We are often asked, ‘What is the purpose of a union clip and do I need one for each gutter?’
Every cast iron gutter has a jointing piece built in to one end, either an external one known as a socket, or an internal one known as a spigot. This is how gutters are connected to each other.
A union clip can be used as a double socket or double spigot; its purpose is to provide a joint where there wouldn’t otherwise be one, usually when reusing an off-cut of a gutter which can then reduce the total number of gutters required for a job.
With rainwater and soil pipes, the joint is an external socket at the top of the pipe. Here we offer a union socket, sometimes called a loose socket, again to allow those off-cuts to be used.