Making Used Gutters Look Good on an Old Shed or Barn is an Easy Job!

Putting gutters on an outbuilding can cost you quite a bit if you buy all the supplies new, but If you come across some used gutters that can be taken away for free it could save you a lot of money.

I was cutting down a tree for a friend and she had some gutters that were torn down in a heavy snow. As it turned out they were a little bent but nothing that I could not straighten out. After I got them home and looked at the building that needed gutters it turned out to be an almost perfect fit.

So I went to the hardware store and picked up all of the remaining supplies needed to repair and install these gutters. First thing I needed was the mounting hardware, and you can use the giant gutter nails if you are going directly into a wood fascia board. You can also get the higher tech screws with metal hanger brackets if you prefer. The only thing about using the nails is to make sure that you are aligned with the ends of your rafters so the nail has something more than the 3/4" fascia board to hold it in place.

Next you need to take a level up on a ladder and make some markings where you want the gutter to hang. It is wise to create as much fall as possible so that water does not lay in the gutter if it can be avoided. Depending how far your gutter runs you may have to be very accurate in your measurements in order to create enough drop so that water will flow out of the downspout. Since the barn I was working on is only 16 feet long it was not hard to create the maximum amount of drop. I did this by setting the closed end of the gutter up high near the underside of the shingles, and then at the opposite end I have the downspout end drop low down to just flush with the bottom edge of the fascia board.

Next you need to start hanging your gutter along the lines you marked which is easy if you can get one end started by putting a screw through the back wall of the gutter into the fascia board. Then go down a few feet and with the gutter on your mark set a second holding screw. These can be left in place as an extra support in the gutter and once the main nails or screws are installed you can go back and put more of these screws in place.

Once you have two gutter ends meeting that have to be joined there is a splice kit which uses a special gray glue that bonds the repair piece to each of the two gutter pieces. This is then snapped over the gutters, centered and then screwed to each piece. Once the two pieces are secured you can nail or screw that section to the fascia board as well.

Next you need to cap your ends and using the same silver glue here you squeeze the glue from the tube into the seam of the end cap. Then push this cap firmly onto the end of your gutter. This is then screwed into place with the small cross head screws included in the end cap kit.

Now you need to mount the downspouts and connect all the pipe pieces together. As you go along put on the holding straps so that the pipes do not slip out of the other pieces you have inserted them into. Once everything is aligned and straight put at least two screws into every joint and also at any elbows or transitions that are in the downspout piping. In this particular project I was adding white plastic rain barrels so a "Y" shaped diversion valve was built into the downspout pipe so that the barrel can fill with water when I want it to. Once it is filled I can manually divert the flow back to the normal piping run.

These barrels will freeze if left with any water in them so I remove them before winter to prevent the rupture of any barrels.

Supplies: four end kits, one bag of mounting nails with plastic spacers, two section joiner kits, three downspout elbows, one straight piece of downspout, six mounting straps, three boxes of 1/2" white painted cross head screws, two "Y" diversion valves. Your list may vary because I recycled a good deal of my components.

This article comes completely from my personal knowledge and experience.

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