How To Install Wood Gutters
Snap the sections together.
How to install wood gutters. Installing gutters in 18 steps snap a chalk line across the fascia creating the proper pitch toward the downspout end. Once you have measured the roof of your house where you intend to place the gutter purchase the gutter sections and. Builder scott mcbride recounts his time cleaning and rebuilding wood gutters including the advantages to wood gutters and the key to wood gutter longevity. It s much easier to join sections on the ground than to work from the top of a ladder.
For better performance make a designed joint by routing a rabbet at one side of the joint see illustration. Use a square and pencil to mark the gutter length and cut to the line. Measure the fascia to determine the length of the gutter. One way to create the groove is to rasp a 1 4 to 3 8 inch bevel at the edge of the joint.
Rotate the gutter upward until its back edge slips into the hooks at the top of the back of the brackets as shown. Apply release tape to the bottom of the rabbet or insert backer rod and then install the sealant. Cut a two inch long notch in the front lip of the gutter with tin snips to join a rain gutter section. When two pieces of gutter are jointed together we usually cut a splice joint and then relieve the wood 1 inch one each side of the joint.
Many gutters utilize lead flashing at the end caps as well as in all splice joint locations and at the outlet pipes. Apply gutter sealant to an end cap then press the cap onto one end of the gutter. Wood gutters were popular in the early 1900s before the price of aluminum fell and roll forming machinery brought our current gutters to market. If you already have an old gutter and are planning to replace it then you can use the old brackets to fix your new.
Take measurements along the roof and wall of the house. Begin by installing a slip joint splice on each end of an inside corner fitting. Through the screw mounting hole in each bracket drill a 3 16 inch diameter hole in the front edge of the gutter. Then trim the first section of the gutter to length with tin snips.