The local druggies around here have found a new source of income, namely cruising around and pulling copper downspouts off Churches and homes ( easily converted to cash at local scrap yards). I’ve gotten quite a few calls in the last couple of weeks for replacement work but for obvius reasons people don’t want to but copper back up. My though is to use round aluminum downspouts painted to match. Anyone have a better idea? Thanks
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put in a few screws inside the downspout at the botom of the section, strait into the house, mabey liquid nails or silion on the back
It takes studs to build a house
I think you could paint to match but if you did a good job they would steal it thinking it was copper!
I'd like to know who's buying it? Does the local recycling yard know where the downspouts came from?
use leaded copper. That way they get the quality but it looks far less like copper. If you paint AL to look like CU, the druggies will think it is CU and still steal it.
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Isn't leaded copper 90% plus copper? I can't find it anywhere, but I thought that someone mention awhile ago about a vinyl downspout that lokked pretty realistic, patina color and all. Thanks
That would be nice, wouldn't it?
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My though is to use round aluminum downspouts painted to match.
As piffin said, don't paint them to match. The morons will still steal them. What we've started doing in a theft risk area is to install the spouts so they have a joint just out of reach. That way, the theives only get the bottom 8' or so. Don't solder the sections together. If you do, they can tear down the whole spout and damage the gutter.
Aluminum downspout is available in a brown color that's not too far off the mellow copper brown. If they get stolen, we sometimes replace the bottom section with the brown alum.
Don't screw thru the spouts or liquid nail them to the wall as suggested above, but then you probably knew that.
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oh woops, didn't know. but why not?
It takes studs to build a house
oh woops, didn't know. but why not?
If you screw thru the downspout itself, water will leak around the screws and damage the wall behind it. As the downspout expands/contracts (CU moves more than alum) the spout will tear around the screw, worsening the leak. I've seen geniuses run screws/nails all the way thru the spout from the face which will cause a clog in an instant.
There are numerous downspout attachment devices, my favorite being a simple strap about 2" wide of the same material as the spout. The strap is attached to the wall and then wrapped around the spout and riveted. The spout can then move as the temperature changes.
Also, from time to time, downspouts need to be removed (burst seams from freezing, blockages, getting bumped with the car/lawnmower, painting behind them, etc). If they're glued to the wall, you'll tear up the wall surface getting them off.
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My mother once said to me, "Elwood" -- she always called me Elwood -- "Elwood, in this world you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." For years I tried smart. I recommend pleasant.
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Dogmeat12
poprivets or solder sections together, Move to upscale neighborhoods where the police density scares off crooks.. <big Grin>
Dale and I were hanging downspouts that could be used as a fire escape if needed, and the "heads" would STILL find a way to trash em.
Soldering seams? We never did, but a zillion rivets and tapcons in the straps, yes.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"Success is not spontaneous combustion, you have to set yourself on Fire"
"Move to upscale neighborhoods where the police density scares off crooks."
Uh, not so much. I live in a neighborhood that most surrounding communities refer to as "The Great Police State". You can't so much as go through a yellow light without causing a major police incident -- you know, three cruisers blocking traffic, with all lighs flashing, radios blaring, etc. Yet, some dopers from a nearby community recently snagged a whole bunch of CU downspouts from homes and churches in the area.
They broke up the ring when they cought one of 'em crushing the downspouts in his backyard in preparation for a trip to the recycler. A nosey neighbor was wondering why he was smashing up all that shiny metal and called the authorities.
The thing that really ticks me is that they get $5 for the copper, but the HO has to pay about $500 to replace it. That and, if they put that much work into an honest job, they'd probably be ahead, cash-wise. Sheesh.
Mike HennessyPitsburgh, PA
Mike,
The latest source of drug money for the dopers is catalitic converters.. they are worth over $90 each at the scrap yard and certain imports can command over $450 each! Jacked up 4x4's are the easiest victum.. dopers slide under them in a parking lot with a battery powered sawzall and in less time than you'd believe they get two of them and are off.
The dopers get $90 and the owner spends over $1000 repairing the damage..
Stealing downspouts? Just another sign of how wretched we've become!
The latest batch of druggies ("Meth heads") prides itself on their (largely imagined) cleverness. One of their main 'ethics' is to find ways to live at your expense. There's not a dumpster that they can't find something they think they can salvage.
These "tweakers" are also excessively attracted by shiny things, and bright colors. I once had such a person rummage through the back of my truck, taking only the 'pretty' wires. Go figure.
Scrappers could care less if the scrap is stolen. Even the ID requirements are there only for their tax / accounting / auditing purposes. Five minutes after the seller leaves, the material is crushed / shredded / melted together with everything else. It has to be really, really obvious .... and the scrapper exceptionally caring ... for them to consider that the material is stolen.
Not until we address the root of the problems will we stop this nonsense. It's these little 'quality of life' crimes that unsettle you - not the spectacular bank robbery three time zones away. New York city was able to make a major change in it's crime problems when they began to focus on the 'little' crimes, as well as the businesses that pandered to the 'criminal sub-culture.' (Three cheers for the Mayor who got the ball rolling!)
It's not just a matter of 'live and let live' with these dopers. They have decided that THEY are the predators, and YOU are the prey. They actively seek to make your life less pleasant, out of sheer wickedness. Don't let the 'harmless, burnt out, party boy' act fool you. These folks also think they're invincible, and are prone to extreme violence.
In the short term, make things less attractive to them. Make them work. Reduce their profit. In the long term, they need to be in jail, or to die. They simply are not able to change their ways ... and will continue to be a PITA if they can.
renosteinke,
Those people who use drugs as a crutch to live have a real tradegdy. Not that being kind to them achcieves anything. They game the system and eventually it catches up to them. They either figure it out or die.
If that were all that was involved I'd say leave them alone.. However once they cross the line.. cause others grief because of their desire for drug money.. they need to be stopped short.
Arresting them and putting them in jail costs us $65,000 per prisoner.. per year.. There should be a cheaper solution..
Maybe if we gave them the drug of their choice and put them up in a rooming house untill they sobered up it would cost less? You wouldn't need to guard them like prisoners because with free drugs available they'd want to stay. Check them periodically that they aren't dead and other wise give them as much of whatever they want.. sooner or later they will sober up or die.. seems pretty cheap to me, am I missing something?
Well, my opinion is no more special than the other guys, and I might be off base ....BUT....
From my observations, it is the desire to break the rules, to be an 'outlaw', that motivates these people. If it were legal, etc .... they would still find other rules to break, other ways to make themselves nuisances.
To quote a famous NYPD detective "a perp is a perp is a perp." ( he said it 'a poip is a poip...') These folks are crooks. How we deal with crooks is a bit beyond the scope of this thread. Our OP just needs to recognize that someone -the crook- has declared war on him, and he needs to think in terms of protecting himself from a deliberate attack. Those downspouts didn't walk off by accident.
renosteinke,
Well assuming what you say is true, are we as tax payers spending our money wisely when we jail someone for a small offence (like stealing cooper gutters) and it costs us $65,000 a year?
Here's the real rub.. We spend that $65,000 a year and still don't get our copper gutters back or fixed!
Well .... while it's not about economics .... or, should I say, I don't think you can apply simple cost/benefit analysis to the problem ....
Every time you buy a lock, or use a key, you are a victim of crime. Ever see the effect one minor theft has on a job site? Everyone gets nervous, and a lot of the fun is forever lost from that site - even if the thief has left.
Misery loves company, and these folks are miserable.
If you're saying that the primary purpose of jail / punishment is to protect the rest of us, I'll agree completely. Deterence, etc., are secondary goals.
I've worked in prisons, and my impression of the population was that of folks who stopped maturing in Junior High School .... along with a sprinkling of pure sociopaths. In more primitive times, the 'loose cannons' got speared, and the immature got eaten by saber-tooth tigers. With those days long gone, we're still struggling with what to do with them.
Ultimately, there is no solution short of extreme violence against the criminal. Under what circumstances, and by whom, is the matter of great debate. Ultimately, if folks won't behave, their victims will have to act. Much like the tiger in San Francisco, who just last week got tired of getting pelted by youths with slingshots.
Like the tiger, once THAT genie is let out of the lamp, getting it back in can be a real challenge. Let's hope that we can forstall this .... by encouraging our authorities to treat such 'petty' crimes as 'recycling' more seriously. Let's also stop tolerating those who are actively trying to keep the justice system from working. Let's get our heads out of the sand.
None of us can 'save the planet,' or solve the 'middle east crisis.' Each of us can, though, make a very real difference in the 20 foot space that surrounds us wherever we go. Neighborhoods go bad - or recover - one person at a time.
renosteinke,
Pretty pesimistic outlook of life.. How badly were you hurt as a youth?
I'm willing to spend a few dollars for a lock, I'm willing to spend money to protect ourselves from bad guys. But economic crimes need another solution..
Locking someone up for a habit like drugs or gambeling doesn't make sense.. what we need to do is stop them from stealing. What they do to themselves isn't worthy of our attention..
When they steal we lose you've pointed out how many ways.. we lock them up and we lose again plus the currant recidivism rate means they do their time and come out as better criminals able to do more damage to society before they are caught again. and again society pays.
still we don't get back what was stolen or damaged..
we pay and we lose and we pay and we lose andwepayandwelose...................
You are right,, we can't save the planet or create world peace.. but we can stop doing what doesn't work and figure out another approach.
8 March 2008, Czech Republic) Steel is valuable, especially the high grade alloy used in steel cable. Scrap metal dealers do not ask questions. They pay in cash. And a good supply of cables can be found in elevator shafts.
This particular goldmine was a towering shaft inside an empty grainery near Zatec, 40 miles northwest of Prague. The cable was tightly fastened, and the far end of it disappeared into the shadowy distance above.
After substantial wear and tear on a hacksaw, our man finally cut through the strong steel cable. At that instant, the counterbalance, no longer held in check, started to move silently downwards, accelerating until it reached the bottom of the shaft.
Result: one proud winner of a "terminal velocity" Darwin Award.
R.I.P.
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