I’ve read through past posts regarding tips and techniques on copper eavestrough. I have a nice project I’m finishing – a gluelam post and beam gazebo with a copper shingle roof, slate floor. I’ve already purchased the copper stock for rolling off continuous gutters. What I’d like some advice on is how to deal with outside miters.
My research on this forum and elsewhere has discovered alot of differing recommendations for dealing with miters – soldering the inside only, soldering both sides, riveting and soldering, riveting and sealant, etc. My eavestrough supplier has pre-formed mitres which are quite inexpensive but still require a connection of some type. I’m not sure whether to go ahead and use these or cut/form the mitres in place.
So – for the more experienced people in this field (greencu, for example???) what are your preferred techniques for joints in copper eavestrough, especially outside mitres?
Thanks in advance,
Gio, prairieHOUSE Restoration
Replies
How long are your runs? If they're over about 25 or 30 feet, you're gonna have trouble keeping the soldered miters from bursting.
I've never used continuous copper gutters - the one's that I've seen installed by others use gutter sealant in the joints.
I get my gutter in 25' lengths. We normally solder on the inside only. The premade miters (there are two types- box miters, which are constructed of about a foot of gutter on each side mitered together - and strip miters, which are just what the name implies) create more than one joint to fail at each corner. We like to fab our own miters from full pieces of gutter, just like running crown mould.
I don't like to show solder on the outside of the gutter. If you can't solder well enough to make the solder on the inside effective, putting a bunch of solder on the outside is not going to help. Lots of clamps and the occasional rivet will help pull the joint together.
Good luck.
http://grantlogan.net/
seeyou,
I too bought 25 foot lengthcopper gutters from classic gutters and simply sodered them together using the piece they provided.. very easy to do.. I can hang from them and do chin ups.. I weigh 250#s
This being a gazebo, I'd expect the perimeter to be fairly small, and the corners to be maybe 120 or 135 degrees (6 or 8 sides). In that case, would it be possible to use continuous gutters with something like a breadpan fold for at least the most visible corners? Perhaps a simple bend for the outboard vertical, a semi-breadpan like fold for the bottom, and some sort of lock and solder for the hidden inboard vertical? At least at my skill level, bending looks a bunch better than burning. ;-)
-- J.S.
The structure is actually a simple 4 sided square, 16 feet x 16 feet with a hip roof finished with zappone shingles. Although we have very cold winters and very hot summers here in the Canadian Prairies I'm hoping that the expansion/contraction shouldn't be too severe on these lengths as to stress the soldered joints......
The mitres I can buy fairly cheap are the box mitres seeyou referred to. I have a eavestrough sub who will run the stock for me in the lengths I need but I plan on hanging them myself. I hope to either find someone with experience to solder or practice on scraps and then do it myself with a torch-heated iron technique. My aluminum sub cuts the mitres himself - essentially he cuts one side about an eighth to a quarter of an inch longer and hammer laps it over. I don't think this would look right or be the way to go with copper. If you cut your own mitre in copper gutter do you make a precise 45 on each side or overlap the joint somewhow?
What sort of flux and solder do you all use? It makes sense to me not to use solder on the visible outside part but solder the inside as perfectly as possible. I'm wondering if I use the pre-formed mitres (to avoid the risk of cutting the actual mitre poorly myself) whether with aging the joints would even be all that visible in the end?
Thanks for all of your input,
Gio, prairieHOUSE Restoration
I would cut one side to the perfect miter line-which would serve as the exposed ,finished outside-then cut the other side long by 3/4" and snip to the miter line so that you can use these "tabs" to overlap your first piece.This gives you something to flux and solder to.
50/50 bar solder will work if you can find some-for the small amount you need to solder you can probably use plumbers flux.Rinse residue afterwards though.
Exactly the way we do it. Dale and I that is on site. Grant (in the shop) can get a perfect butt joint...
If we need a 16' out to out we just cut a 16' and miter one end and add a foot long mate pc. make all 4 hang one and cut the excess off of the sq. end or keep the over lap to an inch.
We could do that 16x16 sq. by lunchtime and be on to the next job.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
" Iam not a poet, but your hat is singularily inadequate"