What about that Downspout?

In the last days our Marathon, I realized that if i wanted to catch my flight back to NYC something had to wait - something that was not critical (and something that would not leak or cause any trouble) had to be put on the back burner for when there would be more time. I ended up deciding to hold off on installing the downspout for the gutter that would be located over our (now reclaimed) balcony.

The completed dormer...but no downspout for the new gutter

Of course...it turned out that not having that downspout did cause a leak! Before we reclaimed the balcony it was full of debris - and because the downspout was letting water fall onto the balcony, the water ended up pooling as it could not drain properly (with over a ton of debris in the way!). Of course right where it decided to pool, was exactly where there was a hole in the old flashing around the balcony door....so the water leaked into the building's stairway ceiling. Since I was not around, our local handyman came to the rescue (again!!!) He determined what was causing the leak and  cleared a path to allow the water to drain, while "Aglaya" temporarily patched the hole in the flashing...

Because of this little incident, installing the downspout became a priority. We had to order a proper ladder in order to do this task safely, but once it arrived I was pleased to learn that I would actually be able to reach the gutter! The actual work was relatively simple: locating where the pipes would run, setting the angles, cutting the existing downspout to the correct length, drilling holes for the anchors, cutting the new pipes to length and then finally installing the pipes...

After some geometry, the existing downspout is cut to the correct length

Setting the angle for the pipe

Positioning the pipes so they aligned

Eaves and Gutters

As you may have noticed, it's often the case on this project that things don't go according to plan. Usually it's because something has gone wrong, but today it was the opposite - I was offered a few hours of help by Alan, the local handyman. He showed me how to do the gutters and eaves. I had actually been planning on pouring the balcony concrete today (having completed the balcony rebar yesterday) but with Alan's offer, I did not wish to miss out on the opportunity of an extra pair of hands and the wisdom of a veteran builder. So the concrete pour was put off for a day...

June 30th - the eaves and gutters awaiting installation

We started by putting up a series of plastic eave boards which are nailed onto the actual plywood eaves - these boards are waterproof and unlike wooden eaves do not need painting every year or two. Having an extra set of hands was great because these boards were over 12ft long and very awkward to handle - almost like trying to manoeuvre a 12ft piece of linguine...

The plastic, waterproof eave boards installed over the actual plywood eave

Once the boards were on, Alan showed me how to install the gutters. Most of the work is in determining the high point, and a slope (for the water to run) that looks correct and functions properly. We then used a string line to work everything out and then a chalk line to mark the boards. It turns out that the top of the building is not level - most likely the building had settled over the years, or they had purposely angled the top of the roof. Either way it was quite tricky to figure out the correct pitch for the gutters...that also did not look wonky. Once the line was set, it was quite simple to install the gutter supports, and then clip in the gutters themselves. By the time Alan had to leave, we had fixed the gutters along the front of the building, and I had a good understanding how to the complete the rest.

End of the day...

I only managed to get back to finishing the gutters on July 3rd, which was a Sunday, so I had to be very quiet, which made the work go a little slower. Fortunately it was completed before the end of the day and was able to move onto the many other tasks for this marathon weekend.

July 3rd - turning the first corner

Setting the brackets with a string line

Gutters clipped into place

Turning the second corner (you can see the chalk line on the eave board)

The end piece with a downspout for the leader (the vertical drain pipe)

The completed eaves and gutters