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Installation
Installing The Downspouts
A Special Crimper Tool Eliminates Downspout Frustration
We’re using standard 2 x 3-in. downspouts, but the procedure for oversized 3 x 4-in. ones is the same. Assemble the elbows and downspout tube with the crimped ends facing down to prevent water from leaking out of the joints. Use sheet metal screws rather than rivets so you can disassemble the downspouts to clean them if necessary. Pros prefer prepainted 1/4-in. hex head screws with very sharp points, called “zippers” because they’re easy to install. We found these screws in the aluminum siding section of a home center, but a gutter supplier would be another good source.
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 a $15 crimping tool will save you tons of time and frustration.
Finish the gutter job by 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 wraparound the outside and make it easier to hang the downspouts.
Buying Gutters
Ten-foot lengths of metal gutters, downspouts and accessories are available at home centers, lumberyards and full-service hardware stores. Standard colors are brown and white. Matching inside and outside corners, downspout elbows and accessories are also available. Buy special gutter sealant to seal the seams. It’s available in small toothpaste-type tubes or 12-oz. caulk gun tubes. Complete gutter systems cost about $2 per linear foot.
Using many of the same basic techniques we show in this story, you can install your own “seamless” gutters. Listed under “Gutters” in the Yellow Pages, many seamless gutter companies will come to your house, measure and form continuous lengths of aluminum gutter to fit, and sell you all the installation accessories you’ll need. At about $3.50 per linear foot, it costs a little more, but you’ll be able to choose from dozens of colors and eliminate seams in the gutter runs. You’ll also save the hassle of measuring, shopping and hauling the parts home in your VW bug. See p. 70 for more details.
Gutter Maintenance Is The Key To Long-Lasting Gutters
Clean leaves from your gutters twice a year, or hire a company that specializes in gutter cleaning and maintenance. You’ll extend the life of your gutters and eliminate problems like backed-up gutters and plugged downspouts.
Ten-foot lengths of metal gutters, downspouts and accessories are available at home centers, lumberyards and full-service hardware stores. Standard colors are brown and white. Matching inside and outside corners, downspout elbows and accessories are also available. Buy special gutter sealant to seal the seams. It’s available in small toothpaste-type tubes or 12-oz. caulk gun tubes. Complete gutter systems cost about $2 per linear foot.
Using many of the same basic techniques we show in this story, you can install your own “seamless” gutters. Listed under “Gutters” in the Yellow Pages, many seamless gutter companies will come to your house, measure and form continuous lengths of aluminum gutter to fit, and sell you all the installation accessories you’ll need. At about $3.50 per linear foot, it costs a little more, but you’ll be able to choose from dozens of colors and eliminate seams in the gutter runs. You’ll also save the hassle of measuring, shopping and hauling the parts home in your VW bug.
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