Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Argh

I'm determined not to turn this into a Help Me Fix Up My House blog, but I'm irritated about the progress on my new gutters:



As much as I love my husband, I don't know why I still consider his home improvement suggestions; I wanted plastic gutters, he insisted on aluminum. I had a feeling these things would be a pain in the ass. So here I sit, wondering if Lowe's would take back all of the pieces of gutter that I would like to exchange. Let's not mention the fact that Scout not only picked out the gutters, but he left me to deal with the problem on my own (he's in Kentucky for school). And I can't wait six weeks to deal with it. I hate looking at it. It.has.to.be.done.now.

Here's the problem: the aluminum pieces won't fit perfectly inside of each other. I don't know if there's some silly trick, or if I'm simply retarded. I tried gently tapping them together with a hammer, but the damn things bent in the opposite direction I was hoping for. I put them up anyway, in the hope that the gaps would be less obvious eight feet in the air. Nope.

Later, possibly after I say Screw the Gutters and install a pool in my front yard to catch all the rain water, I will be answering five questions that Dick has for me.

7 comments:

Dick said...

The plastic gutters are dogshit.
You've done good so far. Take your time, wear gloves.
Scout done good.
They're thin aluminum pieces, you have to "work" them together.

Kentucky for school.
Only tankers and other assorted treadheads go to kentucky for school.
;)

Dick said...

Post better pictures of the problem and I'll try to help.

Deadman said...

You have way too many joints in that short section.

Each joint represents an opportunity for a leak. You should have only one section in a run that short going from corner piece to corner piece.

I assume you are sealing them with silicone?

Also, your joints should be pop-riveted together.

Next up:

How to biggify pictures on the internet by clicking on them. Mandatory attendance for Dick.

BTW, how did the baseboard go???

Deadman said...

Okay, I see, it's a prefab downspout section.

Another reason galvanized and soldered gutters are superior...

Erin said...

Dick,

Yeah, Scout is actually a 19D (a scout, hence the name), but he's in Kentucky for BNCOC.

And I still hate the metal gutters. But thanks for the vote of approval. :)

Mark,

Yes, I am sealing the seams with silicone, but it doesn't change the fact that they are hideous. I'm starting to think that this is a very bad idea. So there are no gutters now. I couldn't even look at them without my blood pressure rising. So now my entire porch is wet from all the rain we've had.

And the baseboards are still in progress. Every time I go to Lowe's, I forget to get that divide angle thing. But I've decided that with the plethora of saws I have at work, I'm going to measure the angles and take the baseboards in to cut them (once I actually am able to measure them).

Dick said...

Hah! I went to BNOC when I scored E5.
He should be hating life right about now.
The score you receive in BNOC, and PNOC tell ya pretty much how far they'll let ya get up the line in the service.
Mark's on the right track with the gutters.

Deadman said...

"Every time I go to Lowe's, I forget to get that divide angle thing."

Start with 22 1/2 degrees on two test pieces and see if that comes close. It should, judging by the photo.

Adjust the saw accordingly to tighten things up.