i need some expert advice on built in copper gutters.House was built in 1923. has rusty metal. Going to replace with copper myself. the first area im going to do isa 18ft by 15ft car port has very slight pitch hip roof attatched to house.the shape and size of built in gutter goes like this @3in.down at roof 8in across bottom of gutter then up @2in then across 8in then down1.25in drip over crown on facia . my main question is ……. useing 30in by 10ft copper , are rivited soldered joints the same as an expantion joint?? if not please detail the differance also is 16oz. copper ok. im experieanced on a brake and a bad speller
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Well, I know virtually nothing about handling copper, but I can tell you that a riveted and soldered joint is NOT an expansion joint.
An expansion joint would allow the two pieces being joined to slide relative to each other. Not sure how you'd accomplish this with a copper gutter, other than simply overlapping two sections by a foot or so (taking care to lap them in the "right" direction vs water flow, and making the inner section a tish smaller than the outer one).
The other way to handle expansion is to have a U bend or a bellows section, but I don't think either of those work for gutters.
18ft by 15ft car port
Those dimensions don't warrant an expansion joint. Expansion can be allowed for at the end caps. Built in gutter work does warrant someone who knows how to solder and how to fabricate the pans properly.
Copper is the best choice. What type of roof is on the structure? Do you know how to pre-tin? Do you know how to flat lock? Do you have soldering gear for this type of work?
I'll gladly talk you thru it the best I can, but I need to know where we need to start from. Cheers.
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