Guttters

It was time to put on the gutters. We decided to go with professionally installed seamless gutters rather than going the DIY route for several reasons: 1. seamless gutters don't leak; 2. the price was very close between the parts for DIY and the cost of installed; 3. getting them installed meant we could work on other things while these guys got to stand around in the cold; and 4. most importantly to me, we could get black commercial grade 6" gutters from the professionals but couldn't get them for DIY.

They came late in the day and I was worried they wouldn't get done before dark. No need - these guys were quick!

Extruding the gutter

The house is 64 feet long (including the garage). 

Very long gutter - no seams.

Once it was fully extruded they attached supports every foot.

Gutter supports

Then they positioned the ladders and lifted the gutter into place.

Lift!

This is where the black paid off - the gutter is invisible against the black trim board. Those things on top of the metal roof are snow guards. They keep snow from sliding off the roof in one big sheet. Instead it melts slowly and drips into the gutters - as opposed to ripping the gutters off in a rooftop avalanche.

Gutter in place. Honest.

You can see the downspout and then it disappears against the black porch support. Nice and unobtrusive. 

We wanted to do a rain chain on one side so they cut a hole where the downspout would normally be. They pour water into the gutter to make sure it drains properly. Makes it messy when cutting the downspout holes though.

Hole in process. Water is flowing out.

We had to dig ditches for the water drainage hose. It runs to daylight and then down the hill.

Fortunately all this was previously dug so we didn't hit any big rocks. This was one of the warmest days we've had this fall. Sunny, warm, and no wind. Perfect for getting in a late autumn project.

Digging up the yard. Again.

At some point we plan to plant grass but I'm so glad we waited to do so. At least it doesn't hurt so much when you rip up the yard. 

Rain chain

We partially buried an old enameled wash tub and filled it with rocks. In the picture above you can see the drainage pipe leading up to the tub; Chris punched a hole in the side of the tub so he could plumb it.

What is supposed to happen with a rain chain is that water flows down it and splashes delightfully, creating a prism of water. Sounds wonderfully romantic, doesn't it?

What actually happened (it rained yesterday) is that leaves got caught in the gutter and redirected the water so very little actually flowed down the chain. We need a way to force water down the first few inches so that it catches the chain better. We're going to tackle that problem soon. In the meantime, the sun hitting the chain is pretty and I'm already planning what I'm going to hang from it. Terra cotta pots this summer and maybe metal pots or watering cans for winter. Hmmm, not sure.