factors you must consider whether you are choosing to install new or replace your current gutter.
This includes the style of your home, the climate/weather conditions you live in, the materials you require, the warranty, and your budget.
Style of your home
The style of your home is the first thing you need to consider when choosing guttering. This is because we have a range of different spouting styles available, each with its own advantages and suitability, depending on the home.
Quarter-Round
The most popular guttering style we offer is a quarter-round. This is a very versatile gutter profile, which can be used on an array of different roof styles and can be installed in a variety of different ways. This particular type of spouting maintains a traditional appeal and provides simplicity with its classic lines.
This style is best suited for most residential homes and has a more aesthetically pleasing look than other, more traditional gutter systems.
Due to being the widest of our most popular profiles, at 150mm, it makes cleaning, removing leaves, and other maintenance much easier. It is also able to carry the highest volume of water.
Old Gothic
The next style is Old Gothic (O.G.). This style is best suited for homes that have a colonial or classic style. However, this style of spouting suits both newer and older New Zealand homes, whilst remaining a popular style amongst our Hamilton clients.
R.I. 125mm Box Gutter
This style of spouting has a higher face, helping to block the view of the unsightly end roof sheet. If your particular home has a higher rib roof profile, this spouting option would be optimal for you.
We install the 1.25mm box gutter with standard internal brackets, however, pan or face-fixed external brackets are available on request.
J Line
Our J Line spouting system is installed with internal brackets and offers an extended sloping face, which similar to the box gutter, hides the end of the roofing. This style of design is most beneficial for our customers whose homes have a lower roof pitch.
Half Round 150mm
Lastly, our half-round 150mm spouting is very recognisable for its cylindrical design. Its shape allows it to be an excellent carrier of water while remaining aesthetically pleasing, suiting many different styles of homes.
It is important to note that this is our only style of spouting which is only installed with visible external brackets.
Colour
After our clients have chosen their preferred spouting system, they have the decision of choosing between 40 different colour options. ColorCote spouting can be paired with a range of popular Resene paints, from whites and creams to greys, blues, greens, reds or browns.
This ensures our Fineline customers get the right colour spouting, suiting their individual home and design requirements.
Climate & Materials
The climate is a very important factor to consider when choosing gutters for your home. For those living in severe coastal, or even geothermal conditions, it is important to make sure the spouting systems and materials have been designed for the atmospheric conditions where you live.
Due to Hamilton’s relatively wet climate, the majority of our clients need guttering that can withstand rainfall. Our quarter-round, 1.25mm box gutter, and half-round 150mm spouting systems are best suited for our clients whose areas experience intense or frequent rainfall.
Additionally, ColorCote's range of products meets the requirements of AS/NZS 4020:2018, which ensure suitability for the collection of drinking water.
For those living in a hotter climate, however, it is up to the specific guttering material, which must be able to withstand the heat and sun.
The materials that our clients want their guttering made from are also important to consider. At Fineline, we primarily use ColorCote materials, however, offer others on request, including Colorsteel Maxx, galvanized, zincalume, copper, aluminium, and stainless steel.
ColorCote is our chosen material option due to its superior warranty on both the paint finish and product quality. They offer pre-painted steel and aluminium spouting, designed to endure the harshest conditions New Zealand may experience. Fineline customers can choose between their AlumiGard, MagnaFlow, and ZinaCore materials.
AlumiGard
This particular material has the best durability and formability, whilst also boasting the best colour retention. ColorCote AlumiGard is made from the same marine-grade aluminium alloy which is used to build boats, with high chrome and magnesium levels increasing its tensile strength and corrosion resistance.
This material is designed for all applications, particularly those including very severe environmental conditions. The finish on AlumiGard is give or take 25% gloss, however, a range of colours are supplied at a low-gloss finish if required.
Due to being the most durable of ColorCotes materials, AlumiGard is best suited for usage for homes in either severe marine environments, or very severe geothermal applications. This includes exposure right up to the waterline and between 100-400m from the coast.
AlumiGard is the most expensive of the 3 material options due to providing the most protection and durability against the harshest New Zealand conditions.
MagnaFlow
Secondly is MagnaFlow, which has the addition of magnesium in its standard zinc/aluminium alloy-coated steel substrate, enabling the zinc to ‘flow’. This allows the substrate to ‘self-heal’ itself and prevents exposure to any premature corrosion. Due to its excellent corrosion resistance, this material is ideal for Fineline clients living in moderate to harsher environments, including those near the coast.
MagnaFlow also has excellent colour retention and high formability. Similar to AlumiGard, this material also has a 25% gloss level, with low-gloss colour options available on request.
MagnaFlow is best suited for applications in moderate, marine, and severe marine climate conditions. This may include windier areas inland or those which experience coastal salts or 100-400m from the coast.
ZinaCore
The third and final ColorCote material is ZinaCore. This product is durable and designed with colour retention and formability in mind. This material can easily be re-formed, offering Fineline clients many different spouting profile options to suit the desired design aesthetic.
Its water-borne, polyester top coat gives ZinaCore an extremely durable paint system that is able to resist UV damage and provide gloss and colour retention. ZinaCore also has a give-or-take 25% gloss level with low gloss options available.
This particular material is best suited for normal environmental conditions including mild, moderate, and marine climates to ensure its baked-on colour will remain vibrant for years without any signs of fading, cracking, or peeling. This material is suited for Fineline customers, including the majority of homes around New Zealand that are inland or experience some coastal salts.
ZinaCore is the most affordable of the 3 different material types, due to providing the least protection against harsh conditions.
Performance Testing
In regard to performance testing, AlumiGard, MagnaFlow, and ZinaCore are all scratch, heat, humidity, and impact resistant. These materials all passed the bend test and meet the requirements in relation to sea salt spray and QUV resistance.
Warranty
At Fine Line, the main reason we recommend ColorCote is due to the peace of mind it provides our customers with its warranty. ColorCote is so assured in the quality of their manufacturing process and paint finish, that they offer a 10-15 year warranty on all products.
Their guttering and downpipes have a 10-year warranty for the paint finish and a 10-12 year warranty against perforation (terms and conditions apply). Their fascia products also have a 10-year warranty for the paint finish and a 15-year warranty against perforation (terms and conditions apply).
The actual length of the warranty received depends on where the customer lives and the environmental conditions. Maintenance requirements may also effect the eligibility of the warranty duration.
Conclusion
At Fineline, we provide our customers with an array of different gutter and spouting options to suit the individual needs of our consumers. It is important to note that when choosing a new gutter for your home, it is on a case-by-case basis depending on factors such as the style of your home, the climate of where you live, and your budget.
About Fine Line
Fine Line is a privately owned, local team who are proud to offer fascia and spouting services to customers within Hamilton and around the Waikato.
We are a specialist team who can provide professional advice around the best fascia and spouting options to meet your needs, ensuring our clients are completely satisfied with our products and workmanship, AND we handle every job we quote personally.
