How to Make Gutters for Your Home

If you want to build gutters for your home you have three choices. You can make them yourself which is a time-consuming and expensive option that probably won't have the finished look of a purchased gutter. You can have gutters custom made for your home by a contractor, which is an expensive but good option. Or you can buy guttering, downspouts and the necessary hardware to make them yourself from pre-made guttering. Purchasing lengths of ready-made gutters is the less expensive option, starting at about $2 per linear foot, that will still give you a good look with minimum hassle.

Step 1 – Determine Where Gutters Will Go
A lack of gutters lets rain sheet of the roof and can kill plants and grasses around the perimeter of your home. The water can damage your foundation, leak into your basement, cause wall damage and erode walkways and other surfaces. It can also erode the soil and cause other foundation problems. Any slope roof that ends in a level edge is a candidate for gutters to prevent these problems. Make sure you can place a downspout at one corner of that side of your house without causing problems because of the downspout itself or the water flow.

Step 2 – Determine Your Material
Metal gutters are the standard and are usually steel or aluminum. Copper gutters are a beautiful but more expensive option. And vinyl gutters look nice on a vinyl-sided house while being an easy material for the do-it-yourselfer to work with. Determine your budget and the look you want, and then choose your guttering.

Step 3 – Measure
Measure the length of the fascia where you'll hang the gutter. Purchase enough lengths of gutter material to stretch that long when you consider 3 to 4 inches of overlap at each seam and an extra inch of gutter beyond the edge of the fascia to catch water coming off the shingle overlap. Measure the height of the fascia and purchase enough downspout to reach to the desired level. Downspouts come in 10' lengths. Don't forget the elbow to connect the spout and the drop outlet section, unless you'll be cutting the hole yourself.

Step 4 – Assemble
It's easier to assemble the pieces on the ground and get help to hang them than try to assemble them as you mount them. Assemble guttering by overlapping pieces 3 to 4 inches and then connecting and sealing depending on the material you've used. Be sure that the factory cut edge is on the outside for a neater appearance.

Step 5 – Measure and Cut for Downspout
Decide where you want the downspout to go and measure from the corner of the house to that point. Using that measure, mark that far in on the end of the gutter. Be sure to mark on the piece that's overlapped on the outside, not the inside. If you put the downspout on the inner piece, water can be trapped in the seam and cause problems. If you have a drop outlet, then cut the gutter and install that piece in the desire place, securing and sealing as you did with the other gutter pieces. Now you've made the gutters and they're ready to hang.