The Honest Courtesan

I was not looking forward to installing the gutters; I expected it to be a slow, annoying process involving lots of time spent atop rickety ladders on uneven ground in the blazing sun.  However, I’m happy to say that the task was far easier and much less unpleasant than I had feared.  The flashings to protect the wooden eaves were easily installed, and when I examined the hanging hardware I realized that it could be installed on each gutter section at ground level, so the only time spent on the ladder was to actually run the screws down into the wood.  So I measured each section, made the few cuts that were needed, and assembled it in the relative cool of my atrium, then spent about ten minutes max up on the ladder getting it in place.  That part went relatively without a hitch; the next day was a bit harder, because I soon discovered that the steep pitch of the eaves coupled with the fact that the elbows are available only in one angle made it impossible to install the downspouts in a way that did not make them look as though they were designed by Dr. Seuss.  I tried at least a dozen configurations before finding one that would work, but given that all the aesthetic feedback I’ve received from visitors has been positive, I’ve decided it was serendipitous.  Now all I have to do is wait for the rainy season to know whether I’ve made any mistakes.