Installing Rain Gutters and Down Spouts

Installing rain gutters and downspouts gutters is not the most glamorous DIY home improvement for your home but they may be necessary. When properly installed they will take the water away from your foundation and route to an area where it will not cause damage to your home.  Cascading water off your roof can cause water problems in the basement, especially if you do not have a foundation drain system to route the water away. Excessive water can also cause flooding where you don’t want it, water infiltration around windows, and increase siding mold and decay. Essentially gutters and downspouts protect your house providing that they are maintained as an effective drainage system. They must be able to handle rainwater removal from the immediate vicinity of the house. If they become clogged you can't wait for the next storm to clean them out.

There are several types of gutter systems available for your home. They are made from wood, vinyl, and several different metals including; aluminum, galvanized steel, stainless steel and copper. For all practical purposes wood gutters are obsolete, however they are used in restoration of old homes. Vinyl gutters are the most common used in contemporary construction. They are not necessarily installed during construction unless the home buyer insists that they be installed. The installation of gutters and down spouts is an excellent DIY project that can be completed in a weekend. Vinyl gutters and the hardware to install them can be purchased at home improvement centers. They are inexpensive and don’t take a professional gutter installer to install them. Metal gutters are not so easy to install as a DIY project. Sheet metal shops and gutter specialists make and install most metal gutters.

Gutters are not necessary forevery house or for every roof slope. Roofs with extended overhangs that cast runoff water well away from the house, where proper grading and drainage can carry it away don’t require gutters.Vinyl and aluminum gutters and downspouts are light weight and come in 10 to 20 foot pre-painted sections. They are quite easy to work with. End caps, inside and outside corners, splice joints, and hangers are premade to fit the gutters. Down spouts usually come in 10 foot sections along with mounting brackets, angle attachments, and run of sections. Both vinyl and aluminum drain systems snap together and are mounted on hangers approximately 24 inches apart.

• Before purchasing the pieces for installing gutters and downspouts make a sketch of the system for your home.

• Visit your home improvement center and select what is needed to install your system.

• The first step for installation is to snap a chalk line starting from the center point of the soffit to the end. This line should have a 1/2 -3/4 inch slope from the center to the end point. Do the same for the opposite end.

• Install the hangers approximately every 24 inches along the chalk line.

• Use splice joints where necessary.

• Snap the gutters into the hangers.

• Install the downspout section, downspouts, and run of sections at the bottom.

Installing a gutter and downspout system is quite easy and can be completed in less than one weekend by a DIY homeowner. It can solve a lot of water related problems around the house.