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New task for me. I need to install gutter across the porch entrances to our house. While getting dripped on once in a while is not an issue, the water running onto the front porch steps has destroyed the wood at one location and eroded away the ramp up to the back porch in the other.
I intend to install 6" half round copper gutter. The sections are about 4' at the front porch and 6' at the back porch. I will use 3 hangers for the front and 4 for the back. At both location I intend to put in a chain rather than a downspout. In the front we have molded fascia, I think the back is flat fascia board. I have found hangers with mounts for each type. I will build in about 1/4" to 1/2" fall for each section. Given the runs ar only 4' and 6' respectively, I do not think it needs more than that.
So having never done this before, any tips, tricks, pratfalls to be wary of? It looks to be a very simple installation - but those are often the worst kind of project. Copper gutter is not cheap, so I prefer not to make mistakes and have to order more. (it is $68 per 10' piece plus shipping).
A bit of background. Our house is 180 years old but the front porch is a newer (1850) addition and the back porch was built in 2006. There are no gutters on the house anywhere. It has been that way for 10 years since the re-roof, and 170 years before that, so I do not think no gutter is a disaster in the making. I have no interest in covering up the molded fascia with gutter all the way round and see no need for it. (Nor do I have the money for it.) The porches are necessary because of the erosion and because the back porch can become something of a waterfall.
I am attaching a picture of the front (steps are on the far right ride but not visible) and the back porch during construction.
The front porch gutter will run perpendicular to the line of the porch. The steps are just on the side of the porch, not the front.
One concern I do no know how to handle, is if you look at the window on the far right side of the front (the window not covered by the porch). It has a little eyebrow to keep the water from the second story from hitting the window. The eyebrow has no fascia and I think putting gutter on it might look awful. However the eyebrow comes within an inch of the fascia over the front porch steps. I am not sure what to do there, so I plan to just start the gutter at the end of the eyebrow. Some little bit of water will get through the gap between the eyebrow and the gutter and between the porch fascia and the eyebrow. The only other options I can see is to cut away a portion of the eyebrow to make room for the gutter, or hang the gutter really low, so it can go under the edge of the eyebrow. Any ideas or suggestions?
I once had a home where gutters would not work well due to the design of the place so I feel your pain. It's a balance between maintaining the building and maintaining the look of the building (never mind the cost of doing guttering properly).
At the back of the building, it looks like the square bay window is new. Not to add to your concerns but that looks very close to the water fall line from the roof. I would consider putting gutters up in the back - at least on that lower stretch above that nice, new bay window and the larger window. Being in the back, it might be acceptable for you to use a cheaper gutter. I would probably choose the simplest design (although the cheapest ones are all that same design that you see everywhere).
I think that I understand the problem with that eyebrow but a picture of that junction would help - the devil is in the detail. A gap would not look good and would create a water damage issue so I know what you are saying. How is the end of the gutter capped? Is it an option to cut the gutter to fit between the eyebrow and the porch roof? Not sure how it would be capped and metal work is not really my thing. Other downside to that is that you might have a real weakness there in the ability of the gutter to do its job and move the water away from that junction rather than finding it's way around it. That said, I think the cleanest thing would be to cut the eyebrow, even though that would destroy its symmetry. You'll still have a tricky junction between the gutter and the eyebrow which you might want to install flashing to reduce risk of the eyebrow rotting (and, of course, seal the cut end of the eyebrow thoroughly as that's a weak junction point). Again, the devil is in the detail of whether they side eyebrow run off would feed into the gutter or fall below it?
Hard to tell without a picture of the junction but I don't think that lowering the gutter under the eyebrow would look good but perhaps I'm wrong. I suppose you'd have to install a new, lower hanging fascia with this approach?
Have you considered using roof rain diverters instead? Do an image search on them, and I think you may find that they suit your purpose better and will not cover the fascia. The short runs are the type of job they are designed for, and the cost is much less.
Have you considered using roof rain diverters instead? Do an image search on them, and I think you may find that they suit your purpose better and will not cover the fascia. The short runs are the type of job they are designed for, and the cost is much less.
Good point...i've used them on a flat roof and was thinking about that here. Although it's a short run, it takes the runoff from the roof above it - and it would seem that the immediate area might be a 'strategic' area for water to converge. Therefore it might not be sufficient. Worth exploring though for the reasons you state.
I wanted to try the chicken feet type diverters on this house, but we ran out of money and now they seem to be gone. I cannot find them on the internet anywhere. The only ones are the louver type and they cover up just as much as gutters do, plus they are very modern looking. Also the supposedly do not do well in places with heavy rainfall, high winds or snow - we have all of those in abundance. We really do not have a problem from not having gutters, except at those two locations.
In those two locations diverters would not help much, because part of the problem is we have to walk through the run off to get to the door (or int he case of the front door, the pizza guy has to walk through it). Diverters would help with the bigger problem (erosion in the back and destroying the wooden steps in the front) I normally do not mind getting some rain on me, but this is washing off the asphalt roof and is not always the cleanest thing to sprinkle on a white shirt. It is fine for me in work clothes. My wife is not a fan of walking through the dirty waterfall in any situation. The water coming off the rood is nto filthy, but it does have some crud in it or brown coloring at times.
It is actually kind of neat to sit on the porch and look out at the world through the water sheeting off the porch roof. It does not cause a drip line, probably because the soil is heavy clay the only place erosion is a problem from water from the roof is at the back porch, where we built up a gravel ramp specifically so my Dad (and formerly my mom) do not have to deal with steps. We intended to put concrete there, but welll - - money - - gone.
The picture of the back porch is from many years ago. It is just the only one I had. (Who takes pictures of the back of their house?). There is grass and paint and stuff now. But the construction has not changed.
I will snap a picture of the eyebrow meeting the fascia when I can. I do not see a lot of good options, but there are some really clever people on here. Maybe someone will have an idea I have not thought of.
I made a note to avoid swinging from the rain chain. Thank you. Those things are expensive.
Kind of a side note. When I replaced the front steps, being cheap and too lazy to spend an hour plus run to Home Depot, I just used whatever 2x12 I found in the garage. I am not certain whether it is treated (it may have once been greenish, but just brown now, it may or ma y not hav ebeen treated originally, when it is old, you cannot tell), so I coated it on all surfaces with Thompson's waterproofing stuff I found in the basement. Will this work as well as treated lumber does? In this case the treated lumber the steps were originally built out of did not work well at all. One was all warped, cracked and scaling. The other was only a little scaling and cracking so I was able to leave it in place, but I soaked it with Thompson's too. However, it has been ten years of water pouring on it whenever it rains.
Then install kick-flashing on the roof to divert the runoff into the gutter.
Thank you.
I had to google kick flashing. That looks pretty simple to do. I have some sheet metal the roofer left behind. You mean diverting the flow from the porch roof into the gutter so it does not go through the opening, correct?
I guess I should probably also put some flashing on the eyebrow to the runoff from the eyebrow does not go onto the steps. I will wait for that part to see if it really needs it. The eyebrow really does not get much water. I am not even sure why it is there. None of the other windows that are not under a porch have this. I always thought it was to catch water coming off the second floor roof, but maybe it is there to keep water from the porch roof from hitting the window. However there must have been some problem that caused some long dead person to install it (back before they were dead). I actually hate that eyebrow, I think it looks like a billy jim bob quick fix, but I do not want to remove it and find out why it is there by way of a very expensive interior finish being destroyed.
Last edited by Coldjensens; 08-04-2017 at 11:17 AM..
You mean diverting the flow from the porch roof into the gutter so it does not go through the opening, correct?
Yep; that's your best fix within those parameters.
Water doesn't get trapped in between, and air can still circulate. Only moisture that area will see is driving rain from the siding above.
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