Rain Gutters Installation
Gutter replacement, which involves installing your own rain gutters can save you substantially over professionally installed gutters, but there are a few pitfalls to watch out for. Inspect the fascia and soffit (Fig. B) for signs of rotted wood, which will need to be replaced before you put up the rain gutters. Many houses have a trim board or crown molding nailed to the fascia just under the shingles. You’ll have to either remove this as we did or add a continuous strip of wood under it to create a flat plane for the gutters. In either case, prime and paint bare wood before you hang the gutters.
- Category : Rain Gutter Installation
- Completed : 30 Aug, 2019
- Value : $1500
- Advisor : Leo and Dylan
- Location : Sun Valley, CA
Preassemble before installing gutters It’s much easier to join sections on the ground than to work from the top of a ladder.
Instead of butting parts together and covering the joints with a seam cover as recommended by the manufacturer, lap all seams from 2 to 4 in. Then caulk and rivet them together. We’ve shown joining a gutter section to a corner. Use the same process to join two sections of gutter, except overlap the pieces at least 4 in. When you’re splicing gutter sections, plan ahead to leave the best-looking factory-cut end on the outside if possible. Also, lap the rain gutters so the inside section is facing downhill to prevent water from being forced out the seam.
Where a gutter ends, cut it to extend about an inch past the end of the fascia board to catch water from the overhanging shingles. Then attach an end cap with rivets and seal the joint from the inside with gutter sealant.
PROJECT CHALLENGE Cut in downspout tubes at each downspout location
FINAL RESULT After installing gutters, gutter maintenance is the key to long-lasting gutters
You can cut downspout tubing with a 32-tooth hacksaw blade, but the pro we talked to uses a circular saw with a standard 24-tooth carbide blade. A power miter box also works great for cutting both gutters and downspouts. Use an old blade, though. Protect yourself from flying bits of metal with goggles, leather gloves, jeans and a long-sleeve shirt.
Each length of gutter and every elbow is squeezed, or crimped, on one end to allow the pieces to fit together, one inside the other. Since 10-ft. lengths of downspout are only crimped on one end, you’ll have to crimp one end of any cutoff piece to make it fit inside the next elbow or downspout section. If you only have one or two downspouts to install, you can use a needle-nose pliers to twist crimps into the end. But an inexpensive crimping tool will save you tons of time and frustration (Photo 14).
Finish the gutter job by easier to hang the downspouts. attaching the downspouts to the wall. If you can’t find U-shaped brackets, make them from sections of downspout. They look better than the bands that wrap around the outside and make it easier to hang the downspouts.