One of the many joys of being a homeowner is installing or maintaining your gutters and downspouts. Well, if you're looking for some basic tips on how to install rain gutters this article should give you some good points.
What Is Your Slope Angle?
The first thing you want to do is find the slope on your eaves. Where does the water flow?
Once you know this aspect, you can take a line-level and stretch it across your eave and mark off the high point on one side and the low point on the other.
You want the slope of the guttering to be 1/4 "- 3/8" for every 10 feet. Anything less and you run the risk of water not draining properly.
Once you have the marks made, you can go back with a chalk line and snap off the reference line.
Cut The Gutters
Use a measuring tape to mark off the desired length of your gutter and mark it off. Be sure to mark it all the way around the outside of the gutter.
Next, cut it off to the right length. There are several ways to go about accomplishing this, but I recommend a good pair of tin snips. Using a saw can be done, but the end result will not be pretty. Wear gloves when working with aluminum gutters because of very sharp edges.
Attach The Guttering
Now it's time to attach the gutter to your eaves. For this you will use hanging brackets that hold up the rain gutter and screw into the fascia board on the roof.
When attaching the brackets it is recommended to space them out 24 "through the length of your gutter and 6" from the ends.
Downspouts
The final piece on how to install rain gutters will be your downspout. You will need to install a sleeve section to the end of the gutter that will also attach to the downspout.
Take the sleeve and draw an outline around it in your gutter. Next, cut out the hole using a drill to cut out an opening and then a jigsaw to cut out the hole. Take a tube of silicone and seal all the edges around the opening to prevent water leaks.
Screw the pieces together with metal screws and cut the downspout to size. Put on the end caps and seal them with your silicone. You also want to do this in any seams as well.
You can check for leaks by using a water hose and squirting water on your roof.
This was only a brief overview on how to install a rain gutter, but it should give you the help you need to make this task a little more manageable. It's really not as hard as it may look to install your own gutters and downspouts.
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