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A tree grows in the gutter... As much as she loves the environment and is against the clear-cutting of forests, Brigitte has to do something about the tree growing in her garage gutters. It may be lovely at Christmas time - to decorate it with lights and a shiny star - but it just won’t do when you need to drain water from the roof. The garage and porch get gutter makeovers while Anthony gets a sugar rush when Brigitte serves him her grandma’s secret lemonade recipe. With all that sugar, it’s no wonder Brigitte has so much energy.
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DO buy extra material if you think you’ll need it. You can usually return what you don’t use.
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DO save the water! Consider placing a rain barrel at the end of your downspout. You can use the water collected in it to water your garden or lawn.
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DON’T allow trees to grow into your gutter. It’s as simple as that.
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Gutter Gall
Because there is foliage in her yard, Brigitte is advised to go with metal gutters. They are more durable than the vinyl ones and they will hold their own in a battle with the trees. Before you climb your ladder to the roof, get a friend to help you with this project. It’s not exactly easy to handle the long pieces alone.
- Tear the old gutter from the roof by using a pry bar.
- Measure the length of your roof. Every ten feet the eaves trough must slant down 1/8 of an inch so that the water will run down. Use a chalk line so you know where to nail in the eaves trough.
- Put a small bead of caulking on the inside of the end of the eaves trough. Slip the seam on to the end and re-seal it with the caulking. If you have to add corners, use the same method to attach all the pieces together.
- Drill holes on the inner and outer top edges of the eaves trough so you can attach it to the roof. Hammer the looooong nail through both holes.
- When cutting the eaves trough with a hacksaw. Place the eaves trough on something solid, like a piece of wood, so you can cut it without crushing the metal.
- Brigitte made a space for her rain barrel right beneath the downspout.
- Connect the pieces you have for your downspout. Each piece you add should overlap from the bottom up so that the water will run down without leaking at the seams.
- Screw the top of the downspout to the gutter so it will be secure.
- Attach straps to the body of the downspout to keep in place again the side of the house.
- Add gutter screens to tops of the new gutters to keep leaves and other debris from making a home in the gutter and becoming fodder for new trees.
- Run some water from a hose through your gutters to make sure they are draining properly and that there are no leaks.
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Previous Project
