A New Rain Gutter for the Outhouse

Back in December 2008 I replaced the roof of our main outhouse. To finished the job, I built a gutter for the front “porch,” above the door.

I used a scrap piece of vinyl gutter, which I cut in half to span the length of the roofline. I backed off the screws holding down the metal roof, wedged the flat edge of each piece underneath, and retightened the screws, pinning them in place.

This worked fairly well for years. Occasionally, a high wind would pop one or both of the pieces out of place, requiring reinstalling.

Recently, after yet another unscheduled removal, I got tired of it, and decided to do it right, finally.

A new rain gutter over the outhouse door (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

A new rain gutter over the outhouse door (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).

We already had gutter pieces, left over from improvements we’d made to the gutters we found when we moved here. I picked up a handful of hanger brackets in town, and put the thing up Thursday morning, during a break in the October rains.

To my pleased surprise, using a full gutter didn’t lower the headroom in the doorway as I’d feared. I can still walk in and out without ducking, more so now, as I tended to duck to avoid the drips for the day or so between the loss of the old gutter and installation of the new.

The new gutter will also extend the life of the roof. The old arrangement basically backed rainwater away from the roof edge; while it “encouraged” run off to flow down the roof slope and off past the doorway, much of the water backed up on the galvanized metal roof. Since it is often covered by fallen spruce needles and other dirt, that moisture presumably soaked into the duff there and sat, no doubt quietly rusting the roof and its screws. Now, with a more robust drainage system, water won’t stand on the roof for so long.

I should have done it long ago; I suppose what we had served well enough, but now it’s considerably better.

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2 Responses to A New Rain Gutter for the Outhouse

  1. Dennis D says:

    As a off topic note, I have not been able to access your blog from work as the net nanny program has you flagged as a “compromised site”. Not sure what that is exactly, and as I have no legitimate work reason to read your blog, I have not followed up for the details.

  2. Mark Zeiger says:

    “No legitimate work reason to read your blog”? What about quality of life? What about self-improvement? I’m crushed! And, I thought I was so uncompromising . . . .

    Seriously, though, Dennis, this is a drag. I haven’t found anything yet that advises me what I, as a content provider can do. It looks like I may have been blocked because other WordPress blogs have been in the past (WordPress is my blog engine). Or, perhaps your workplace has banned all blogs? You might ask your Admin people for help.

    I guess our lesson here is that the blog is best enjoyed at home, with one’s favorite beverage. Best of luck!

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