Putting Up New Gutters

Hold another elbow against the house and cut a piece of downspout to fit between the two elbows.

Putting up new gutters.

Cut the gutters to size with a hacksaw and heavy duty tin snips. Finish off the curves with sheet metal shears. Mark the point to be cut on the gutters with an erasable marker. At the downspout locations trace the outline of the flange that will connect the gutter and downspout then punch through it with a sharp chisel.

If the run is more than 35 feet in length make the high point at the center of the run with slopes leading to the downspouts on either side. Use the other hand to hold the frame at the top by the wingnut. Many houses have a trim board or crown molding nailed to the fascia just under the shingles. Screw a downspout elbow to the outlet tube protruding down from the gutter.

Start by pushing the female end of a downspout elbow onto the first outlet fitting. Measure the distance between these fittings and cut a short length of downspout to join the allowing for about 1 1 2 in. Don t forget to ask for a gutter color match to the existing trim on your home. Inspect the fascia and soffit fig.

The slope should ideally be 1 4 inch for every 10 feet of gutter that s installed. You ll need to remove this as we did or add a continuous strip of wood under it to create a flat plane for the gutters. Of insertion on one end. Use needlenosed pliers to slightly crimp the elbow to fit into the downspout as shown.

Crimp the end cap in place using the same gutter sealant used on the seams. Hold the handle with your dominant hand and keep your index finger parallel to the top pointing toward the cutting direction for support. Secure the downspout outlet to the gutter with four pop rivets or screws. Then hold a second elbow against the corner of the house in line with the first elbow.