I seem to have a plant growing out of my guttering...

[Destinysdaughter]

Does anyone know anything about guttering? There seems to be a plant growing out of this pipe! It's my elderly parents' house which I'm currently living in. It's all a bit run down in general but just noticed this!

What should I do? Is it a plumber I need? How serious is this..?

Anyone?

[dementedpixie]

You need someone that cleans gutters! We end up with grass in ours and have to get the gutters cleared each year

[Destinysdaughter]

Thanks! I think it's actually cracking so might need to have it replaced.

[Destinysdaughter]

I forgot to post the pics!

[LBOCS2]

There shouldn't be a hole in the downpipe there - first off pull the plant out so it doesn't make it worse, but it looks like you might be approaching needing to replace it. First things though - get someone up a ladder to get rid of the plant.

[Destinysdaughter]

Thanks that's what I thought!

[Doilooklikeatourist]

We had a buddleia growing out of our guttering , we DH climbed up a ladder and pulled it out
Loads of gurgling and water ( sounded like the tide going in ) moving and alls well
But it was only on the back , one floor up and not too high

[PigletJohn]

the pictures look very bad. It is not guttering (easy), it looks like a soil pipe.

Holes in pipes that may carry sewage are very undesirable. The plant will be well watered and manured so will grow big healthy roots and block the pipe.

Looking at the pic, I think it is probably plastic pipe that has had a poor quality repair. It needs to be ripped out and replaced with new. Plastic is very easy to remove and replace. If you have any old metal pipes attached to it, I would recommend replacing them as well. Joins to plastic are not very reliable, and bodges should be avoided. A local plumber or builder can do it with ease. You may need a scaffold tower, especially if there are old metal pipes, due to handling risks of heavy materials at height.

Some plumbers are soft and delicate and only like fitting bathrooms.

[PigletJohn]

p.s.

Tomato plants appearing near drains unexpectedly are a bad sign. Tomato seeds are undamaged as they pass through the human digestive system and emerge from it viable and ready to grow.

[Destinysdaughter]

Aw cheers Piglet, I hoped you'd make an appearance! Yes I admit it does look bad, will get it looked at soon.