Rutland Architectural Blog - gargoyleRainSpout

Monday, April 11, 2011

Gargoyles - Water Spout - Rain Gutter Spout

Gargoyles at Sunrise

One of Rutland's clients graciously sent in some gorgeous pictures of her collection of copper gargoyle water spouts mounted at the ends of copper rain gutters. The copper gargoyles rain gutter spouts are installed on a lovely gazebo up high on a hillside overlooking the ocean. The pictures capture the dramatic view of a gazebo built at the edge of a cliff with an elegant pool situated between the gazebo and this lovely coastal home. This gorgeous property overlooking a panoramic view of the ocean dotted with small outlying islands and the lush valley floor below is ultra inviting and peaceful. The gargoyle spouts are shown off most optimally in this gorgeous setting and this photo collage has been appropriately and aptly titled, "Gargoyles at Sunrise".

gargoyles - water spouts - rain spouts - copper rain gutter spouts shown mounted on gazebo

gargoyles water spout - copper rain gutter spout shown by ocean shore at home sitting high on a cliff

gargoyles at sunrise - copper gargoyle water spout - rain spout - copper rain gutter spout on gazebo at daybreak

Rutland copper work artisans crafted these gargoyle water spouts faithfully from original gargoyle rain spout designs created centuries ago in Europe. Rutland creates copper gargoyle water spouts which may be used at the ends of copper rain gutters in lieu of regular downspouts for a dramatic and very natural flair. Rutland also creates gargoyle water spouts for mounting at edges of flat roof parapets rather than the more garden variety of roof scupper spouts or downspouts. Shown below are non-weathered new copper gargoyle gutter rain spouts and gargoyle roof water spouts - rain scuppers.

Rain Gutter Spout - Gargoyle Water Spout

Roof Water Spout Scupper- Gargoyle Rain Spout

See more pictures of water spouts including gargoyle rain spouts and fish rain spouts and view Rutland CAD drawings of fish and gargoyle rain water spouts at Rain Water Spout

4/11/2011 4:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Sunday, August 08, 2010

Rain Spout - Gutter Spout

Before downspouts were implemented, rain spouts used to throw water off a roof top with parapet walls or directly from rain gutters mounted around the edges of a roof line. Ancient rain spouts typically took the form of lions, eagles or mythical creatures. Then some grotesque creatures such as gargoyles, griffins, centaurs or chimeras became common centuries ago. Today downspouts are typically used to drain rain water from flat roof openings or from gutters, away from building walls and foundations. You will still see rain spouts and gutter spouts implemented occasionally, as unique or distinctive architectural features of homes and buildings, especially those located in warmer climates.

gargoyle rain spouts mounted on Notre Dame Cathedral in France pictured

gargoyle rain spout mounted on Notre Dame Cathedral in France close-up picture showing water channel

Rain Spout Gargoyles on Notre Dame Cathedral
(photos courtesy Wikipedia Media Commons - CC by SA)

Rain spouts which spew water from flat roof openings are also commonly referred to as roof scupper spouts. Roof scuppers are used to provide an outlet through parapet walls (low walls) on flat and built-up roofs to allow drainage of excess water. They can be used in conjunction with gutters and downspouts to divert the flow to the desired location. Installed scuppers may direct water into gutters or directly into a scupper box or leader conductor head connected to a downspout. When neither conductor heads nor gutters are used to catch the water, roof scupper spouts are installed which should extend past the exterior surface of the building to avoid wetting of the building's walls. A roof scupper can simply be a round or square opening in the low wall or parapet which typically encircles a flat roof. Plain pipe can be inserted into these roof openings or a more decorative piece such as a gargoyle rain spout - roof scupper spout may be used. Other types of roofs which have gutters installed along the horizontal edges of the roof, might have openings along the sides or at the ends or corners of the gutters, to which rain spouts also may be attached in lieu of downspouts. These rain spouts may be simple funnel outlets or be more decorative such as the popular fish rain spout - gutter spout or gargoyle rain spout shown below.

rain spout - fish gutter spout made from pure copper pictured here

Fish Gutter Spout - Rain Spout
gutter spout - copper fish rain spout copper pictured here mounted on copper gutter

fish downspout extension copper elbow pictured here

Fish Gutter Rain Spout - Matching Copper Fish Downspout Extension

rain spout - gargoyle gutter spout made from pure copper pictured here

Rain Spout - Copper Gargoyle - Gutter Spout
rain spout - copper gargoyle gutter spout made from pure copper - rear view pictured here

Rutland fabricates custom rain spouts such as the gargoyle and fish gutter rain spouts and fish downspout extension elbow above or the gargoyle rain spout - roof scupper below out of pure heavy weight copper. The gargoyle rain spout above is intended to mount at the ends or corners of a gutter system. The custom fish gutter spout above may be ordered for either k-style or half round copper gutters in 6 inch, 7 inch or 8 inch gutter sizes. The fish downspout extension elbow shown above may be adapted for use with 3 inch or 4 inch copper downspouts. The gargoyle roof scupper rain spout below is intended for mounting into a 4 3/16" roof scupper opening. Rutland creates a large array of unique architectural copper work and assorted metal fabrication. Rutland's custom copper craftsmen will take your decorative or architectural concepts and turn them into reality, according to your specifications from your sketches, drawings, descriptions or pictures. Additional pictures, CAD design drawings and specifications are available for Rutland's custom Rain Spouts - Gutter Spouts and roof scupper spout.

gargoyle rain spout - copper gargoyle roof scupper water spout pictured here

Rain Spout - Gargoyle - Roof Scupper Spout

8/8/2010 6:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Friday, August 28, 2009

Gargoyle Rain Spout - Roof Scupper

Gargoyle has been defined as a water spout which projects from a roof gutter and is designed to drain or throw the rain water away from the walls of a building. Gargoyle water spouts or rain spouts preceded downspouts which drain water from rain gutters into a drain down pipe or downspout and have a horizontal downspout extension at the bottom end of the downspout that carries the rain water away from the foundation. The word gargoyle comes from the French word gargouille which means throat in English. The words gargle and gurgle also come from the same roots as gargoyle. Gargoyle was also derived from the Latin word gurgulio which means both throat and gurgling, which is the sound of water passing through a gargoyle rain water spout.

Gargoyles have been around over 4000 years dating back to ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt. Water spouts in the likeness of eagles, lions and other creatures, some mythological, were very common. Water spouts then began to resemble grotesque or monstrous creatures and were often positioned at each corner of the rooftop. Mythical creatures such as the chimera, centaur and griffin especially, resembling a lion with a curved beak like head and wings, were frequently the models for gargoyle water spouts. There is some speculation that griffins themselves were the early portrayal by sculptors of what a protoceratops dinosaur might look like, as protoceratops fossils had been discovered in ancient times. People's primeval dreams and fantasies could easily conjure up such monstrous images and they actually took delight in both the creation and viewing of such grotesque sculptures. Gargoyles beyond their function as rain water spouts also were believed to protect their building against evil spirits and imagined monstrous beasts. Gargoyle wings supposedly allowed them to also protect the whole surrounding area. Once drainpipes or downspouts were introduced in the 16th century, there was no longer a practical need for gargoyle rain water spouts, yet builders and architects continued to utilize them in their designs primarily as sculptures and carvings serving a traditional, symbolic, religious, folklore or decorative purpose.

gargoyle water spouts originally mounted on a centuries old castle pictured

Original Gargoyle Water Spouts From Castle

Gargoyle rain spouts like the one pictured above were usually positioned at the roof corners of buildings attached to gutters and extending out several feet to throw rain water away from the sides of a building. On a flat roof without gutters, a low wall commonly encircles the rooftop and several openings are cut into the bottom edges of this wall to allow rain water to drain off. These openings are called roof scuppers. Roof scuppers may extend out from the sides of a building thereby also functioning as rain spouts and the gargoyle rain spout above combines the functions of rain spout and roof scupper. Roof scuppers or drain outlets might also empty rain water directly into a wall mounted scupper box, rain collector box, leader head or conductor head below the scupper opening. A downspout drain pipe connected to this collection box, then carries the rain water down to the ground. Throwing rain water off the roof of a building using rain spouts and especially gargoyle water spouts was more prevalent centuries ago, whereas using downspouts or rain chains to drain away rain water are more commonly used today. Gargoyles today of course can be seen and admired in historic architecture and yet gargoyles still maintain a persistent attraction even in some modern architectural designs and decorative accents.

gargoyle rain spout roof scupper pictured here in pure copper

Copper Gargoyle Rain Spout - Roof Scupper

Rutland Gutter Supply & Architectural Copper Work fashioned the gargoyle rain spout pictured above, out of pure copper as a recreation of centuries old gargoyle water spouts which were restored from dilapidated gargoyles taken from the castle pictured above. Rutland Gutter supplies the largest selection of gutters. downspouts and leader heads in the U.S.A. and also the occasional gargoyle rain spout or gargoyle roof scupper to spew rain water, while also providing a distinctive decorative touch. As far as warding off evil spirits and monsters, who knows maybe some bit of that too.