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  • - Hey guys, my name's Aaron Massey

  • from mrfixitdiy.com, and welcome back

  • to another episode of homeschool'd.

  • It's been an extremely wet winter here

  • in Southern California, and while that's great for a state

  • that's been battling a severe drought for a number of years,

  • it's not so great for a house without gutters.

  • So today, I'm gonna show you

  • how to install gutters on your house.

  • Gutters are an extremely important part of your house,

  • because they collect and divert rain water

  • away from your foundation.

  • Without gutters, the rain water falls directly down

  • along your foundation walls,

  • and can cause problems over time.

  • Eroding some of the soil,

  • or undermining the foundation entirely,

  • which can lead to failure.

  • And if that happens,

  • your talking tens of thousands of dollars to repair.

  • It can also lead to flooding of your basement,

  • or your crawlspace if you have one,

  • so adding gutters to your house

  • is a relatively inexpensive way to protect your investment.

  • I rate these projects by how many f-bombs you're likely

  • to drop while tackling the project.

  • This one is not to f(drilling) difficult,

  • but it does require a few tools you may need to buy

  • or borrow from a friend or family member

  • to help knock it out.

  • Step one is to measure the sections of roof you need

  • to install your gutters on and determine a rough layout.

  • Now if you were

  • to have your gutters installed professionally,

  • you would probably get a seamless gutter.

  • What that means is, one solid piece of gutter per section,

  • and the reason why that's beneficial

  • is because it's one solid piece.

  • And so there's not really weak points where water can drip

  • and leak and stuff like that.

  • The big box stores typically sell gutters

  • in aluminum and vinyl, and several different colors,

  • but only in 10 foot length.

  • So you're either gonna be stuck with prefab sections

  • of 10 foot lengths, and put your whole thing together,

  • or you're gonna have to get your gutters made.

  • But at that point, you might as well pay

  • to have somebody do it for you.

  • Depending on your rough layout, you'll likely need to buy

  • a combination of a bunch of different pieces including:

  • endcaps, inside and outside corners, downspout connections,

  • 45 degree elbows, strapping, slip joints,

  • and downspout and gutter sections.

  • I recommend just buying more than you need of each thing,

  • and then returning any unused pieces when you're done.

  • It makes things a lot easier,

  • and you don't have to go through and count each piece.

  • When laying out your gutters, plan to install a downspout

  • around every 30 feet.

  • You can always check local codes as well to make sure

  • that you have adequate spacing.

  • Next, start to assemble your gutter

  • based on the measurements you took previously.

  • In this case, this section of gutter is just shy of 28 feet,

  • so I'll make it outta three pieces.

  • At each joint you'll need to connect

  • the two pieces of gutter.

  • Now, you can use these slip joint connectors,

  • where one piece of gutter slides into each end,

  • but I find it really difficult to make them watertight.

  • Even after adding a bunch of sealant in here,

  • and I also find that they become a really weak point

  • of the gutter because they don't overlap.

  • What I choose to do instead is to actually just cut back

  • a few inches on the front lip of the gutter,

  • and then slide the other piece inside,

  • in the direction that I need the water to shed.

  • So the piece that you cut, is always the outside

  • of the two pieces you're joining together.

  • To secure them together,

  • make sure to put a nice thick bead of sealant.

  • I'm using this DAP clear sealant,

  • which is specifically made for this application,

  • but you can also use silicone if you choose to.

  • And then you can use multiple ways to fasten them together.

  • If you have a rivet gun, this is the perfect time to use it.

  • Predrill a hole, and then place the rivets in.

  • And then tighten 'em and snap 'em on.

  • If you don't have a rivet gun,

  • you can also buy gutter screws

  • to secure the pieces together.

  • I find two screws or rivets on each side,

  • on the top of the gutter,

  • work well for holding everything together.

  • I find it gives the gutter a lot more strength this way,

  • and because it overlaps, you have a watertight seal.

  • To cut the gutter to length, I use a speed square

  • to mark out my cut line.

  • And then I like to use a thin, metal, cut off wheel

  • on my angle grinder to make a nice, clean cut.

  • I find this is way easier than using metal snips

  • or a hacksaw, and it gives me a cleaner cut.

  • At the ends of the gutters, you'll need to install

  • your gutter caps.

  • They come in left and right ends, and to install them

  • you just add a nice bead of sealant on them,

  • and then slide them on the end.

  • Now, I'm using a crimping tool to hold these caps in place.

  • This tool puts a little divot on one side of the metal,

  • and presses it into the other piece

  • to create a really tight hold.

  • Now if you don't have one of these,

  • which I'm assuming many of you don't,

  • you can just predrill and use the same gutter screws

  • or rivets to hold it in place.

  • Finally to install the downspout connections,

  • you have a few options.

  • They sell these prefab downspout pieces you can use.

  • To attach them, you flip the piece upside down

  • to lock the metal lips together,

  • and then spin it down into place.

  • The same thing applies to attaching it as the other pieces.

  • Make sure you add a lot of sealant, and then use screws

  • or rivets to hold it in place.

  • Another option for downspouts, and the option that I prefer,

  • are these downspout inserts.

  • These can be placed anywhere along the gutter length.

  • And to install them, just trace them out,

  • and then cut the piece out.

  • I prefer to start with a hole saw,

  • and then snip out the rest to get a nice fit.

  • Add some sealant all the way around it before installing

  • this in place as well.

  • Now that the gutter is complete,

  • I like to loosely space out the hangers for the gutter.

  • These hangers slip under the front lip

  • and then slide over the back of the gutter,

  • so trying to get them to go under the front lip

  • once on the house can be very difficult

  • with the roof and the drip edge in the way.

  • So I like to do it on the ground,

  • before I actually lift the gutter in place.

  • The other thing to consider,

  • is you don't wanna hang the gutter to high.

  • I like to use a level on the roof

  • to extend the roof edge out.

  • The front of the gutter on the high side

  • should start just below that level,

  • and slope towards the downspout from there.

  • One thing you can do to help you install your gutter

  • is to set a nail and then use a string level

  • and a chalk line to make sure

  • that you have a nice clean line to follow,

  • so when you go to install the gutter

  • you can just follow that line.

  • Or you can also start at one end, and use a four foot level

  • as you go to make sure that you keep the slope

  • that you need.

  • You want your gutter to shed in the direction

  • of your downspout, and the rule of thumb

  • is to have it drop about a half inch

  • for every 10 feet of gutter length.

  • The idea is that you just need to maintain adequate slope,

  • so that the water sheds towards your downspout.

  • To secure the gutter to the fascia,

  • I slide the gutter hangers in place

  • to line up with the rafter tails of the house

  • and then screw them down.

  • I always like to test the function of the gutter system

  • with a hose to make sure everything is water tight,

  • and there are no leaks before wrapping it up.

  • Lastly, it's time to install the downspout.

  • Typically, you'll use a combination of elbows

  • to bring the downspout back towards the exterior wall

  • of the house, and then secure a length of downspout

  • down the side of the house with some strapping.

  • At this point, you could also add

  • a rain barrel collection system, if you choose to,

  • which I've added in some areas of the house.

  • Or you can just make sure that the water sheds down

  • away from your foundation.

  • And that is it.

  • You are done with this project.

  • That's it for this episode of homescool'd.

  • I hope you guys enjoyed it,

  • and I hope you learned something.

  • Installing gutters can take a little bit of time,

  • but once you get the hang of it,

  • it's a project you can relatively easily tackle

  • on your own and hopefully save yourself some money.

  • If you guys did like this episode,

  • please hit that like button, and leave a comment down below.

  • And let me know.

  • Also, if you wanna check out more of my home improvement

  • or DIY project videos, I'll post links to those right here.

  • Or you can always follow all of my content on my website

  • at mrfixitdiy.com.

  • Thank you guys so much for watching.

  • I'll see ya next time.

  • (energetic music)

- Hey guys, my name's Aaron Massey

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