How foolish is doing my own new gutters?
Working backwards from the theory that water is the great destroyer of houses, I’m looking at the way my gutters are pretty much the spawn of the devil and couldn’t be any worse. They dump water onto my old brick walls, destroy (or speed the crumbling) of mortar, cause lichens to grow near the foundation… the list goes on. Anyhow, I want to fix things.
Has anyone bought/installed gutters from http://www.classicgutters.com/ ? It’s appealing (for me) to consider the aluminum stuff, as joints can be sealed with a silicone sealant, and I can install it at my own pace with scaffolding I’ve already got. I’ve been coming up with the parts list and measurements, but I thought I’d ask here before pulling the trigger.
Beyond this company’s products, should I be looking at any others? And beyond that, are gutters a DIY project, or something best left to dedicated… is craftsmen the right word? I guess I never hear of gutter installation being held in the same regard as say, carpenters or framers or even drywallers…
Anyhow, advice is welcome – though advice like “why aren’t you getting copper” will likely not be as welcome. =) Copper is awesome, but I’d be a very broke monkey for the runs I need.
Thanks much.
My kingdom for more tools
Replies
Gutterwork is easy. It's the perfect job for a DYI.
FKA Blue (eyeddevil)
EyePulp
Spawn of the devil huh? I purchased 1/2 round Galvalume gutters from the Classic Gutter Company 2 years ago and did them myself. It was a breeze... sort of. I was very happy with the product quality. If you don't factor in your labor, all the supplies ( i bought really cool ($) hanger brackets) were cheaper than getting K style gutters installed. E-mail me if you have specific questions.
Dave E.
I recently completed an addition and planned on doing the guttering myself. Called around and got some gutter guys to look at it. Prices ranged from $400 to $1500 for about 60LF of gutter and 6 downspouts. This was seamless aluminum. Priced the materials at the box and found it wasn't too much more expensive to pay someone else to do it for me.
So you might want to ask around and get an idea of local pricing. I was surprised by how INexpensive it ended up to be.
One option is to have a seamless gutter company do a "drop". They stop by your place, measure the length, make a one piece gutter for your application and leave it for you to install. It doesn't matter what you do to seams, eventually, most will leak. You will have to decide on how you will hang it. There are a few options for hanger systems. It's a good idea to have some help with a long gutter, especially on a second floor. I like the "universal" hangers. You can snap a chalk line, install the hangers and then just slip the gutter in place. It hangs on the front of the clips and swings up, to hook on the back.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I use some of Classic's hangers and accesorries with Berger gutter because the Berger is available locally and I don't have to pay the shipping which is astronomical.
Half round is easier to install (IMHO) than ogee, but it's all about having access.
Here's some of the pitfalls:
When you hire a gutter contractor, you pay only for materials used on your project. DIY jobs will have parts left over. Not as big of a concern with AL as CU.
With half round, the gutter stands proud of the fascia, so the roof must extend out far enough to allow the water to drip into the gutter. Often a problem with low pitch roofs.
Half round has less storage capacity than ogee so you might want to upsize the gutter and the downspout by an inch.
Here's a thread where we used Classic parts and Berger gutter:
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=81142.50
http://grantlogan.net/
It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man. - J. Handey
As much of a DIYer as I've been, I'd still opt for seamless gutters with an aluminum clad seamless fascia too. On new work I'd probably go for the entire aluminum soffit system. Haven't priced it lately so I'm not certain about the soffit...but I'd definitely go for the fascia and the gutters.
Unless it's an art project, or you have lots of experience, DIY gutters are a fool's errand. Two competent gutter techs can finish the whole job in less time than it would take you to find the tools and set up the ladders.
And think about this, what does a trip to the ER for X-Rays and a cast cost these days?