How To Build A Yankee Gutter

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How to build a yankee gutter.

They are currently renovating a large lake house that required all new gutters. Yankee gutters are known for their historic look and elegant aesthetic style. But that step was just extra insurance. The earliest examples of yankee gutters employed a combination of wood and metal to construct the body of the system.

Ask this old house general contractor tom silva installs an alternative to a gutter when a traditional one does not work. Yankee gutter systems are classified as built in gutter systems that date back to the 18th century and are found on many historic homes. Also make sure the contractor you choose replaces any dry or rotted wood inside the yankee gutter. These gutters are built on the plane of the roof.

I always try to encourage preserving original elements even though it might be easier to eliminate the old method for something new and inexpensive. Dating back to the 18th century yankee gutters consist of a v or u shaped wooden trough lined with metal usually copper or terne coated steel that directs water away from the house. Wood box gutters were the premiere gutter design for the drainage of rain water from roofs in the united states from 1890 to 1925 and can still be found on houses today. Hire a local contractor you can trust with your yankee gutter repairs.

House flipping brothers dave and rich show how to install gutters on a house. Each penetration through the copper eaves flashing was sealed by applying a blob of 50 year caulk on the under side of the board or bracket where the screw would penetrate. Set in a bed of caulk the yankee gutter board was set onto and screwed through the copper into the roof deck. Sheets of metal were used to line the interior of yankee gutters.

Request your free estimate today. Yankee gutters are a drainage system inconspicuously built into the roof so that it isn t visible along the roofline of the house. Box gutters are actually built off of the rafters of the building they are not hung from the building as metal gutters are. Yankee gutters are also referred to as philadelphia gutters pole gutters flush gutters and standing gutters.

Wood was used as an external element to construct the shell for the gutters while sheets of metal were used to line the interior. Built in gutters the unseen roof drainage system was specifically chosen to be installed when the home was built thus is part of the original historic character.