Thanks David,
I
didn't ever find a crimper that could put a dimple for sealing the end
caps that's why I am short in that I had to use rivets on every end cap.
That sealant is some sticky stuff, worse almost than vaulkum.
<I
could have gotten the tools needed for you, since many of them are not
found and hardware stores. Although, I suppose that is the better way,
since a few extra rivets are a lot cheaper than this hand tool you would
not be likely to use again. As to the caulk; I aim to supply the best>
In
any event things went pretty smooth, I did find that on my house I could
use pipe clamps to rest the gutter on prior to putting in any screws.
This in my view made things much much easier. So depending upon how the
fascia is put up, if there is a way to either a. clamp a board up to
hold the gutter, or b. just use the end of the clamp it made it possible
to get the gutter up, then position it, fine tune it's pitch, etc..
without ever doing a screw - very very handy. Also If I needed a helper
it was only to get it up onto the clamps - then I was good to go.
<That is a great idea I had not considered. Aluminum gutters are only
1/3 the weight, and since all I did was aluminum for the first 5 years I
never bothered to rig up something like that.>
Tips, I bought a very high quality level (I have numerous but the
precision of the bubble for just touching the line wasn't very good.
It's the blue ones about 35-40$ for a 2 footer available at Sears home
depot, Lowes etc... it's there best one. Really did make a difference
and felt confident that the slope would be just enough but not too much.
<That is a good point. I like the Stabila line of levels best.>
Just
FYI, I find these gutters to be "noisier" than our old. Not sure why,
maybe copper, or 20 oz copper has a louder "ring" to it when water drips
into it.
<They are new and whistle clean. When
they get a little debris in them they will be as quite as you remember
the old ones being>
I
can see why you always wear gloves as well as long sleeve shirts, had a
couple places where it was obvious my arm touched them while installing,
should have worn a long sleeve.
Chop
saw worked well but really loud, ear plugs recommended with eye
protection a must.
<You are right. I should remember to
caution people about how loud and shrill that is>
Back
to tips, invest in a good set of both short and long right and left tin
snips. Additionally a good set of 3 inch sheet metal bender pliers for
downspouts.
<Kline or Midwest makes some good
hand tools. The ships should always be the 'off-set' type. Not the type
you commonly see in hardware stores.>
I
found that for the downspout holes to work out best you can not just do
a simple X cut but have to cut inward from the 1 inch hole saw area out
and in the corners need real care to get them to end up as big a hole as
possible yet have it flare into the downspout right - hope that makes
sense but showing one that you have done to a DIY would be very helpful.
<I
do:
http://dmr-gutters.com/cg/Kistler4.htm
. It may not show the hole-saw
system. I have a standard size hole punch I use, but it shows how I make
8 cuts to maximize the outlet size.>
Pay
very close attention to downspouts near corners or against any part of
the house that projects out and do as much of the manipulation of the
downspout bracket "holder" as possible prior to mounting it on the
downspout. (I was able to do some of the bends with a bench clamp with
good success and have the bends be more where I wanted them and cleaner
this way.)
<Yes, those pipe cleats are made with
a very thick 48oz copper sheet metal>
Pay
close attention to rivet placement for consistent good looks on
exterior.
Important - have an onsite consultation with you to aid in planning. You
solved some nice issues in ways I would not have thought of in that I
was too caught up in how it used to be rather than what was possible to
do better.
<I aim to please>
The
leaf catchers in my mind are way more important than the screens. I am
finding with the gutters flowing properly they are not gathering to any
degree the needles and leaf fall like they used to. A good strong deluge
and the needles flow with the water and do a very good job of getting
filtered out by the leaf catchers while essentially self cleaning the
gutters. I would not ever have a house without them. (had them on the
old gutters but they were of poor design and in that the gutters didn't
always go downhill and the downspouts were small would always clog.)
<Right, the Leaf-catchers I make are my most popular feature for selling
new gutter systems>
That's about it.
Some
of the corners could be prettier but acceptable overall.
Haven't done the flashing on Chimneys yet, hope to this weekend, will
put a patio umbrella into the chimney hole if raining so I can do it
mostly dry...
Once
we rock the chimney I will be back to you about chimney caps...
<I
will look forward to hearing from you when you are ready>
Thanks again, really appreciate everything.
Carl Berglund