Copper rain gutter installation - before.

The enclosed porch on the left will be the recipient of new half round copper rain gutters. Before installation of the gutters, the existing porch overhang was subject to some fair restoration and rehabilitation.

New fascia board and soffit venting

Originally this was an open porch area attached to the house. Unfortunately, we have no pictures of the original. The porch was enclosed many years ago and that construction was done fairly well.

Copper rain gutter installation, laying out the brackets

Step one: Laying out the rain gutter brackets.First determine where the brackets are to be attached to the fascia/gutter board. I want the rain to fall into the gutter but the snow to slide past.

The high end.

Mark the high end at the top of the bracket and tack a small nail. Attach one end of a chalk line.

The low / downspout end of the rain gutter.

At the low end make another mark a little lower to provide drop to the gutter. You don’t need a lot. In 22 feet I’ve dropped ½ inches. A couple wraps around a nail and the weight of the chalk box will keep the line tight.

Check for proper drainage.

If you are not sure that the gutter board is level, attach a line level to the chalk line to double check for proper drainage of rain water.

Marking the gutter bracket.

Snap a nice clear line along the gutter board.Position the brackets at each rafter end. Depending on local weather and building conditions this could be every 16 inches on new construction up to 32 inches. 16 to 24 inches is preferrable in heavy snow area

Gutter bracket pilot holes.

Mark and drill two pilot holes for the gutter bracket fasteners. The pilot holes will keep both the gutter board and rafter ends from splitting.

Secure the rain gutter brackets.

Fasten brackets to the gutter board with good quality screws. The copper rain gutter and brackets are going to last a long time, so use a comparable material for the screws. I am using 2inch long, #10 stainless steel screws with a square drive head.

Fabricating old fashioned mitered end caps.

Back in the old days of quality craftsmanship, experienced sheet metal men working on a nice house, had no need for pre fabricated, stamped, flat, end caps. They would fabricate their own end caps on the job. Usually cutting the end cap from the gu

Cutting the copper end cap from the gutter.

Use a miter box to cut the end cap piece from the gutter.This can be done with a hacksaw and metal snips, but a miter saw is faster, easier, and more accurate. Wear safety glasses! Metal pieces will fly! Cut a 45 degree angle off the back of the gutter fi

Cut the gutter to fit.

Set the end cap piece into the main gutter length and trace the outline with a marker or metal scriber. Use aviation snips to cut and remove.

Tack the end cap seam.

Clean the edges of the copper. Sand or wire brush if neccesary to get bright metal. Apply a little flux and tack the end cap to the gutter in a few places.

Solder the end cap onto the rain gutter.

Use a soldering iron to solder the end cap joint tight. It does'nt hurt to make a second pass with the solder to add a little strength to the joint.

A view of the bottom of the copper rain gutter.

Be sure to clean off the flux residue, otherwise there will be a bright green spot on the gutter in the morning.

Rain gutter lap joint 01

Adding a short section of gutter to a standard 10 foot length. Be sure the joint is clean. I've cleaned up a tarnished piece of gutter with an abrasive wheel. Fit the gutter pieces together by offsetting them about 90 degrees and inserting one end of the

Rain gutter lap joint 02

Aligning the gutter sections. When using roll formed copper rain gutters, it is often necessary to secure them to a flat surface before fastening. As the gutters come from the machine they are often distorted at the ends and therefore will not line up pro

Rain gutter lap joint 03

Secure the joint. Once the gutter sections are aligned, drill and fasten with rivets and solder. I used an 1/8 inch drill and 1/8 x 1/4 copper rivets with brass mandrels. Copper rivets with steel mandrels are cheaper but will rust and stain the copper gut

Rain gutter lap joint 06

Riveted and soldered. Use a large soldering iron to solder the joint. I use a liquid, non acid flux and 50/50 tin/lead solder. A first pass sweats the solder completely through the joint and a second pass covers the rivets.

Rain gutter lap joint 11

The joint from the bottom. On a good soldering job you will see the solder just start to ooze from the seam. It should also be showing around and inside the rivet. There is no need to do any soldering on the outside of the seam.

Preparing the mitered corner.

The half round copper rain gutter has been measured for length and cut at a 45 degree angle. When measuring be sure to allow for the distance that the bracket hold the gutter away from the fascia board. Also, this length will set inside the other gutter a

Rain gutter mitered corner seam.

Fitting the two lengths of gutter together at the corner. Each length of gutter has been cut to a forty five degree angle. One length is measured and cut one half to three quarters of an inch longer to fit inside and lap the other. Notches and slits are c

Copper downspout bulge.

Side view of a copper rain gutter downspout that almost burst from ice expansion. This is a four inch round copper downspout about forty years old. It takes quite a long time for a copper downspout to develope that nice green verdigris patina. At the b