Collapse of Guttering at School Could Have Lead to Tragedy

A section of pressed steel gutter and plywood fascia board at a school collapsed during or after a heavy rainstorm.

Staff and pupils had walked beneath the failed gutter just minutes before its collapse, narrowly avoiding a serious accident. The gutter was about 200 mm wide x 250 mm deep. It is believed that the down pipe may have become blocked, allowing the gutter to fill during heavy rain. The method of fixing the gutter and plywood fascia board was simply by nailing into the end grain of the roof rafters, there was no other support. BS 5268 cl. 6.4.4.3 states that ‘no withdrawal load should be carried by a nail driven into the end grain of timber’.
CROSS comments, that apparently trivial details may not receive proper engineering attention but are nevertheless vital. All building work needs to be ‘robust’ and this is another example of a collapse that could have had tragic consequences.
Further information can be found at www.scoss.org.uk