How do you install gutters, and should you do it yourself?
Short answer. Installing gutters means measuring each run, snapping a line with a slight fall toward the downspouts, fastening hangers into solid fascia, hanging the gutter tucked under the drip edge, sealing corners and end caps, cutting outlets, and adding downspouts that discharge away from the house. A careful homeowner can hang sectional gutters on a one-story house, but seamless gutters require a forming machine and most two-story work is safer for a crew.
The installation steps
- Inspect the fascia. Replace any soft or rotted boards first. Hangers in rotten wood will not hold.
- Plan the downspouts. Decide where each run drains, usually toward corners, and how far it is between outlets.
- Snap a slope line. Mark the fascia with a chalk line that falls toward each outlet, commonly about 1/4 inch per 10 feet, starting just below the drip edge.
- Assemble and seal. Attach end caps and corner miters on the ground where you can, sealing them from the inside.
- Cut the outlets in the gutter bottom where the downspouts will go.
- Hang the gutter. Lift it into place with the back edge under the drip edge and fasten hangers into the fascia, commonly about every 2 feet.
- Attach downspouts with elbows, strap them to the wall, and add extensions or drain connections.
- Water test with a hose and fix any drips.
Should you do it yourself?
Reasonable DIY: a one-story house, sectional aluminum or vinyl from a supply store, sound fascia, and a helper. Better left to a crew: two-story or steep lots, seamless gutters, rotted fascia, missing drip edge, or a new roof going on. Ladder falls are a common cause of serious home improvement injuries, and gutter work keeps you near the top of one all day.
Should you install gutters at all?
For most Georgia homes, yes, especially on clay soil, with crawlspaces or basements, or with doors under an eave. See gutter sizing, seamless gutters and guards and drip edge explained.