This month’s column is a short one, but very quickly and easily solves a problem that vexes many homeowners.
I was asked to check out a rain gutter issue. In the picture below, the short upper downspout mostly discharges into the lower gutter, but also spews into the space between the gutter and the house. You can see that the “spike and ferrule” style gutter hanger is slightly “out” and away from the fully-driven position.
The result is that the gutter is slightly out of position from being tight to the house and completely under the upper downspout. Simply hammering that spike back in would be a waste of time, as that style of hanger, in my opinion, is essentially useless. Here’s a view from the top, with me holding the gutter in the proper position. All would work well if a better-designed hanger was used. (Note that it would also be good if the upper downspout was replaced with one about a half-inch longer and square-cut on the end…)
Luckily, better gutter hangers are made, are readily available, aren’t expensive, and to boot, are not visible from below. So, the issue can be remedied without changing the appearance of things. Here’s a “clip” of the style of hanger I like. To access just one, you bend it back and forth a time or two to break it from the rest.
One edge tucks neatly under the front nose of the gutter, and the back edge slips under the downward fold, like this:
Then, with your battery drill and a ¼” hex driver (you DO own those, don’t you?!) all you do is drive the self-tapping screw through the hanger, through the back face of the gutter, and into the fascia.
I installed one right at the problem area, and 2 more in that short piece of gutter, to securely anchor it to the house. Don’t you love it when issues like this are so easily solved?
I hope all your projects go well. Thanks for reading, and happy restoring!
Ed
If you’d like to download a PDF of this “Ideas” column, click here:
Comments