How to Install Your Own Gutters and Downspouts

A Do-It-Yourself Guide to the Perfect Gutter Job

© Jim Whitton

Jul 5, 2009

Our last article dealt with measuring and gathering materials for your gutter job. Once you have your materials on site, it’s time to install your gutters. For most homes, you’ll need two people to do the installation.

Tools Needed for Your Gutter Job

• Chalk line, four-foot level and a torpedo level.
• Cordless drill with a ¼ inch hex head bit.
• Caulk gun and a rivet gun, if needed.
• Metal crimping tool, if available.
• Tape measure and pencils.
• Aviator snips.
• Ladders with ladder bumpers.

Directions for Preparing and Installing Your Gutters

1. Snap lines on the fascia with a chalk line, setting your pitch to at least an inch of fall per 30 lineal feet. As long as your shingles extend sufficiently beyond the drip edge, you can set the high end of your chalk line flush with the bottom of the drip.
2. Check your lines with a level, making sure they show a slight drain toward the downspout. If you are comfortable doing so, substitute the chalk line with a torpedo level and simply set the drain as you go.
3. Insert hidden hangers in the gutters every two feet, starting six inches from the end cap (or open end of a mitered corner).
4. Preset each hanger in its location by screwing it in just enough to penetrate the back of the gutter.
5. Attach end caps and seal them with gutter seal. Use zip screws or rivets to attach end caps if you do not have a crimping tool.
6. Determine your downspout outlet tube locations, measuring back from the fascia corner (for hip roofs) or the outside edge of the shingle (for gable roofs).
7. Transfer measurements to the gutter, marking the outlet location on the bottom and tracing inside the outlet. Make a pilot hole with a screw, cut out the hole with aviator snips and insert the outlet from the inside of the gutter. Attach it with screws or rivets and seal with gutter seal.
8. To hang the gutter, align the back of it with the chalk line on the fascia and screw in the hangers.
9. To line the gutters up left to right, hook the outside of the shingle with the inside of the end cap. For a hip roof, preinstall the first box miter and hook it on the fascia corner.

You may choose to install your box miters as you go, or wait until after all the gutters are installed. Either way, make sure you have the gutters properly located before screwing them in completely. One advantage of screw-in hidden hangers is the ability to easily remove a gutter to adjust its pitch or location as needed without damaging the gutter.

Once the gutters are up, install all your box miters, making sure they are square to the fascia and properly sealed. (You will also need to seal the manufacturer’s seam.) Now you are ready for the last phase of the job, the downspouts.

Directions for Installing Your Downspouts

1. Make an arm to extend from the outlet tube to the wall of the house. Beginning with an elbow turned in toward the house, add a piece of downspout with the seam facing up and another elbow facing the opposite direction of the first one. Make sure to correctly overlap your pieces to avoid leaks.
2. Install a downspout strap a few inches below the bottom elbow of the arm to hold the top of the downspout in place. Connect the downspout pipe to the arm, wrap the strap around the downspout and screw it in tightly.
3. Repeat this process for any seams and at the bottom, where the last strap will go just a few inches above the bottom elbow near the ground. Check for plumb with a four-foot level. The bottom of your final elbow should be about five inches from final grade, giving you room to insert a splash block or attach a downspout extension.
4. Click here for more detailed downspout installation tips.

A great gutter job doesn't have to be frustrating.

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