DIY: Adding Gutters to Your Home
Does your home have a roof that just stops at the edge, letting water run straight down? This creates a corresponding groove in the ground right under the roof edge. That ditch will get worse and worse over the years, as rain water pelting down into it wears away more and more of your top soil.
You can stop that erosion, and also keep that sheet of rain from falling on your head while you’re coming in and out of the house, by installing gutters. As useful as gutters are, you might think they’re expensive or difficult to install. They’re not! This can be an easy do-it-yourself project, and a real bargain too.
First, measure around all the edges of your house. You can do this from the ground; no need for a ladder yet. Just walk around the whole house, measuring the length of each wall segment, and add them together to get the total perimeter in feet. Write that number down, so that you’ll remember it for later.
Now look at the outside of your house. What color is it? And what color is the roof? Keep these colors in mind when you go to pick out the gutters. You may not match the colors exactly, but you want to pick something that doesn’t completely clash.
Okay, it’s time to go to the building supply store or your favorite home improvement supply place. Ask for help when you get there! There are several different type of gutter systems, and you need to be sure that the pieces you buy are going to fit together properly when you get them home.
There are two basic parts to the gutter system; the gutters themselves and the ties that hold them on. The gutters usually come in 8-foot lengths. Divide the perimeter of your house (the number you wrote down before) by 8, and you’ll know about how many 8-foot pieces you’ll need. If it’s not exact, round up.
Now for the ties. This is where you definitely want someone from the store helping you. You’ll need to attach the gutter to the roof every so many feet. The manufacturer’s directions for the kind of gutters you select will explain how many feet between ties for each system. The store staff can help you make sure that you get the right ties to fit your gutters, and that you have enough of them. If you don’t have enough ties, the gutters won’t be properly attached, and could fall off and land on someone’s head.
It your ties don’t come packaged with screws or nails, you’ll need to pick up some of those at the store too. Finally, do you have a ladder? If not, ask to be directed to the ladder aisle before you leave. (Unless your house is very very short.)
Okay, let’s take a moment to talk about SAFETY. Since you’re going to be working outside, you need to be extremely careful about where the legs of your ladder are sitting on the ground. Be sure that the ground isn’t soft enough to have one of the ladder legs sink into, or slippery enough for the ladder to move while you’re on it. Also, always have a “safety buddy”, (someone who is safely on the ground and able to go for help), whenever you are working off the ground.
Attach the ties to your roof according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once they’re in place, you’ll slide the gutter pieces into place. (You’ll probably be able to hear or feel a ‘click’ when it seats properly.) The pieces will snap together, or overlap, so that they don’t leak where the segments connect. If the pieces don’t come out even with the corners of your house, you can cut them shorter with tin-snips, or a hand saw.
Your new gutters will funnel the rain water from your roof to the corners of the house. From there, you can add downspouts to carry to water down without splashing, or just put a collection barrel under the corner to catch the water.
I like the barrel, because then you can use all that free water for the garden or for other outside cleaning and chores. Just be sure that the opening on your barrel is too small for children or animals to fall in. Always think SAFETY!
Enjoy your nice new gutters!
