I want to put up copper gutters

Emmie Fisher · **Posted:** Mon Sep 20, 2004 4:08 pm

Hey all,

We need some gutters on the back of our house & I want to put up copper ones. Anybody know who to call in the Triangle area to do this?

Thanks!

Chuck Frank · **Posted:** Mon Sep 20, 2004 4:48 pm

I don't know anyone specific, but it will probably be a large firm that has their own metal fabrication shop. My father was a commercial roofer and did copper work, but only a couple companies in all of Buffalo did it. There is prefabricated copper gutter made, but shipping is very expensive so those that do it usually custom make their own. It's not very popular for residential use because of siding staining and poisoning of the ground underneath for plantings, not to mention the high cost. My advice would be to use vinyl gutter and faux finish it mottled blue green. :wink:

Emmie Fisher · **Posted:** Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:00 pm

Quote:

poisoning of the ground underneath

Hm, well I hadn't considered that. Vinyl has no appeal, though, & we have "regular" metal gutters on the front & they aren't really suited to a log house. I originally considerred a wooden trough-type setup, but rot issues dissuaded me from that.

Other ideas?

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:08 pm

What about just removing the gutters competely? Looking at new houses, it looks like a lot of them don't have gutters, and are just using a bed of rocks around the base of the house to keep water errosion contained.

I don't know all of the negatives/positives of doing this.

Diane Hall · **Posted:** Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:09 pm

Can you get vinyl/metal gutters that are brown so they blend in with the house?

Emmie Fisher · **Posted:** Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:14 pm

Quote:

Can you get vinyl/metal gutters that are brown so they blend in with the house?

The ones on the front are brown. They'll do, but I was hoping to go beyond "they'll do".

Emmie Fisher · **Posted:** Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:59 pm

Quote:

What about just removing the gutters competely?

Tried that on the front before ever putting up gutters. Put up a Yankee gutter over the steps, dug a trench, put in mid-sized rock. Not enough sideways fall to divert the water I guess & it puddled & splashed on my plants & killed 'em all.

So, I took all the rock out of the trench, put in corrugated drain tile with an outlet off to the side of the yard, covered the tile, put in a catch-basin on either end of the porch, put up regular brown metal gutters, with a rain (whisky) barrel & chain down to the barrels at either end of the porch. That looks OK & works just fine, so I could use this same "system" on the back. But, something other than the "modern" metal gutters would look more in keeping with the house & the rain barrel setup.

The back of the house has never had gutters at all, but, even with a 2-foot overhang, the water has splashed back in some places & is decaying the logs -- bad, bad, bad! So, we need to get something back there to try to alleviate that situation.

Keep those suggestions coming! Maybe somebody'll hit on something I haven't tried or thought of. :idea2:

Who has suggestions on creating faux patina that would stick? I don't want to go to all that trouble & have it come right off.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Mon Sep 20, 2004 6:40 pm

I would suggest cedar (doesn't rot . . . quickly) but it might be hard to make a cedar gutter strong enough to withstand snow/ice loads. Have you looked at what the high dollar log houses or post and beam houses use? How about a "leaf guard" type conventional gutter hidden behind a cedar false front/underside of some sort? How about doing the no gutter approach but using "something soft" on the ground to minimize splashing? Grass, ground cover, or if hidden, some thick mesh similar to some of the material used for some heating/ac filtering? Can you tilt a "hard surface" away from the house wall to direct the splashing away from the house?

Emmie Fisher · **Posted:** Mon Sep 20, 2004 7:53 pm

Quote:

conventional gutter hidden behind a cedar false front/underside of some sort?

Thought about that when I was trying to come up with something for the front. I figured anything false would catch water & rot. Don't want any standing water under the metal gutter as it might rot the facia & then rot the porch beams which are made from logs like the house -- that'd be costly if that happened. Got any elaborative ideas on this one?

Quote:

How about doing the no gutter approach but using "something soft" on the ground to minimize splashing? Grass, ground cover, or if hidden, some thick mesh similar to some of the material used for some heating/ac filtering?

Grass & ground cover are both killed/flattened by the falling water. That's what happened to my plants out front, anyway, & there's a sorta beaten down line everywhere now where the water falls off the roof. Not sure if the "mesh" method might work, but this place isn't hidden, so it *would* look funky.

Quote:

Can you tilt a "hard surface" away from the house wall to direct the splashing away from the house?

Unfortunately, seems to splash back anyway with tilted pad. I had a tilted pad added when I had the carport floor poured. It was after I had that pad added that the current problem with the log began to occur. We're considering adding a rock patio in part of this location now, so we're gonna need something to keep water from even falling on this patio.

Chuck Frank · **Posted:** Tue Sep 21, 2004 2:50 pm

If you want to go with the wood gutters, you could have them lined with metal, soldered galvanized steel would be best, aluminum 2nd. wrap over the front edge ~ 1/2" with a kicked out drip edge to keep the water from wicking back under the lining. Wood gutters also need to be spaced out from the facia to allow air circulation. No such thing as a "traditional gutter" since they are a recent innovation, but you might want to investigate what upscale contractor supply yards (Capital, Fitch) might offer in profiles other than the usual shape found a HD, Loews etc. You might also pick up a copy of Fine Homebuilding at the bookstore for ads by upscale suppliers. If it were my place, I would use custom built soldered 20 ga galvanized steel box gutters the depth of the facia, pitched from the center to outlets at each end if possible, painted to match your trim or facia color, would be nearly invisible. PM or email me if you want more info.

Chuck Frank · **Posted:** Tue Sep 21, 2004 2:58 pm

As far as Faux finishing the gutters, the most important part is the preparation before the final paint goes on that will determine it's life expectancy. Any paint is only as good as the bond between it and the surface underneath. Too many variables to go thru here, email me when you decide what material you're going with.

Emmie Fisher · **Posted:** Tue Sep 21, 2004 3:38 pm

Quote:

(Capital, Fitch) might offer in profiles other than the usual shape

That's an idea. I can give Fitch a call or stop by & see what they have to say. That'd be easy for me to do.

THSCC Forums

I want to put up copper gutters

Who is online