Can you replace just one section of downpipe?

Yes, where the remaining pipe and clips are sound. If the pipe is brittle throughout, replacing the full drop is usually better value than repeat visits.

Will the new downpipe match my existing one?

It is fitted in matching profile and the closest available colour. Where a colour is discontinued, the options are shown to you first.

How long does it take?

A single drop is often a few hours. Multiple downpipes or three-storey work takes longer, and the quote sets that out beforehand.

What about where the pipe discharges at the bottom?

The shoe and the gully are part of the job. Water is run through and followed to the drain so the new pipe is not discharging against the wall or into a blocked gully.

Can a leaking downpipe cause damp inside the house?

Yes. Because the leak is often behind the pipe, water soaks the same strip of wall for months before anyone notices, and it commonly shows up as internal damp.

Should I have the gutters done at the same time?

It usually makes sense. The whole rainwater path is accessible in one set-up, so combining the work saves a second visit.

Are you insured for work at height?

Yes: £5 million public liability cover, plus a satisfaction guarantee on the work carried out.

Card, cash or bank transfer (BACS), settled once the work is finished and you have seen the photos.

Do you cover my area?

Bury, Bolton, Whitefield, Ramsbottom, Worsley, Harwood, Bromley Cross, Prestwich and Tottington, plus nearby postcodes across Greater Manchester. Send your postcode and you will get a straight answer.

Services / Downpipe replacement

Downpipe ReplacementIn Bury

Cracked, split or missing downpipes replaced and clipped back securely, with the discharge checked all the way to the gully.

Get a Free Quote 07837 187937

Free quote, no call-out charge · 15 years in the trade · £5m public liability

15 years

in the roofing trade

£5m

public liability cover

Next day

for most gutter cleans

From £59

gutter cleaning

Downpipe replacement explained

Downpipe replacement covers renewing the vertical pipe, its bends and offsets, the clips that hold it to the wall, and the shoe that discharges into the gully. It can be a single length, one full pipe from gutter to ground, or every downpipe on the property.

A downpipe carries the entire output of a roof plane down a wall, so when it fails the water goes into the brickwork instead of the drain. Splits at the seam, cracked bends, missing sections and pipes hanging off broken clips are all common, particularly after a hard winter or where the pipe was blocked and then froze.

Replacement is fitted in matching profile, round, square or rectangular uPVC, or like-for-like where the property has cast iron, clipped back securely at correct centres, and checked for discharge into the gully. Free quote, no call-out charge, on one to three-storey properties.

Who it is for

Downpipes visibly split, cracked or open at a seam
Pipes hanging loose, rattling in wind or missing clips
Missing lengths where a section has been removed or broken off
Damp or algae running down the wall behind a downpipe
Cast iron pipes rusted through at the back where nobody sees
New extensions, porches or conservatories needing a pipe run and discharge

What's included

Damaged or missing sections replaced
Pipe clipped back securely to the wall
Discharge checked to the gully or drain

What happens if it is left

A split downpipe empties a roof's worth of water directly onto one strip of wall. Because it is behind the pipe, the leak is often invisible from the street and the first sign is a damp patch inside, or algae and blown pointing at the back of the pipe line.

Loose pipes damage themselves. A downpipe not properly clipped moves in the wind, which works the joints apart and grinds the fixings loose in the mortar. Once a joint has opened, water runs behind the pipe permanently rather than only in heavy rain.

At the base, a broken shoe or a missing bottom length discharges water at ground level right against the wall. That soaks the ground next to the foundations, splashes the lowest course of brickwork continuously, and is one of the most common causes of persistent damp at skirting level inside.

Common mistakes

Taping or silicone-patching a split seam that will reopen at the first frost
Replacing the pipe but reusing broken or corroded clips
Clipping the pipe too tightly with no allowance for expansion
Fixing clips into failed mortar joints rather than sound masonry
Leaving the pipe discharging onto a path or against the wall instead of into a gully
Fitting a smaller-diameter pipe than the roof area needs

How the WorkIs Carried Out

Step 1

Free quote, no call-out charge

Send photos of the guttering with your address or postcode, or ask for a site visit. You get a fixed price before anything is booked, and there is no charge for the quote either way.

Step 2

Survey the run

The full route is checked from outlet to gully, offsets, existing clip positions, the state of the masonry, the profile and diameter needed, and where the water is meant to discharge.

Step 3

Strip out and fit

The old pipe is removed, new pipe, bends and offsets are fitted in matching profile, and clips are fixed into sound masonry at correct centres with allowance for expansion.

Step 4

Discharge checked

Water is run from the gutter outlet down through the new pipe and into the gully, so both the joints and the discharge point are verified.

Step 5

Photos, tidy up, guarantee

Before-and-after photographs are sent to you as proof of the work, the ground is swept up, and the job is backed by a satisfaction guarantee. Card, cash or bank transfer.

What you get out of it

Water off the brickwork

A sound, well-clipped pipe puts the whole roof's water into the drain instead of into the wall.

Fixed into sound masonry

Clips are set into solid brick or stone, not crumbling mortar, so the pipe stays put in wind.

Matching profile

Round, square or rectangular to suit the property, in the closest available colour match.

Discharge verified

The flow is followed all the way to the gully, so the new pipe is not draining into a blockage.

Quoted with gutter work

Often done alongside a clean, repair or replacement run, which saves a second visit.

Fully insured

£5 million public liability cover, plus a satisfaction guarantee.

Downpipe replacement in detail

Profiles, diameters and materials

Round 68mm uPVC is the domestic standard and suits most half-round guttering. Square and rectangular profiles pair with square-line and ogee systems and are common on newer estates. Larger diameters are used where one pipe serves a big or steep roof plane.

Cast iron appears on older stone-built and terraced properties around Bolton and Prestwich. It can be replaced like-for-like where appearance matters, or in a uPVC profile that reads similarly from the ground, the options and the cost difference are explained before anything is ordered.

Clips, expansion and fixings

Clip centres matter: too few and the pipe flexes and works its joints loose, too many is wasted money. Fixings need solid masonry rather than a soft mortar joint, and on stone properties the fixing position is chosen carefully to avoid damaging the face.

uPVC expands and contracts noticeably over a year, so joints are left with the correct allowance and clips are not overtightened. A pipe fixed rigidly from top to bottom will bow or pop a joint in the first hot spell.

Offsets, swan necks and the base

Where the eaves overhang, a swan neck brings the pipe back to the wall. That bend is the most common blockage point on any downpipe, so the geometry and the joint quality there matter more than anywhere else on the run.

At the base, the pipe either enters a gully directly or discharges through a shoe onto a grating. A missing or broken shoe throws water at the wall, so it is replaced as part of the job, and the gully itself is checked for flow.

Full replacement or one section

A single split length can be swapped where the rest of the pipe and its clips are sound, which is the cheapest sensible fix. If the pipe is brittle throughout or the clips have all corroded, replacing the full drop is better value than returning twice.

Downpipe replacement is also the natural companion to gutter replacement, since both are accessible in the same set-up. Where both are needed you get one quote covering the whole rainwater path.

Downpipe replacement across Bury, Bolton and Greater Manchester

Based in Bury, Greater Manchester and covering the surrounding towns. If your postcode is not listed, it is often still covered, see the areas covered page, or the homepage for an overview of the whole service.

Downpipe replacement:Your Questions Answered

It depends on the height, the profile, how many lengths and whether offsets are involved. Quotes are free with no call-out charge, from photos and your postcode or from a site visit.