How To Install A New Gutter Downspout

Dissimilar California and much of the southwestern United States, here in western Pennsylvania nosotros have no problems with drought. Really, with abundant rainfall and rivers up the wazoo, we tend toward the opposite finish of the moisture spectrum: flooding. Our home is at an elevation where we're safe from floods (cursory pause to knock on caput), merely ofttimes the rainfall is so heavy that all the gutters do is wearisome the water downwards. This results in much of the water spilling over the edge of the gutters, and catastrophe upward right by the foundation, ordinarily followed by a small lake in the basement. After a recent episode of sogginess, I decided information technology was time to add a downspout, to endeavour and divert some of that agua somewhere it would be less harmful and more useful – Texas, perhaps?

The procedure used to add a downspout is similar, whether y'all're putting up a whole new gutter or just supplementing what'due south already there. In our case, the gutter spans the entire rear of the house. The 32' gutter has a downspout at each end, merely at simply 2"x3" each they're not about upward to the chore of handling all the water coming off the large roof area, as evidenced by the to a higher place video. To make matters even worse, two downspouts from the big upper roof too bleed onto the lower roof. Those puny downspouts don't stand a run a risk.

In a recent postal service, we took a wait at how to fix some of the impairment that can exist acquired when h2o gets in where it shouldn't. In this case, it was acquired when water overflowed ane of our gutters over a period of a few years, resulting in a badly rotted window sill. Since preventing damage is preferable to fixing it, let's take a wait at the parts and tools you lot'll want to round upward to add a downspout, and become to piece of work!

Your "Add together A Downspout" Shopping Guide

When you're compiling your shopping list, the number one detail is, of course, the downspout. They're normally sold in x' lengths; make certain you have enough sections to reach the footing. Keep in mind that if you take a deep roof overhang, you'll need two elbows at the peak, to reposition the downspout against the siding. Make certain y'all'll have enough downspout to cut a piece to span the gap between the fascia and the siding, if needed. About home centers stock downspouts and other gutter components in white and brown. Too mundane? In that location are a LOT of colors available past special order.

Some other elbow may be required at the bottom of the downspout, to direct the water away from the house, unless the downspout volition fit into a receptor connected to underground drain pipes. In that case, you tin buy an adapter that fits perfectly on 4" plastic pipe, and has a slot perfectly sized for whichever size downspout you're using.

You'll demand another adapter to connect the downspout to the gutter. Get a downspout outlet to match the size downspout you'll be installing, either two"x3" or iii"x4". You'll be cutting a pigsty in the gutter and dropping the outlet in, so you'll as well desire some seam sealer to become around the flange to help seal the connection.

You'll also need mounting brackets when you add a downspout, to secure information technology to the house. Normally you'll employ two for each 10' department. Next, make sure you lot have what you need to get everything connected. If y'all take a rivet tool, that'south the platonic way to make your connections. I take a fancy-schmancy Milwaukee M12 rivet tool, just a manual one works just fine, and you lot tin selection 1 up fairly cheaply at the home center; it's a handy tool to have effectually. You can also use sheet metal screws. Rivets and screws are usually institute in the same full general area as the downspouts. And to help y'all make a mode argument when you add together a downspout, they're usually available in colors to match your large parts.

Every bit I mentioned, downspouts are commonly bachelor in ii sizes: 2"x3" and 3"x4". With a small roof and a short run of gutter, you can probably get away with the smaller downspout. The way I run into information technology, though, if you lot're going to all the trouble to add a downspout, spend the extra few bucks and go big. They don't seem that much bigger, but a 3"x4" downspout has twice the capacity of one that'due south only 2"x3". An oversized downspout won't give y'all any reason to regret your determination during the next torrential downpour; an undersized ane might. Just make sure your gutter is broad enough to accept the larger downspout.

DOWNSPOUT / GUTTER PARTS LIST:

A downspout!
Mounting brackets
Elbows: number varies by setup
Downspout outlet
Gutter seam sealant
Rivets to match color of downspout
Screws to mount subclass to business firm

TOOLS:

Drill, drill bits, screwdriver scrap
Hacksaw to correct-size parts
Rivet tool
Tape measure
Pencil or Sharpie for marking for cuts
Ladder
Tin snips or straight hacksaw to cut pigsty for outlet

Location, Location, Location: What To Consider When You Add A Downspout

The starting time step as you get ready to add a downspout is to pick a good location. If yous have a stretch of gutter with only one downspout, the best bet is likely to add together the new one at the reverse terminate. Just exist aware that if the gutter was hung correctly, it should be sloped slightly toward the existing downspout. You lot'll want it to be sloped toward both ends, and higher in the middle. Depending on the gutter hanging system, this task can range from fairly simple to a big PITA. If adjusting the slope is too hard, you lot may want to just add together the new downspout somewhere almost the eye, and so it will drain the outset one-half of the gutter.

For aesthetics, if you tin option a spot where at that place's already a piece of vertical trim, your new downspout won't stand out as much. Try to find an unobtrusive spot, but worst case, you can e'er paint the downspout to match the house color, and that will help it blend in a scrap.

As I mentioned, our roof had downspouts at either terminate. Ideally, the new downspout would be centered between the other two. I decided to add a downspout a scrap off heart for a couple of reasons. The primary reason is that if I had centered it, the downspout would hang right in the middle of an open space between a column and the corner of the business firm. That would be a bit odd. I located it at the corner of the house where it meets the porch, which worked out well because that department of the lower roof is larger, and it besides gets more than of the drainage from the upper roof.

Get Your Heed Out Of In The Gutter

Once you've gathered upwardly all the parts and tools to add a downspout, the hardest part is done! At least mostly. The only remaining pace in the process that might be considered mildly strenuous is making the cutout in the gutter for the outlet to fit into.

This portion of the festivities would be MUCH easier if a paper template was included with the part. Nigh outlets taper slightly toward the bottom, so y'all can't utilize that cease. The meridian has a lip, which makes it awkward to trace an accurate cutout. Note to the outlet makers: Spend two cents and requite us a template, dammit!

To make sure you get a good cutout, spend a couple of minutes and brand a template out of a sparse slice of cardboard. Place the outlet upside-downward on information technology, and trace around the within. Cutting that portion out, and run into how the outlet fits. Accommodate the opening until the outlet fits smoothly. Don't brand the opening too large; remember, the flange needs plenty metal under information technology all the way around to get a good riveted zipper.

One time your sporty template is fix, utilise it to trace for the cutout onto the floor of the gutter. Do it on the top or bottom, whichever y'all'll be making your cutout from. Make certain it's centered front to back, so the flange volition seat properly in the gutter. You should also clean the within of the gutter in the expanse of the outlet, so the sealant will have something more solid to stick to than the remnants of your gutter garden…

At present we get to the only semi-difficult point in the quest to add a downspout: Cutting the pigsty. It's not actually that bad; aluminum is pretty easy to cutting, and it'south not a very big hole. The easiest style to accomplish it is to drill starter holes at all four corners of your cutout surface area. Make sure the hole is wide enough to fit your tin can snips, hacksaw or jigsaw bract into.

Now just follow the lines from hole to pigsty, until your opening is consummate. Exist careful; the cut edges are probable to exist jagged plenty to open up an unappealing gash in your manus, and then you may desire to don a pair of gloves. I had originally planned to use a jigsaw, just at that place wasn't room to maneuver it, so I used a paw tool with a hacksaw blade extending from it. Similar looking mini-hacksaws are available for a few dollars.

Once you accept your hole, drop the outlet in to make sure the fit is good. If it needs to be expanded slightly, use a flat bastard-cutting file. At present drill holes for the rivets, through the existing holes in the outlet and through the gutter.

Take the outlet back out, put a healthy coating of seaming goop all the mode around the edges, and press the outlet firmly into position. Grab your rivet tool, and pop a rivet into each hole. NOW the hardest part is finished!

Gimme Some Elbow Room

If you lot are fortunate enough to take a straight drop from gutter to ground, congratulations! You can skip this section. Most roofs accept some amount of overhang, though, so to add a downspout, you likewise accept to add a couple of elbows.

Elbows are available in 2 types: A and B. Type A elbows are not necessarily smarter or more than ambitious than type B; it just refers to the direction of the bend. Type A bends with the wider section coming toward yous, type B bends go off to the side. We're using type A elbows.

At present that your outlet is in place, connect a couple of elbows together and head for the gutter. Place the larger finish of the connected elbows over the end of the outlet, and check the fit. If it's very shut, you can tweak the fit a bit by forcing the elbows a bit tighter, or past bankroll them slightly autonomously. Just make sure there's a good inch or so nevertheless inserted, so the rivets will be able to make a practiced connectedness.

If the overhang is adequately deep, and there is a gap, detach the elbows. Keeping one effectually the outlet, place the other against the side of the house, in line with the other elbow. Measure out the distance between the two ends, and add 3". Cut a piece of downspout, and utilize it to connect the ii elbows together. Annotation: When making all your connections, the higher pieces should ALWAYS get inside the pieces below, then cut your connecting piece from the tapered end of the downspout. Alternatively, you can use a piece with a full-sized opening at each end, and make some cuts most an inch up the length, to allow you to bend the tabs inward and fit them into the larger opening on the lesser elbow.

There's some other option for wide gaps, which also works well for tighter gaps, where two elbows won't fit. You can get a flex elbow that tin span gaps from viii" – 18", and salve yourself a chip of bedevilment.

Once your elbows are prepare to install, connect them together, along with any extensions, before going up to brand the connection to the outlet. It'due south a lot easier drilling holes and popping rivets on terra firma.

So Permit's Add together A Downspout, Already!

At present for the moment nosotros've been waiting for: It's that portion of the festivities where we really add together a downspout! It's pretty like shooting fish in a barrel peasy from here on in.

Start, install your mounting brackets. Screw one in most 12" from where the acme of the downspout will be, and the other about xviii" up from the lesser. Make sure they're lined upwardly with your outlet opening. Attach them securely into the siding; if y'all're mounting to brick, apply Tapcon screws or concrete anchors.

Go up on that ladder and install your elbows, if you're using them. Make sure you put them in with the crimped side facing down. Drill a hole in each side, and insert a rivet or short canvass-metallic screw to attach them to the outlet.

Now measure out downwards to the ground. If you're running straight down from the gutter, measure from the bottom of the gutter. If you have an elbow, measure out and add an inch and a half to allow for insertion of the elbow into the downspout. In either case, set an elbow on the footing, propped up where the downspout volition stop, and measure to the top of it.

If your total altitude is less than x feet, trim the downspout to length with your hacksaw. If it'southward over x feet, cut a piece from the crimped end of another section of downspout, and connect the two pieces with rivets or screws. Connect the elbow to the bottom of the downspout, over again using rivets or screws. At present get your downspout into position under the outlet or upper elbows, and slide it upwards, making certain the upper portion is extended well into the downspout. This will exist much easier with a helper on the footing to support the downspout.

Now connect the top of the downspout to the upper elbows or outlet with rivets or screws. Slide the downspout into your back up brackets, and attach the downspout to the brackets. And that'due south it – your shiny new downspout is all installed. Become do a rain dance! Every bit for me, I bought the materials to replace the ii 2"x3" downspouts with the big stuff…back up on the ladder I go.

A couple of final details you may want to consider: Add an extension to the elbow at the bottom of the downspout, to get the h2o as far every bit practical from your foundation. You can add together a section of downspout cut to length, or add a flexible plastic extension. There are products bachelor that automatically roll out when full of rain water, and retract when it stops.