Rutland Gutter Supply - Architectural Copper

Historic Leader Heads - Conductor Heads - Hopper Heads

2010-03-01T13:30:29.353-05:00

Leader heads, also known as conductor heads and hopper heads, number into the many thousands and can be seen in many countries around the world, especially throughout Europe. England has many examples of leader heads or hopper heads in many styles and several materials. Historic English leader head styles include Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian with historic leader head materials being comprised mostly of lead and cast iron. They are wonderful examples of craftsmanship. Copper leader heads found throughout much of the rest of Europe and cast aluminum leader heads are slowly replacing the old lead and cast iron English designs seen in the pictures below.

Windsor Castle (Lead) Leeds Castle (Lead) Canterbury (Cast Iron)

These examples of historic leader heads are taken from famous castles and from Canterbury all in England. Many earlier leader heads were made from lead and had intricate designs. You can see the rose of England on the Windsor Castle leader head and a swan on the Leeds Castle leader head. Later leader heads were also made of cast iron like the Victorian design shown above at Canterbury. That same Victorian design is repeated on Canterbury's downspouts and downspout brackets.

City Of Canterbury, England - Stamped 1775

Windsor Castle City Canterbury Leeds Castle

Windsor Castle - Leader Head and Figurine Rain Spouts

Town of Windsor Windsor Castle

Historic leader heads in the town of Windsor, England

Example of historic leader head faithfully replicated using copper

Rutland's architectural craftsmen are able to take any historical leader head or architectural heritage conductor head or hopper head design and faithfully recreate it using copper or aluminum. A heavy-weight unfinished, pure copper, TIG welded copper leader head reproduction is of the highest quality, it will weather beautifully, blend in well with most historical building architecture, endure maintenance-free for many decades to come and also is an eco-friendly green choice for historical preservation or architectural restoration - renovation work.

Note:
Leader heads frequently are used as architectural features on buildings, providing both a decorative and functional purpose. Rain water collected by a rain gutter or roof scupper is fed into a leader head. Sometimes a downspout connected to a gutter system or even multiple downspouts will feed into a leader head. Downspouts, also referred to as downpipes or leaders, are the vertical pipes that carry rain water from a gutter or leader head down to the ground to drain into a water barrel, cistern, sewer or seep into the ground. Leader heads or conductor heads fed by a scupper (drain opening in a wall, parapet or edge of flat roof) are sometimes called scupper boxes. Some parts of the world also use the term rainheads when referring to leader heads or rain collection boxes. Functionally leader heads serve several purposes. Leader heads serve as a collection box for multiple gutter downspouts to empty into and funnel those into one downspout leading down to the ground. Leader heads also mix air into the conductor to help eliminate back pressure or vacuum and promote heavy rain water flow through the downspouts. Decoratively and visually, leaderheads also help break up lengths of downspout providing both architectural interest and elegance or panache. Leader heads are still specified by architects and featured by builders in modern architecture for public buildings, churches, fine custom homes and especially upscale architecture, usually pairing copper leader heads with elegant copper gutter systems. Historical leader head reproductions are very popular as are more modern designs. An assortment of sixty-seven historical and modern leader lead designs can be seen at Leader Heads- Conductor Heads by Rutland

Horse Barn Cupola Construction

2010-02-05T11:42:27.308-05:00

Cupolas are a very popular architectural enhancement on top of horse barn roofs and riding arenas. Roof top cupolas are also popular features on homes, gazebos, pavillions, public buildings and businesses. A cupola may be built to be accessible from the inside and thereby provide a lofty perch for viewing pleasure of the surrounding area. Often such cupolas are encircled by a widows walk or roof deck railing. Usually cupolas are chosen for their heightened architectural interest and also to provide substantial ventilation to the roof, attic or building space below. Cupolas may be built in various shapes including circular, square, hexagonal and octagonal. Cupolas typically have a c urved conical, bell-shaped or pyramidal domed roof and are often crowned with a ornamental roof finial perched at the very top. Cupolas may be constructed from a variety of materials with wood and metals being the most common. Among metals, rust-free aluminum and copper are the preferred material. Aluminum makes for a generally light weight, manageable cupola design and the aluminum is usually painted to color coordinate with the underlying building's wall and trim colors. Copper cupolas are most always left uncoated and provide the most elegant and distinguished appearance, weather beautifully, are the most maintenance-free, eco-friendly green choice, most durable and longest lasting of all cupolas. Cupolas provide a pleasing, very attractive elegance to any building while cupola ventilation serves as an excellent roof vent.

Rutland's architectural craftsmen hand made several custom large cupolas designed for a massive horse barn riding arena. Structural .063 aluminum was used, with large aluminum louvers in the four walls, a swooping bell-shaped pyramidal domed roof and topped with a finial ball and spiked cone. All joints or seams were TIG welded and polished, which provides the most strength, durability and refined, pleasing appearance. One very large cupola would perch in the center of the horse barn arena's expansive roof line and two slightly smaller cupolas would sit to either side of the larger one. The cupolas would help break up the roof line, provide a high degree of architectural interest and attractiveness and supply substantial ventilation of the underlying roof space. The cupola sides were painted a bay brown to coordinate with the stained wood walls of the riding arena and adjacent horse barns. The cupola's roof was painted hunter green to match the green metal roof on the horse barns. Below are pictures showing the progression of the cupola construction from structural framing to final installation shots on top the horse barn.

Cupola Structural Aluminum TIG Welded Frame - Polished Seams

Large Aluminum Louvers are Inserted Into Cupola Sides

Domed Roof and Roof Finial Attached On Top of Cupola

Cupolas Finished in Two-Tone Paint Job

Cupolas Are Installed Top of Horse Barn Arena

Horse Barn Cupola Construction Project Completed

Obtain more information on roof top aluminum cupola designs and copper cupolas at Rutland Architectural Cupolas.

Used Machines For Sale - Free Classified Ads - Trading Post

2010-02-05T08:28:28.026-05:00

Rutland Trading Post offers free classified ads for the guttering and metal roofing community. Guttering and roofing professionals who wish to buy, sell or trade new or used gutter machines, downspout pipe machines, metal roll slitter machines, decoilers, seamless gutter bending machines, downspout elbow machines, metal roof panel roll forming machines and other types of gutter equipment or gutter tools are invited to place online free classifieds at Rutland's Trading Post. Rutland's website offers substantial traffic in daily website visitors of fellow guttering and roofing professionals and their companies giving Trading Post free classified ads high exposure to qualified buyers and sellers.

Rutland Trading Post classifieds allows free ad posters to select from many different listing categories, upload up to 10 pictures for each ad listing and provide detailed descriptions of up to 7,500 characters to fully describe their equipment. Ads may also incorporate links to online images or videos on other websites including YouTube. Free ad posters may submit up to 15 listings, set them to run from 15 days to 90 days and may also sign in at any time to revise their ads, renew them or cancel them. Trading Post classified listings offer advanced search capabilities by keywords, category, date, city, state, zip code, distance, make and model. E-mail alerts may be set up to provide a heads up when ads are posted that match what buyers are looking for. Buyers can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive up to date listing additions and changes. There is also a Trading Post Forum for guttering and roofing professionals to initiate or join in beneficial discussions and technical exchanges with their peers. All that is required to post classified ads or participate in the forum discussion boards is to provide a user name, e-mail address and password. E-mail addresses can be protected or hidden as all replies to ad listings or to forum posts are through a blind system, which automatically forwards responses from ads or posts. If however posters wish to share their e-mail, phone, address, business website, etc. that information can be made available in classified ad listings. Classified ad poster account information may be revised at any time. Rutland Trading Post respects it's users privacy and their e-mail addresses will not be sold or shared to outside companies or lists. No account is required to review or reply to ads.

Please visit and check out Rutland Trading Post Classifieds and avail yourself of the many beneficial features of this free service.

LEED Certification Green Building

2009-12-16T10:21:12.634-05:00

LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environment Design is a third party certification and building rating program for building performance across several key areas. LEED attempts to measure a building's performance and sustainability across such areas as: optimizing energy efficiency as well as use of renewable energy; efficient and sustainable use of building materials and resources, including reuse, renewability, recycling and durability; innovation of design, incorporation of high recycled and regional content; water conservation; ensuring infrastructure and limiting neighborhood and environmental site impact; indoor air and environmental quality, including occupant comfort; reduction in CO2 emissions; efficient operation with low or reduced maintenance and energy costs. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED is a voluntary certification which strives to verify and promote sustainable high performance buildings or communities with less environmental impact, improved livability and long term savings. While LEED is still evolving, incomplete and not nearly perfect, building rating systems, certification and verification are raising our awareness and expectations for building performance and helping shift the construction market and demand toward healthy sustainable building, our long-term well-being and environmental responsibility.

Penn State SALA Building - Recycled Copper Cladding

Copper used in green building materials and strategic building components contributes to high environmental and building performance in many areas, most of which qualify for credits towards LEED certification of a building. For example Pennsylvania State University's School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA) used over 80,000 lbs (35,000 kgs) of copper in its construction and it was the first building to achieve a gold LEED certification at no additional cost. Most noticeable is the pre-patinated, 95% recycled copper cladding used for the exterior walls as shown above. This green building project used copper extensively for copper's green properties: high recycled content; local or regional availability; durability; high rate of recyclability at end of building's useful life; low or non-existent maintenance costs for copper; workability of copper. To maximize these benefits, in addition to wall cladding, copper was used for all soffits, sun shading and even on ceilings of large atriums. Looking at long term cost factors also ensured copper's prominent role in this green building project. Copper's legendary durability is measured in generations rather than years or decades with little to no maintenance required throughout it's lifetime. Virtually 100% of the copper can be recycled upon eventual demolition or replacement of the building and recycled copper maintains 95% of the value for new mined copper. Copper also has the best heat and electrical conductive properties of any viable metal as well as superior resistance to corrosion. Copper's many attributes are reflected in copper's contribution to green building high performance with 13 possible LEED credits across 3 performance areas. Copper's aesthetic qualities also ensure green building architects achieve attractive, visually appealing green LEED designs without sacrificing any efficiency, performance or environmental objectives.

Bethel Woods Performing Arts Center - Extensive Copper

Copper, Green Building and Green Certification Links:

Building Green: How Copper Can LEED the Way
http://www.copper.org/environment/green/casestudies/building_green.html

Canadian Copper Association – Green Building
http://www.coppercanada.ca/greenbuilding.htm

North American Copper in Architecture Awards
http://www.ccbda.org/NACIA2009/main/naciamain.html

North American Initiative on Copper Architectural Applications
http://www.ccbda.org/architectural.htm

European Copper in Architecture Awards
http://www.copperconcept.org/

Copper Building Products – International Site
http://www.copperinfo.com/cproducts/building.html

U.S. Green Building Council – LEED Certification
http://www.usgbc.org/

Green Building Rating Systems - Worldwide
http://www.worldgbc.org/green-building-councils/green-building-rating-tools

BREEAM: Environmental Assessment Method for Buildings Around The World
http://www.breeam.org/

Reference Source for Environmental Products and Services
http://www.greenbooklive.com/

Green Guide to Specification - Best Environmental Performance with Life Cycle Analysis
http://www.bre.co.uk/greenguide/podpage.jsp?id=2126

Features of ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=new_homes.nh_features

EPA Indoor Air Quality - Indoor airPLUS Program
http://epa.gov/indoorairplus/construction_specifications.html

Green Home - Copper Building

2009-12-11T12:33:24.786-05:00

Green, green home, green building, going green, sustainability and LEED are all catch phrases that seem to be catching steam and quickly building momentum these days. What does go green and green building specifically mean? Green building is the philosophy, design and implementation of the most efficient use of resources, that are both environmentally responsible and positively affect our health throughout the building's entire life cycle. The building's life cycle starts with siting, includes design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and then finally demolition. The total long term environmental cost of all building components is calculated and factors into green building design. Green building extends traditional building's short term concerns of economy, utility, durability and comfort with long term goals of sustainability, high performance, human health and environmental impact. The environment is impacted by the production and consumption of materials, natural resources, energy, water and land. Our environment is adversely altered by the building's inhabitants generation of waste products, water pollution, air pollution, heat and noise. Ultimate effects may include harm to human health, degradation of the environment including the atmosphere and loss of natural resources. Green building's goal is to reduce or eliminate any adverse health and environmental impact for every kind of building including residential, public, governmental, religious and commercial.

Copper Mining

The whole field of green building is literally exploding and there is so much information already available out there on many of the aspects involved with green building. Today's blog is just an overview that defines what green building is and there will be a subsequent series of articles that will cover in more depth the many aspects involved. We will also closely examine and feature the role of copper in green building and green homes. Copper homes, copper building and copper architecture play an important part in virtually all green building designs, including some or all of the following: plumbing, wiring, solar panels, windmills, tankless water heaters, external wall siding, roofing, guttering, roof structures, flashing, chimneys, fascia, vents, duct work, healthier copper kitchen designs, even outside door and window cladding. Copper usage in fact can contribute upwards of 13 points in various areas towards LEED green building certification.

St. Croix Chapel (picture courtesy Copper.org)

Copper Kitchen Art Work - Range Hoods

2009-11-24T10:21:18.969-05:00

Copper Kitchen describes kitchen design utilizing copper work either extensively or strategically to achieve a very elegant, warm, hospitable and decorative kitchen. Kitchen copper usage may include copper hoods, range hoods or island hoods. Also kitchen copper sinks, copper countertops, copper backsplash, copper light hood canopy, copper pot racks, copper sculpture, copper accents, copper pots and pans. Even copper clad appliances, wall copper vents, copper fixtures (lights and fans) and other hardware such as cabinet and door handles, wall switchplates, etc. Given the sheer elegance, warmth and beauty of copper, it is near impossible to overuse copper in kitchen design, especially with the endless hues of copper available, from it's gleaming raw state to countless variations of patinated copper. Decorative kitchen design to personalize a kitchen, establish a design theme or create a designer kitchen may incorporate the use of kitchen art, such as kitchen wall art, kitchen murals and other themed kitchen artwork, including standalone accent pieces. Almost every copper kitchen has a copper range hood or island hood which has a large surface area ideal to incorporate copper art work into your kitchen design. You may view your copper hood, copper backsplash and copper kitchen sink as a blank canvas to which you can add your own unique design, personal expression or promote a kitchen design theme.

Copper Kitchen Hood " A Blank Canvas"

Copper compared to other metals not only offers more warmth, luster and elegance but copper is especially amenable to being worked into many different shapes or designs. Copper may also easily be sculpted or hammered into custom art work including personalized or themed murals. Copper design work may involve simple accents placed subtly around a larger smooth copper surface, or a uniformly patterned surface such as a hammered copper pebbled look or using variegated copper hues created through patination or firing. A raised, textured three dimensional design or copper kitchen mural provides endless possibilities of personalization as well as the timeless elegance and enjoyment of your kitchen's copper work of art.

Copper Wall Art Work - Two Different 3-D Scenes

Copper Hood with Tuscan Design (Grapes)

Hammered Copper Hoods - Pebbled & Rock Pattern

Copper Range Hoods with Copper Art Murals

Copper art work or murals may be recreated from almost any design, drawing, illustration, painting or picture you provide , by true copper working artisans . The intricate detail these coppersmiths can sculpt into your copper hoods, copper sinks or copper backsplash is truly astounding, while your appreciation of their timeless beauty will last for generations of lifetimes.

Copper Island Hood with Ski Lodge Artwork

Copper Kitchen Sink with Artwork

Copper Farmhouse Sink with Mural

* Pictures shown above are courtesy of Rutland Architectural Copper Work, whose copper work artisans individually create by hand each of the copper hoods, copper sinks and copper art work shown above. The copper kitchen hoods are all fashioned from heavyweight 48 oz pure copper that are available in gleaming new copper appearance or also in various shades of copper patina. Rutland specializes almost exclusively in custom design copper work, each handcrafted one at a time with many being "one of" unique designs from customer's specifications. Rutland also creates custom copper sculpture and copper kitchen decor accent pieces to coordinate your overall decorative kitchen design. See additional copper range hoods created by Rutland.

Copper Sink, Copper Hood, Copper Counter Tops

(Photos courtesy http://design-ties.blogspot.com/2009/03/hooked-on-copper.html)

In addition to copper hoods and copper sinks, a copper backsplash is another copper surface that can be given a copper art work treatment along with other independent or themed hanging copper wall art. Copper counters or countertops usually preferrably have a smooth surface or are lightly patterned such as a pebbled look, quilted or tile design. Blending different hues of patinated copper together may create a very appealing used look that also wears very well. Part of the great allure and beauty of copper, somewhat similar to distressed or antique wood, is the ever changing character, warm hues and gracefully aging beauty that natural pure copper provides.

Copper Kitchen Hood Art Work HGTV Video

Copper Gazebo Roof

2009-11-17T10:24:08.269-05:00

Gazebos are an outdoor pavilion or tent like structure which are usually round, square or octagonal in shape. A gazebo is a familiar sight, found just about anywhere, in parks, gardens, back yards, on a lake or seashore, outdoor restaurants, etc. Gazebos are usually roofed but open on the sides, sometimes with railings or balustrades and sometimes screened in. The gazebo floor might be grass, stone, concrete, brick or raised wood deck. The gazebo's base or deck and the optional railing usually follow along the bottom outline of the gazebo roof (round - square - octagonal - etc). A gazebo is oftentimes free standing in an open area or can be attached to another building or connected by decorative wall or path. Gazebos are popular spots, especially in warm weather, to rest, entertain, eat, relax and socialize. A gazebo provides shelter, shade and often seating and tables. Gazebos are unusually appealing structures and provide a most attractive and ornamental feature to a property's architecture and landscaping. The most common gazebo is built out of wood with ordinary roofing shingles used on the roof. A simple metal or copper roof cap with finial might be found on top. A gazebo upgrade might involve a small cupola perched on top of the gazebo roof, once again with a roof finial crowning the very top. The ultimate gazebo roof is a copper roof made from copper tile or copper panels. A copper gazebo roof may be conical in shape, bell shaped, octagonal, pentagonal, pyramidal, domed or any number of different shapes.

Copper Gazebo Roof - Bell Shaped - Bermuda Style

Copper Gazebo Tile Roof with Copper Roof Cap and Finial

Copper Roof Tile - Alternative Diamond Shaped

A copper roof cupola can be positioned on top of a gazebo providing additional architectural interest and can functionally help vent hot air out the top. A simple, rustic or ornate copper roof finial can crown the very top of the gazebo or cupola. Copper clad columns, copper fixtures and copper railing or balustrade provide additional sheer elegance to a copper gazebo. To make a copper gazebo even more inviting on cool evenings, a copper fire pit with or without copper vent hood would coordinate nicely. A copper gazebo roof, copper cupola, copper finial, copper balustrade (or copper railing) not only have divine aesthetics and AWESOME looks but will last a LIFETIME.

Copper Cupola with WeatherVane and Copper Railing

* Photos above courtesy Rutland Architectural Copper Work, whose copper artisans created the copper gazebo roofs, copper cupola, copper finials and copper deck railing shown above. Even the copper tile shown above is custom handmade and hand cut copper roof tile. See additional pictures at Copper Dome - Copper Turret - Copper Gazebo Roof.

Copper Gazebo Screened and Weathered Copper Gazebo on Ocean
Contrasting Styles of Copper Gazebos (Photos courtesy This Old House)

Chimney Cap - Decorative Metal

2009-11-06T10:25:05.893-05:00

Chimney cap, chimney vent, chimney pot, chimney cowl and chimney shroud are all various structures on a chimney top added to the top of your chimney pipe, chimney flue, stove pipe or even chimney crown. The chimney crown is the flat top of a chimney usually finished with cement or mortar and is ideally sloped to shed water. A fireplace chimney is typically constructed from brick, clay, masonry, metal or fireproof material. Often times there is just a metal chimney pipe or chimney flue that is encased in a fireproof material or else is double wall insulated shielding adjacent flammable building materials. Chimney vents or stove pipe vents vent fireplaces, wood stoves and heaters and provide proper draft. The chimney vent opening might be nearly flush with the chimney crown or else the chimney pipe or chimney flue will protrude out. Stove pipe chimney vents are also found protruding out of the top of roofs. Chimney pots positioned on chimney tops, look like small smoke stacks and functionally extend the length of a chimney. Chimney pots may therefore improve a chimney's draft inexpensively. Whether it is a metal chimney vent, masonry chimney or chimney pot or other chimney material, there is a need to have some sort of termination or cap on the chimney top, to keep rain, birds and critters out of your chimney, chimney pipe or chimney flue. Without a chimney cap, rain water might run into your fireplace, stove or heater and additionally leaks from seams or cracks in the chimney might also damage adjacent walls and ceilings. Also build up of rain and moisture inside your chimney often produces a pervading chimney or smoky smell inside your home. Birds, raccoons, squirrels and other small animals might enjoy the warmth of your chimney, set up home there and clog it with their nests or bodies. So chimney caps often have screening, mesh or lattice work to cover openings. Chimney caps may also protect a chimney crown by shedding rain water and ice. Chimney caps with metal mesh or screening may also perform as a spark arrestor to protect adjacent roofing, walls and ground areas from sparks or embers that may exit from a chimney. Finally, chimney caps may also be purposefully designed to control, preserve or improve upon a chimney's draft. Many chimney caps are made of metal including stainless steel chimney caps, copper chimney caps, aluminum chimney caps and the ever common black painted galvanized steel chimney cap. Standard type chimney caps have a simple sloped roof to block most of the falling rain and mesh sides to block birds, small animals. Some employ tighter screening to also neutralize sparks. They are designed to simply clamp on to round, square or rectangular chimney flue pipes with screw fasteners. Round versions may also provide protection for exposed chimney pots. More expansive, elaborate chimney caps, such as chimney hoods or chimney shrouds, provide a decorative architectural feature and protect more of the chimney top crown.

Common Black Painted Steel Chimney Cap

Assortment of Chimney Pots (including capped & screened examples)

Single and Multi-Flue Copper Chimney Pots with Chimney Top Shroud

Chimney pots are most often seen in Tudor architecture and sometimes with Colonial, Victorian and Row Houses. Chimney pots were usually made from clay (terra cotta) but now are also made from metals. New pure copper and weathered reddish brown copper chimney pots are shown above, along with stainless steel and mill finish aluminum pots. Chimney pots are often open at their top, and while a separate protective chimney cap for use on top of chimney pots can be used, even better, a cleaner design like the ones pictured above with their own integral cap and screening. New chimney pots create a certain architectural style or may replace worn out or broken chimney pots to preserve that look. A chimney pot or variation thereof may also be used when you wish to extend the height of your chimney to improve upon insufficient chimney updraft. Some chimney hood or shroud designs also increase effective chimney height.

Chimney Vent - Directional Chimney Cowl - Turbine Vent

Shrouded Copper Dome Chimney Vent

If you experience too much downdraft into your chimney from consistent high winds or substantial amounts of air deflect off of adjacent walls, tall trees, buildings or hills, then you may need to limit or block excess air being pushed down into your chimney. Passive shrouded chimney cap devices exist that work to limit deflected air or high winds from being driven down into your chimney. They work to block winds from the top and sides, allowing air out only from vents near or on the bottom. There is also a directional chimney cowl - chimney cap, which rotates to align with the wind, to block it and prevent a downdraft of air into your chimney pipe or chimney flue. A turbine chimney vent spins with the wind to draw air upwards and counteract downward air pressure. A downdraft problem may be severe enough that extending a chimney using chimney pots or chimney shrouds or using other passive draft enhancers may still prove insufficient. In this case, there are sources of chimney fans available, which mount inside your chimney and induce upward drafts using variable speed motors and paddle fans.

Chimney Hoods - Chimney Shrouds - Chimney Caps

Copper Chimney Caps - Custom Decorative Metal

Chimney caps serve important functional purposes, yet may also provide a very decorative and distinctive architectural feature to your home. Your chimney top and chimney cap are typically at the very highest point of your home and where better to make a crowning statement to distinguish and accentuate your home.

* The pictures above of custom chimney caps, chimney pots and chimney vents, provide courtesy of Rutland's architectural copper and metal work craftsmen. If you can dream or imagine it, Rutland's accomplished coppersmiths and custom metal fabricators can create it. View more of Rutland's manyChimney Cap Designs.

Custom Copper Chimney Caps

Differences among Leader Conductor Heads

2009-10-21T12:53:40.509-04:00

Conductor heads or leader heads as used in rain gutter systems are sometimes also called hopper heads, rainheads, scupper box, leader box or rain collector box. Conductor heads or leader heads provide both a functional and decorative feature to downspouts used in rain gutter systems and also when positioned below flat roof scuppers to collect their rain water run off. You will commonly find leader - conductor heads available in aluminum and copper material. Because they do add to the cost of a gutter system, leader heads might not be installed with cheap gutter systems or specified by some builders when cutting costs and sometimes corners can affect decisions. Functionally, conductor heads collect rain water flowing from gutter and feed it out to the downspout or downpipe below. The leader head helps alleviate any vacuum back pressure or congestion in the downspout, becoming increasingly important with each story of height a building has. Cosmetically a conductor head - leader head will enhance downspouts and gutter systems and become a visually heightened architectural feature. Proper selection of leader heads, downspouts and gutters assuredly enhance, beautify and add real value to commercial and residential property. To provide the most impact and lasting value, a leader head's style or form should be richly pleasing, they should exude or project quality and exhibit fine craftsmanship.

Copper Conductor Heads - Leader Heads with TIG welded construction

Some times conductor heads (leader heads) will be made more cheaply by using thinner walls and overlapping or tabbed construction employing solder and/or rivets on the seams. While cheaper, using overlapping material on the seams along with rivets, just does not offer a nicely finished, elegant appearance. Use of tabbed construction, butting material up the seams and then closing seams using solder will look better crafted than the overlapped - riveted approach, especially if the joints are tight and solder is tinted to color match the raw material. Several additional problems may eventually present themselves with any of these approaches. If seams are merely overlapped and riveted, leaks may develop as parts of the seam open up in time. Soldered seams may also crack with age, flexing and pressures. Northern climates where ice could expand inside a leader head will split the leaderhead open when a tabbed or soldered seam gives way. The same thing can happen to crimped downspouts when the seams can bulge open from ice pressure.

Mill finish aluminum conductor head - leader head with welded construction

A more elegant, durable approach is using thicker material and TIG welding to close up any seams and then polishing the seams. This provides not only a virtually flawless appearance and obvious fine craftsmanship, but also gives leader heads lasting strength and durability, to avoid the problems mentioned above. Yes, premium TIG welded aluminum and copper leader heads with thicker walls will cost a little more than their cheaper competition but they warrant that with their more pleasing appearance, requiring typically no repairs and little to no lifetime maintenance, with markedly increased durability and longevity. Quality TIG welded leader heads genuinely provide both real and perceived value and they truly do become one of the more striking architectural features of any commercial or residential building.

Weathered Copper Leader Conductor Heads with Round Downspouts

Copper Duct Work Can Improve IAQ

2009-10-21T09:12:39.674-04:00

Ductwork in commercial and residential forced air heating and air conditioning systems circulate air throughout your building in the process of heating and cooling. Any biological pollutants, contaminants, pathogens, bacteria, microbes and viruses present in the air circulating around the HVAC system are breathed in and also settle on surfaces in all the rooms. Exasperating this problem in newer buildings is the fact that most are constructed to be more sealed or tighter for energy efficiency which in turn reduces fresh air exchange or ventilation. The same pollutants and disease causing organisms become concentrated and readily multiply. Also typically air duct work is a friendly, hospitable place for fungi, bacteria and mold to grow and spread. Like most living organisms, they require temperatures between 40-120 degrees F, food and moisture, conditions which are present in commercial and residential heating and A/C duct work. This can result in poor IAQ or indoor air quality, some times referred to as sick building syndrome, not only having possibility of making us sick but understandably promoting allergic reactions and exasperating asthma conditions.

To reduce our exposure to such biological pollutants and contaminants at home, at work and in public places, we need to attack this increasing problem on several fronts. Increasing or providing adequate fresh air ventilation can help reduce the concentration and trapping of these bacteria and pollutants. Reducing humidity or moisture levels to less than 50% or even 30% will help prevent condensation and disrupt growth of microbes, bacteria and mold. Of course reducing the sources of biological pollutants and even destroying or eliminating those present is paramount. Methods tried to reduce and eliminate circulating biological pollutants include cleaning of air ducts and decontamination of air ducts using chemicals, biocides, fungicides and ozone. Unfortunately duct work cleaning has not been proven to be effective. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in fact not only has stated that air duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems but EPA also does not recommend that air ducts be cleaned except on a as needed basis. Regarding decontaminating heating and A/C systems including duct work, the EPA has stated that there is an unresolved controversy over the necessity and wisdom of introducing chemical biocides and ozone into duct work. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists made an even stronger statement saying that application of chemical biocides as opposed to removing microbial growth and settled biological material is considered unacceptable. Still the fact remains that unhealthy biological pollutants and microbial growth are circulating around and residing in our duct work and it is imperative that something be done to reduce and eliminate it.

Beyond increasing fresh air ventilation and reducing moisture or humidity levels to help control biological pollutants and growth, there is considerable growing interest in deploying copper material for use as duct work. Copper has already been well documented and proven to destroy harmful bacteria, germs, microbes, pathogens, molds, fungi and viruses which come in contact with copper surfaces. Copper is also EPA approved as an antimicrobial agent after exhaustive tests confirmed it's effectiveness. Plus copper is inherently much safer than widespread use of ozone and chemical biocides - germicides whether liquids, sprays or aerosols. Copper and strong copper alloy materials are already proving effective in reducing the existence of biological pollutants, biological growths and bioaerosol contaminants in A/C duct work. Copper is quite an order of magnitude better than materials historically and commonly used for duct work such as galvanized steel, aluminum and stainless steel. While copper will not cure all IAQ problems and continuing studies will quantify it's measurable improvement in indoor air quality, it is known that usage of copper duct work will improve IAQ and is a positive step in the right direction. While we are waiting on definitive EPA approval for performance and health claims of copper duct work, builders and remodelers might also consider copper for it's elegance, beauty, richness, longevity, durability and corrosion resistance which are all much greater than any other material. Not coincidentally, these are the same reasons we have seen copper's ageless popularity for use in building architectural features and also increasingly in copper kitchens and copper home decor.

Copper Duct Work photos courtesy of Revere Copper Products

Copper Fire Pit - Copper Fire Bowl

2009-10-09T14:43:05.237-04:00

Fire pits have been around for thousands of years probably dating back to man’s discovery of fire. An outdoor fire pit can simply be a pit dug into the ground to help contain and concentrate a fire for use in heating such as a camp fire, or to cook out or frequently in today’s world just for the ambience when socializing or entertaining. With technological advances, fire pits progressed to more elaborate structures comprised of stone, brick and/or metal. These modern fire pits or fire bowls, especially ones made of metal, are often shaped like a bowl and usually accompanied by a fitted fire pit cover or fire pit lid. A firepit with an integral stand can also be some what mobile. Today an outdoor fire pit is frequently used in a pool area, as a patio fire pit, outdoor room fire pit and also as a garden fire pit. There are many variations of fire pits and materials used to construct a fire pit. Metal fire pits with integral stands or set into a fire pit table are particularly easy to set up and start using. Copper fire pits or copper fire bowl as seen below are considered the premier metal choice for a fire pit. A copper fire pit, especially with matching pure copper fire pit cover, has a very elegant appearance, does not need painting, has excellent corrosion resistance, is extremely durable and weathers pleasingly with copper patina's timeless beauty.

Copper Fire Pit

Copper FirePit - Custom Crafted and Ready to Ship

The 100% copper fire pit shown above has a bowl shape which helps to concentrate and focus the fire and heat. This copper fire pit also has a fitted cover using a copper mesh screen which helps to contain stray sparks and also helps reduce possible wind impact that might fan the fire or flames out of control. A copper fire bowl or fire pit can be free standing with it’s own legs or stand. A copper fire pit can also be set into a properly sized cut out on a table that is insulated or fireproof. A permanent stand or fire pit table can also be constructed from bricks, stone or concrete as shown in the pictures of an installed copper fire pit table situated pool side below.

Outdoor Copper Fire Pit Table Installed Poolside

Copper Patio Fire Pit with Matching Fire Pit Cover

The popularity of a backyard outdoor fire pit is on the rise as a fire pit creates charming campfire ambiance in an outdoor room, on a patio, poolside or garden area. The circular design of a fire pit allow seating of friends and family 360 degrees around the fire pit to enjoy the cozy warmth and hospitable, congenial atmosphere of a blazing fire, especially on those cool, chilly nights. An above ground fire pit is also much safer than an in ground version, as there is little likelihood of falling in. Situate your fire pit on a sturdy, stable stand or foundation. Fire pits securely set into bricks, stone or concrete are not at risk of being knocked over. Please be careful not to over fill your fire pit with wood or coals, use a fire pit cover and always use safe lighting procedures. With safe usage, you will find yourself frequently gathering around your outdoor fire pit, possibly even more so than with an indoor fireplace.

* Custom 100% copper fire pit - copper fire bowl with 30 copper fire pit cover as pictured above, manufactured by Rutland architectural copper craftsmen, available world-wide in any size, with or without stand through Rutland Architectural Copper Work in Orlando, Florida

Architectural Restoration - Historic Preservation with Copper

2009-08-31T11:18:56.404-04:00

There are many older buildings with very distinctive architectural features which after a length of time those features may deteriorate, crack, crumble or corrode. For architectural, historical and preservation reasons these worn out building features, when repairs are not feasible, are frequently restored with replacements maintaining an acceptable likeness in form, texture and color and possessing a long lifespan. Being ecologically green, sustainable, low maintenance, with excellent weather-ability and having low total environmental cost are all very positive objectives to observe in architectural restoration or historic preservation. Copper has historically been commonly used for architectural building features for it's elegance, durability, weather-ability, long life and pleasing earth tone patina. Copper's character allows it to suitably replace not only original copper work but also original cast iron, lead, other metals and virtually all types of masonry including stone, terra cotta, etc. Copper will naturally develop a protective patina cycling through shades from raw copper's salmon color to various browns to bluish greens then finally to a grayish light green over the course of the many decades or centuries of it's long life. Copper can be painted any color, or coated to maintain it's original color or even pre-patinated to a dark brown or it's final light green color. It is best environmentally to avoid any paints, coatings and chemicals and just allow nature to run it's course with it's own pleasing array of changing colors. Following are before and after pictures of some of the architectural restorations which have been performed by Rutland's Architectural Copper Work shop using pure copper replacement material.

Original Gargoyle Rain Spouts

Replacement Gargoyle Rain Spout

Old Balustrade - "Ornamental Railing with Balusters"

Original Baluster and Replacement Copper Baluster

Leader Heads - Original with Replacements

Garden Sculpture Restoration

Rutland's architectural copper work artisans are able to faithfully restore, reproduce or recreate historic architectural features and many sculptures. Rutland's craftsmen also regularly perform custom metal fabrication or copper work which perfectly model an architect's or client's unique designs or drawings and manufactures to the exact size, finish and other specifications that are requested.

Gargoyle Rain Spout - Roof Scupper

2009-08-28T09:32:47.654-04:00

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.

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.

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.

Widows Walk - Roof Deck Railing

2009-08-25T13:14:28.765-04:00

An architectural widow's walk can be described several ways including: a balcony on a roof; a roof enclosure; roof railing; roof walk; roof fence; flat roof deck and railing; railed rooftop observation platform. A widow's walk, flat roof deck or observation platform on the roof of a house, enclosed by a railing or balustrade is sometimes formed by truncating the top of a hip roof. A widow's walk, roof walk or sometimes referred to as a captain's walk was typically found on a coastal house, originally designed as a lookout for observing vessels at sea. The name widows walk derived from the wives of fishermen or mariners, who would gaze out over the ocean, from their rooftop balcony watching for their husband's safe return. Tragically, the ocean would sometimes take the life of the seamen, leaving their wives as widows. Their widows would then frequently pace and gaze out to sea from their rooftop platform wishing beyond hope that their loved ones would miraculously still return home and thus the name widow's walk was coined. Beyond their use as viewing platforms, widows walks were also frequently built around the chimney of a residence, creating easy access or passage to the chimney.This was done to allow home owners, in the event of a chimney fire, to pour sand down their burning chimney, to hopefully prevent their house from burning down. Widows walks might also surround a cupola or turret projecting from a rooftop.Widow's walks can also be seen as a decorative architectural accent, distinctive and eye-catching on stately homes today, even on many homes far inland from the sea. Pictured below are sections of a widows walk made from pure copper. Depending on the layout of the roof platform to be enclosed, one to four railing sections might be used to enclose the roof deck forming a pen or enclosure.

Copper Widows Walk Roof Railing

Decorative Widows Walk Corner Finial

Rutland's architectural copper work artisans crafted the widows walk seen in the pictures above from copper, hand forming the pieces and welding them together. The separate railing sections are designed to bolt together at the installation site and attach to the roof structure. View additional architectural copper work.

Galvanic Corrosion of Dissimilar Metals

2009-08-06T13:35:19.25-04:00

Galvanic Corrosion is an electrochemical process which occurs when dissimilar metals are in contact with each other in the presence of an electrolyte, most commonly being moisture and oxygen. For example rain water and salt water make especially good electrolytes. An electrolyte could be any non-metal matter that will conduct an electric current and are predominantly liquids or moisture. Every metal has been rated for nobility and then placed on galvanic scales according to nobility. Basically nobility is a measurement of the resistance to corrosion, especially of one metal contacting another metal. Metals that are the least noble means they are very anodic, electropositive or high potential and will corrode most easily. Whereas metals that are the most noble, means they are highly cathodic, electronegative or low potential and will be the most resistant to corrosion. The most corrosive effects will occur between metals from the opposite ends of the galvanic scale or ranking of nobility. This difference in electrical potential between two or more metals causes galvanic corrosion. Dissimilar metals in contact with each other in the presence of an electrolyte causes current to flow through their points of contact at the expense of the metal with the higher potential or less nobility. The much less noble metal is gradually consumed in the Electro-chemical reaction and will deteriorate or wear away as the metal ions migrate away from the very anodic metal to the more noble cathodic one. The more noble metal's corrosion resistance actually increases from this transfer of ions to it from the less noble metal, while the other metal is gradually getting consumed. Below is an abbreviated galvanic scale showing ranking of the most common construction metals from the least noble up to the most noble in a normal construction setting where both moisture and oxygen are present.

Galvanic Scale (Nobility of Common Metals)*
LeastNoble
Aluminum
Zinc
Galvanized Steel
Iron
Stainless Steel – Active
Tin
Lead
Brass, Bronze
Copper
Stainless Steel – Passive
Titanium
MostNoble

Electropotential of Various Metals
High
Aluminum     +1.30
Zinc            +0.76
Chromium     +0.60
Iron            +0.44
Nickel        +0.22
Tin              +0.13
Lead            +0.12
Copper         -0.34
Silver           -0.80
Platinum       -0.86
Gold            -1.10
Low

Since dissimilar metals in contact with each other in the presence of oxygen and moisture will result in the less noble metal being corroded or eaten away the more noble one, contact between dissimilar metals should be avoided. For example, copper as one of the most noble of metals should be kept separated from less noble metal such as aluminum and galvanized steel. If contact between dissimilar metals cannot be avoided, their surfaces should be insulated as much as possible at the least with a non-metallic, non-conductive coating, such as bituminous or zinc chromate primers or paint. Separating the dissimilar metals with tape, gaskets, waterproof membrane, sealants or other non-conductive material that does not absorb and hold moisture can be used effectively. Care must also be taken to avoid the liquid wash run off or discharge from the drains from noble metals to less noble ones. For example rain water run off from a copper roof going into aluminum gutters and downspouts will result in traces of copper salts in the run off wash accelerating corrosion of the aluminum. Additionally, the use of galvanized nails, screws, flashing or drip edge on copper roofing or copper gutters should likewise be avoided as such less noble fasteners and metals will corrode rapidly. While rain water is a good electrolyte so too is high humidity or moisture laden air especially when it contains a high concentration of corrosive acids as is typically found in larger cities or near industry. In industrial or heavily populated areas, harmful electrolytes are formed by the absorption of gases by rain and fog to form acids and salts, while in coastal areas a saline electrolyte is formed by the combination of salt with the moisture laden air.

As copper has one of the highest galvanic numbers or nobility of construction metals, copper will not be harmed by contact with any of the common metals. However, copper will promote corrosion of other less noble metals if placed in direct contact with them. Copper can be used most appropriately with lead, tin, lead-tin solder or stainless steel under almost any circumstance. The primary metals of concern in terms of galvanic corrosion contact with copper are aluminum and zinc. Large differences in the thermal expansion rate between copper and these metals may cause additional problems. Also avoid using copper and some brass fasteners with aluminum, zinc and most ferrous metal. Paints or coatings that are used for isolation must be compatible with both of the dissimilar metals. The bituminous or zinc chromate primers and paints can be used between copper and aluminum surfaces. These same coatings or a red lead primer can also be effective in separating copper from iron and the other ferrous metals such as galvanized steel or mild steels.

Another type of corrosion called erosion corrosion is caused by the flow of acidic water concentrated into a very small area. While especially true for the least noble and most corrosive of metals, but capable of affecting all metals, acidic water allowed to concentrate on a small area, for example rain water from a large area like a roof diverted towards a flashing, valley or gutter can cause erosion corrosion. Also acidic water or liquids pooling on metal surfaces or trapped without air circulation between roofing or sheathing can quickly corrode the metal. Solution is to eliminate such pooling, maintain air circulation underneath metal roofs or between inert roofing material and drip edge, valleys and flashing. Another solution is to use replaceable reinforcing insulative strips between the inert materials and metal. Raw zinc and aluminum especially are susceptible to prolonged contact with acidic moisture, as for example the underside of a zinc roof. But care should be taken even with copper and stainless steel. Copper and zinc possess a superior property in that both will gradually develop a long term protective patina that helps guard against such corrosive effects for a very long period of time providing initial safeguards are exercised such as drying out provisions or temporary coatings.

Example of the protective patina that formed on these copper dome roofs

*Note: Galvanic chart rankings involving sea water immersion and low oxygen conditions will vary somewhat - the more typical nobility given here is for land based construction.

Rain Gutter Reviews - Gutters Cost

2009-07-22T07:36:18.769-04:00

Rain gutters sometimes do not get as much thought behind their selection as other architectural features of a home or commercial building. Customary gutters often employed on buildings might even be rather drab and sometimes an afterthought. Rather than accentuate and enhance the building's architecture some gutter choices if not just dull may actually detract from the appearance of the home or building and be very unappealing. Yet barring wide overhangs and a steeply graded slope away from the building, gutters are essential for draining rainwater runoff from a roof away from the building protecting overhangs, eaves, walls or siding, windows, doors and assist keeping the foundation, crawl space or basement of the structure dry, thereby guarding against mold, rot and staining. Gutters also help prevent erosion of the top soil and landscaping around a building and shield people, walkways and entrances from sheets of falling water. Yes, becoming aware of all the available choices and features of guttering makes you a better wiser consumer. It also gives you an opportunity to choose a rain gutter system that doesn't just blend nicely into your building's architecture but actually enhances and upgrades the features, appearance and curb appeal of your real estate investment. Possibly you may start seeing guttering in a whole new light, and in planning and choosing your new gutters wisely, you are certain to be rewarded time after time again.

Rain gutters run the gamut from your run of the mill, same old - same old, aluminum K-style ogee gutters with rectangular corrugated downspouts, which are staples in some neighborhoods on those cookie-cutter homes, to the high end gutters purposefully designed to enhance a building's architectural features such as your integrated guttering or wood box gutter and those premium, elegant half round copper gutters and zinc gutters. There are still more gutter material choices including plastic or vinyl gutters, galvanized steel, galvalume and stainless steel gutters. As you might expect there is a wide range of pricing from your low end cheap vinyl gutter on up to that pricey redwood and stainless steel guttering. Cost is definitely going to be a big factor in many people's decision making on gutter choice. Assessment of your true cost extends beyond simply viewing a gutter system's initial purchase price and also includes analyzing the longevity of the guttering, plus any maintenance time and cost involved during the lifespan of the gutters such as: repairs, re-caulking, re-painting and partial or total replacement of a deteriorated gutter system. Another often overlooked cost is how the guttering choice will affect your real estate value. A poor guttering choice will detract from the building appearance and value, a typically common or acceptably sensible choice will hopefully maintain and uphold the property value and a visionary or astute choice will increase the real estate attractiveness, curb appeal and property value. A final consideration is the growing number of concerned people out there who also appreciate making the most environmentally green and eco-friendly choice.

Gutter Materials and Cost
Vinyl Gutters - Frequently a choice for your do it yourself price conscious people, these plastic or vinyl gutters oftentimes in plain white and sometimes in assorted colors are rust free, easy to trim or cut to size and are relatively cheap initially. Though 10 foot gutter sections may only run $3 to $5 at discount home outlets, with all the connectors, hangers, brackets and downspouts figured in they will cost you more like $3 to $5 per foot installed. Vinyl gutters can get brittle with age and exposure to the elements and may not have the strength to stand up to large amount of snow, ice, gale force winds and weight from a ladder or person climbing on to a roof. Vinyl also expands and contracts more than metal and can be problematic. Mostly they frequently look cheap, detract from your property's appearance and have a relatively short lifespan to boot. PVC or poly vinyl chloride gutters are not a very green or eco-friendly choice because of their short life and environmental health concerns. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) termed PVC plastic as one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created, dangerous to human health and the environment throughout it's life cycle. When it is produced or burned PVC releases dioxins, potent synthetic chemicals that cause cancer and harm the environment.

Galvanized Steel Gutters - Steel coated with zinc to inhibit rust, was a common choice, especially before aluminum gutters appeared on the scene, as galvanized gutters are fairly strong and can stand up to ladders, fallen branches and weight unlike cheaper vinyl gutters. Galvanized gutters are also stronger and less susceptible to dents and damage than aluminum. Galvanized steel gutter pricing may run only $4 to $9 per foot installed and are seemingly a economical and practical choice. Yet even thick galvanized gutters will eventually rust through despite most of them being painted. Paint grip steel guttering is still galvanized steel that has been given a phosphate bath adding some to the corrosion protection but primarily providing a surface with better adhesion for paint. There are usually many color choices provided and different qualities of paint available. Galvanized gutters have to be maintained, inspected for cuts, metal exposure deterioration and re-painted during their practical life ranging from 7 to 20 years, depending on how corrosive their locale is and how well they are maintained.

Aluminum Gutters - The most popular choice in gutters since they appeared on the market, aluminum gutters are rust free avoiding that concern with steel, iron and galvanized gutters. Aluminum is also lightweight making it easier and cheaper to work with. Aluminum gutters typically range in price from $5 to $9 per foot installed. Exposed to the elements however, aluminum will oxidize and wear quickly so aluminum is given protective coatings and paint. Just as with galvanized gutters, aluminum gutters need to be maintained and inspected regularly. Paint coatings have improved so during aluminum gutters typical useful lifespan of 25-30 years most paint coatings usually hold up barring scratches or damage to the paint. Aluminum gutters and downspouts are not as strong as steel gutters, especially the thinner offerings and can dent easily from traffic, branches, ladders, etc. Aluminum has a high rate of thermal expansion and contraction which can sometimes present problems especially in corners and seams. Gutter sections and terminations are typically caulked and as such the caulking will also have to be inspected and re-caulked. As with galvanized steel, there are usually many standard color choices available or custom paint matching can also be done at a higher cost. To have a different look than the same old common K-style aluminum guttering with rectangular corrugated downspouts, you can also obtain aluminum gutters in a more elegant half-round gutter shape and with smooth surface versus corrugated square or round downspouts. Hidden gutter hangers can be used or better yet decorative gutter and downspout brackets and a decorative leader head will improve appearance greatly, distinguish and enhance your home. Using thicker and so called primary aluminum material will add some to the strength, better able to withstand wear and abuse but still not up to the level of copper and steel.

Galvalume Gutters - In response to some of the limitations and disadvantages of galvanized steel gutters and aluminum gutters, galvalume gutters appeared on the scene. Galvalume is steel coated with a mixture of 55/45 per cent aluminum/zinc, resulting in a metal about as strong as galvanized steel but the with long-term rust and corrosion resistance more like aluminum or 2-4 times longer than plain galvanized steel. Galvalume can also be used as is without any paint and has a bright gray metallic appearance for about a decade gradually turning a dull weathered gray for the last 2-3 decades of it's typical lifespan. Processed galvalume can also be painted different colors just like aluminum gutters and while galvalume gutters cost a little more than either aluminum or galvanized steel gutters, galvalume not only will last longer, but is much stronger than aluminum and doesn't have the temperature expansion rate issues as does aluminum. Unfinished galvalume additionally enjoys the more green and eco-friendly avoidance of any kind of painting or coating.

Zinc Gutters - Zinc gutters have been popular in Europe for decades but have been slow to take hold in the U.S. Zinc guttering is usually made from an alloy of 99.5 percent zinc with small amounts of copper and titanium added. Similar to copper, zinc is usually utilized in it's raw unpainted state and will develop a protective patina that protects the zinc gutter from weathering and corrosion. Weathered zinc has an attractive matte gray look somewhat similar to pewter that eventaully turns a bluish gray and is increasingly being incorporated into architectural designs that promote that look. Zinc gutters when the natural patina forms properly can have a very long lifespan typically somewhere between 40 and 80 years depending on environment. Zinc gutters may run $15 to $20 per foot installed, which is much more than aluminum gutters initially, but zinc gutters have over twice the lifespan, require no paint and very little to no maintenance. Zinc gutters being a premium gutter usually have more care taken in the installation, including typically riveting and soldering the seams and corners, providing more reliability and often less leaks and water damage. Unpainted zinc gutters also do not have VOC's released into the environment from any coating or painting process which some gutters require, so with that and their long lifespan, zinc guttering is considered very eco-friendly and green. Zinc gutters main issues deal with thermal expansion, restrictive gutter forming and installation, including sensitive soldering and cold temperature (below 45 degree) working restrictions. With accommodations and extra care taken, zinc gutters are not only a viable option but are one of the better ones.

Stainless Steel Gutters- Stainless steel is a steel alloy containing chromium which gives stainless steel it's rust proof and shiny properties and is familiar to everyone as it is widely used in kitchens and for eating flatware. Stainless steel is one of the strongest guttering materials as are all the steel based types and is also one of the most durable and longest lasting with a lifespan typically between 50 to 70 years. Stainless steel gutter systems work great where the gutters and downspouts are subject to commercial, abusive and high traffic conditions. If you are not enamored of the shiny, metallic look of stainless steel or the maintenance, cleaning and polishing to keep that look, there is a copper plated stainless steel called CopperPlus having copper's changing earth tone colors and tin plated stainless steel products such as Ugitop which replace regular stainless steel's shiny look with a matte gray surface. Similar to zinc and copper, the durability, weathering ability, long life and elimination of painting and coatings make stainless steel very eco-friendly and a good value where stainless steel's extra strength is needed even with it's high initial cost of about $18-22 per foot installed. Like zinc and copper, in the long run it can be less costly than short-lived products.

Copper Gutters - Copper gutters have long been considered the ultimate in guttering and for good reason. Copper gutters have always been the most elegant and aesthetically pleasing and also the most durable and longest lasting of all gutter types. It is not uncommon for copper gutters to have a lifespan of 60 to 90 years, up to triple that for aluminum. Copper guttering like zinc gutters are mostly utilized in their natural, unfinished state as copper develops it's own distinctive, protective patina through the years. Copper performs great in industrial cities, coastal and marine environments. Copper's protective patina gives it the ability to ward off corrosion and it's long wearing character. Copper patina varies by climate but generally copper starts out a bright salmon copper and gradually turns brown, then shades of reddish brown, grayish brown, greenish brown then finally a variegated light pastel green after 25 some years. The rich changing earth tone color palette is one of the prized features of copper. Like zinc gutters, copper guttering is riveted and soldered, so there are rarely any issues with leaks or repairs. Copper gutters will definitely upgrade and enhance any home or commercial building and add true curb appeal and value. While copper gutters can cost $15 to $24 per foot installed new, with copper gutter's super long life, little to no required maintenance, no painting, no leaks and 100% recyclability while retaining up to 95 per cent of raw copper's value, a great case can be made for choosing copper gutters. Environmentally speaking, copper is considered one of the greenest and most eco-friendly materials available and copper's total environment cost is lower than initially cheaper materials. Total environmental cost includes the costs of raw processing, manufacturing, installation, maintenance, re-cycling and multiple replacement costs, so durability and longevity do factor in greatly. For people that want to enjoy the durability, longevity, value and environment friendly nature of copper but would prefer gray earth tones, lead coated copper is available with the same same attributes as copper other than color. For those that would prefer something other than a lead coated copper there is now also a zinc-tin coated copper option available called Freedom Gray, which retains all of copper's advantages, while providing architects, designers with a gray earth tone to work with. Lead coated copper or Freedom Gray offer advantages over zinc gutters in being easier and more versatile to form, less restictive and easier to install, while being more reliable and durable in any weather situation and longer lasting. Copper gutters may typically be seen with decorative gutter hangers, smooth seamless round copper downspouts and decorative downspout brackets and oftentimes a decorative, distinctive conductor head or leader collector box. So configured copper gutters will enhance a home to where they are seen analogous to valuable jewelry and accent pieces and always at home with the finest architecture.

Integral or Wood Gutters - Gutters integrated or built into a homes eaves were more popular decades ago as are hanging wood gutters. Both integral and wood gutters have always had problematic issues such as waterproofing, weathering, leaks, rotting, maintenance, painting or staining, durability and water damage. Oftentimes, the inside of a wood gutter and downspout was lined with a metal such as copper to protect the wood, like a gutter in a gutter. Wood gutters are really not installed so much anymore outside of restorations and wood gutters pricing can easily run from $15 to $24 per foot or more depending on type of wood, lining and workmanship involved. With integral and wood gutters, frequent inspection and maintenance are definitely recommended to help prevent leaks from causing possible water damage to roof, fascia and walls.

Although stainless steel, zinc and copper gutter installed prices appear significantly higher than for galvanized steel and aluminum gutters, this is not because raw material cost for these premium metals is so much higher. The higher installed cost for these premium gutters is primarily due to the cost of additional labor and better materials used in what is a more involved and better installation. Gutter seams and joints are most always riveted and soldered in the best installations rather than merely caulked and overlapped. This much more labor intensive operation provides stronger and more leak free joints over the lifespan of the gutter. Better work and tolerances in corners, miters and seams increases cost but results in a more trouble-free and better looking installation. This is the norm and expected by customers of premium gutters. If aluminum and galvanized steel gutters were installed in a similar fashion as zinc and copper gutters, there would be a much smaller price difference. Thicker gauge aluminum gutters with a higher quality paint job such as Kynar is significantly higher quality and also higher cost than typical thin aluminum gutters with plain baked on paint finish that are much more typical. Thicker metal and better paint result in a better gutter that withstands more abuse and lasts longer. Using better materials and more meticulous aluminum gutter installations, though at much higher cost, would lessen such commonly seen occurrences as drooping gutters, buckled gutters, badly faded gutters, misshapen or bent gutters, leaking gutters, peeling or flaked off paint. True for most any product or service, you certainly get what you pay for and the same applies to rain gutters.

Rutland Gutter Supply has the largest selection of all different types and sizes of commercial and residential gutters and downspouts in the U.S.A. Rutland fabricates rain gutters and downspouts out of any gutter material and also produces custom styles and sizes of rain gutters upon request. Rutland Gutter Supply stocks all the essential gutter supplies, gutter parts and downspout accessories needed for a complete eavestrough rain gutter system installation of the highest quality including decorative gutter hangers, downspout brackets - downpipe straps and custom conductor leader head all provided factory direct.

Rain Chain

2009-07-10T10:31:54.297-04:00

Rain chain or "kusari doi" in Japanese, have been used for centuries on Japanese homes, temples, public and commercial buildings as a functional yet lovely alternative to our traditional rain gutter downspouts. Rain chains have also been incorporated for their decorative beauty into many tranquil Japanese rain chain gardens. Today rain chain have become more well known outside Japan and increasingly prevalent around the rest of the world. Rain chain used in rain water drainage are typically hung from a roof's rain gutters or roof scupper box (leader head), taking the place of downspouts or gutter downpipe. Rain chain like the name implies can be as simple as chain links or a variation of chain loop styles. Rain chain can also be a visually pleasing string of cups or funnels, most often shaped like flowers or bells and hollow with open bottoms. Pictured below in order of left to right, top to bottom, are the simple link rain chain, single loop rain chain, rotated double link rain chain (or double loop), Japanese rain chain bells, Tulip rain chain, Bluebell flower rain chain, Lily rain chain and a rustic Scalloped rain chain. All the rain chains pictured here are fashioned from heavy weight pure copper. Copper Rain Chain is the preferred choice for it's timeless elegance, aesthetics, weathering ability, durability and natural beauty of copper's ever changing patina throughout the years.

Rain Chain Links, Chain Loops, Double Link and Japanese Bell Rain Chain

Tulip Rain Chain, Bluebell Flower Rain Chain, Lily Rain Chain and Scalloped

Copper Rain Chain Basin

Rain chains can drain directly on to the ground beneath them, or on a small patch or pit of landscaped gravel or pebbles to which the rain chain is anchored with a weight. Often times the rain water from rain chains is directed into a decorative rain chain basin underneath the rain chain. A rain chain basin or catch basin can be any suitable container. Ceramic, terra cotta, stoneware pots or copper basin - copper bowls are frequently used. A weight at the end of the rain chain or a hook in the basin are used to keep the rain chain centered above the catch basin. Some people use rain water for gardening or other uses such as washing their hair.

Rain Water Flow Through Rain Chains

A rain chain is a visual and aural delight and the look and sound of the swirling, falling water can be mesmerizing and relaxing to watch during a rain shower. The lovely sounds they make with water splashing and cascading through them will vary with the type of rain chain but generally encompass a soft bell-like tinkle or splash with light raindrops to a soothing, small roar of sound like river rapids in a heavy downpour.

Rain Chain How To Installation Diagram
Click above to view preferred rain chain mounting

Rain Chain Funnel Outlet Reducers
"Used to reduce size of opening in gutters to match rain chain"

Copper Gutter With Rain Chain Funnel Taps Installed
"Demonstration picture shows assortment of rain chain"

It is important to have the right amount of rain chain funnel installed on a length of gutter so an individual rain chain is not overloaded by heavy rain water flow, especially when using smaller width rain chain or links. How many rain chain funnel you use depends on several factors including: how long your gutter section is; diameter of your gutter outlets and rain chains; how heavy your normal flow of rain water is.

Roof Scupper Box Rain Gutter Leader Head

Water from a rain gutter outlet or from a roof scupper can empty directly into a leader head or rain collector scupper box and you can then attach a rain chain directly to the leader head or scupper box outlet. Outlet size on leader head and rain collector scupper box can be custom sized typically from 4 inches down to 2 inches to match the desired diameter for use with your rain chain. You can install a bolt across the bottom of the leader box outlet about an inch from the bottom opening and then attach the rain chain directly to this bolt. If your are not using leader heads, then mount rain chain using hidden gutter hangers and U-bolts.

Leader Head

2009-06-18T10:47:24.586-04:00

Rutland Gutter Supply has now added nine additional leader heads to their large growing selection of leader head. Rutland has 64 decorative leaderheads in stock to upgrade the finest aluminum and copper gutter systems and enhance the architectural features of your home or commercial building. Leader heads are also sometimes referred to as conductor head, rainhead, hopper head, scupper box or as a rain collector box. Leader head are installed inline on the downspouts or downpipes of guttering or eavestroughs - see second picture below for example. Leader heads collect and disperse the water from rain gutters through one or more downspouts. Functionally, leader head assist in draining large volumes of water and aesthetically they truly dress up a home's exterior. Leader head installed with attractive guttering and downspouts and often in conjunction with decorative gutter hangers and decorative downspout brackets too have been described as jewelry for the home or "bling". See the first picture below of a home with lovely half round copper gutters, decorative gutter hangers, round copper downspout pipe and decorative downspout brackets. The second picture below shows a similarly outfitted round copper gutter system but with a copper leader head also installed on the copper downspout, enhancing the beauty of the home's architectural copper work even still more. The best quality leader heads use thicker metals and have TIG welded, polished invisible seams for the longest lasting beauty.

Copper Gutters - Copper Downspouts - Decorative Brackets

Copper Gutter System with Copper Leader Head Installed

Rutland also is involved frequently with restoration work of historic buildings and will re-create original leader head with new copper leader head preserving the original design. See picture below showing a very old original leader head design taken from a building with the new restored leader head replacement right along side of it. Rutland can also craft custom leader heads for you from your own design and specifications, fabricated with your metal of choice. You may view fifty-five leader head - conductor head designs on the web page at Rutland Leader Heads and additionally you may also view Rutland's nine new leader head designs below.

Old Historic Leaderhead - New Restored Leader Head

New Rutland Leader Head Additions

Leader Head shown with Copper Gutter System and Copper Roof

There is also a YouTube Video featuring Leader Head LH057 available on Rutland's earlier blog Copper Leader Head Restoration Project

Gutter - Gutters - Guttering - Rain Gutters - Seamless Gutters - Eavestrough - Roof Gutter - Gutter System

2009-06-17T07:37:52.036-04:00

To many people these words or phrases, Gutter, Gutters, Guttering, Rain Gutters, Seamless Gutters, Eavestrough, Roof Gutter and Gutter System all mean pretty much the same thing. The first thing many people think of when they hear one of these terms and specifically the word "gutters" are the narrow ducts or channels running along the eaves or bottom edges of a roof, which collect rain water and direct or divert it into a drain or downspout to be drained away from their home or some other building. This connotation or meaning is also what predominates the search results for most of these terms. Upon a closer look, we see the word gutter while often used to refer to the rain gutter running along a roof edge, it can also be a street gutter, which is slight depression which runs along the edge of a city street or curb, carrying rain and street water over to a drain or sewer. Gutter can also be the trough, channel or groove on the edges of bowling alley lanes that collect all those gutter balls. Table shuffleboards have similar gutters on their sides to collect pucks. In word publishing, printing and design, a gutter is the blank or empty space between facing pages or where pages come together and sometimes the space between columns and rows on a page or screen. Gutter can also be the ditch that runs along the side of a road. In stamp collecting it is the empty space between rows of stamps. Gutters in barns dug in the ground behind the animals collect and carry away excrement. The word gutter also frequently used with the phrase "in the gutter" might reference something that is morally questionable or distasteful. The word gutter derives or comes from the Anglo-Norman "gotere", Old French "gotiere", newer French "gouttiere" and the original Latin "gutta" or plural "guttae".

Gutters - Guttering - Rain Gutter System

What is interesting is that search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN (Bing), AOL, Ask, Dogpile, Excite, etc. give a different order of search results when you enter each one of these search terms separately. It does not seem that search engines know that gutters, guttering, rain gutters, eaves troughs and gutter systems are the same thing as are rain troughs, rain collectors and rain channels. Websites and web-pages emphasizing or optimizing for one of these keywords are usually then not optimized for the others and so you get significantly different search result placement across the various search engines for each of these words or phrases. Many people already view search engines as frustrating and annoying to use due to their increasing emphasis on returning mostly paid advertisements in top positions in their search results rather than prioritize and list results genuinely based on merit, usefulness and content. Individuals and companies can pay to get listed highly in the search results whether or not they are worthy or deserving to be highly considered or whether they offer commensurate relevance to the researcher or not.

Paid listings tainting search results is nothing new but it has been getting worse each year to where some search engines and directories have become predominantly commercialized and no longer all inclusive. Then to compound the problem with search result accuracy and validity are search engine optimizing games played by website marketing people who optimize or manipulate their website names and web-pages primarily to get listed highly in search engine results for a particular keyword or search term. For example emphasizing the terms "rain gutter", "guttering" or "gutter systems" versus just "gutters" which is the most often used term to describe essentially the same thing, might give them an edge in search result placement over websites/web-pages that emphasize "gutters" or just "gutter". Search engine users get mixed results from their searches depending on what term they enter even if they mean the same thing. For example, companies offering guttering are providing the same exact thing as companies offering gutters and still other companies offering gutter systems or rain gutters or even new gutters (hey aren't most gutters sold new?). Yet enter each of these terms or phrases separately into search engines and you may get drastically different sets of results as well as the order of placement.

Just something to think about the next time you are searching for something and you want the most genuine, worthwhile, unbiased and untainted results. One strategy you can try is to search for whatever you are looking for using different synonyms, syntax or phrase variations. Try out different search terms, ignore the paid listings and repeat your search across multiple search engines, which will deliver better results and give a bigger more accurate picture. Meanwhile we hope for better, smarter search engines that can recognize essentially the same terms, synonyms or meanings and give back more consistent beneficial results. Of course we can always wish for an intelligent, free, unbiased search engine to miraculously appear, one that can not be bought, manipulated, fixed, greased, swayed or else biased in any way yet will always return fair, just, even-handed, reliable and completely accurate results. That may seem a tall order and unrealistic but it is not too much to ask for and the world does deserve that and all would benefit.

Gutter Garden - Copper Gutter Garden

2009-06-02T13:54:57.531-04:00

Gutter gardens are receiving much buzz over the internet and are a good approach to generating fresh produce or a colorful display of flowers around your home. A gutter garden is especially ideal when space is at a premium or if you wish to have a tidy and more ergonomic gardening setup. Nothing is better tasting and more satisfying than freshly picked produce for that awesome salad, fresh salsa and a plethora of other healthy vegetable dishes. Gutter gardens are essentially akin to planters that hang from your house at a convenient height and are typically fashioned using some form of home guttering to serve as your planter. This article discusses and compares several types of commercially available gutters that are good options for use in a gutter garden. Then we will explain exactly which components you will need and how to assemble your very own gutter garden. I do not know who first came up with the idea for a gutter garden, probably someone a long time ago and it was never publicized. Now with power of the Internet word gets around. I did find an article from Martha Stewart Living dating March 2006 that called them "Garden Pots" and they used copper gutters stacked in several tiers to form their gutter garden. They were growing hanging ivy in them to form a living screen off of a porch, but could just as easily be growing flowers or produce in them. Hanging your gutter garden as they did with chains is another option to mounting on a wall, just make sure your chains, anchors and supports are all robust and secure.

From Martha Stewart Living - March 2006
"Surprising Garden Pots: Copper Gutters"

Re-using old guttering or buying cheap aluminum or plastic guttering are tempting options but may perhaps not be the best option. It is recommended you stay away from any kind of painted, rusted guttering or lead coated guttering for obvious health reasons if you are growing produce. Many plastics have unhealthy emissions and plastic gutters can also break down from the weight, UV sunlight and trowel work. It is best to use a gutter made from a pure metal that does not have any chemicals or paint applied, does not corrode or rust over time, is durable, long lasting, naturally weathers well, is aesthetically pleasing and is a genuinely attractive feature of your home. Steel and aluminum are relatively low priced but most varieties require some type of coating to resist rust and corrosion and coatings oxidize, scratch, are not durable, long lasting and mostly unhealthy too for a gutter garden. Galvalume is a zinc-aluminum coated steel that is a better candidate than either steel or aluminum alone, combining the corrosion and rust resistance of zinc and aluminum with the strength of steel but with an industrial looking gray metallic appearance and you would probably be tempted to paint this material. Three even better choices for your gutter garden are zinc, stainless steel and copper. Everyone is familiar with the appearance and attributes of stainless steel and it is a viable option. Stainless steel does not rust providing it's surface is not damaged and it is generally considered a healthy, sanitary material. Stainless steel's shiny appearance may be attractive or it may not blend in or complement your home's exterior. Pure zinc is a viable, healthy option that is durable, weathers well and zinc develops an attractive protective, grey patina that is somewhat pewter like though zinc is priced higher than galvalume and stainless steel. Then we have pure copper which may be the best choice for a multitude of reasons: copper has proven itself for centuries to be the most durable and longest lasting metal; copper weathers extremely well, forming a protective attractive patina; requires little to no maintenance; copper is attractive, aesthetically pleasing, elegant and complements most home decor well; copper is EPA approved antimicrobial, germicidal, antibacterial and fungicidal; copper is a key nutrient for plant life; copper is considered eco-friendly and is a green building material. These are all attractive and most desirable traits for use in your gutter garden. Copper although being our highest rated choice also has the highest initial cost of all the metals and metal alloys mentioned above. Copper's many and unique advantages, help justify it's premium cost, especially considering the relatively short lengths required for most gutter gardens, which put copper gutters' premium price within reach and affordability.

Copper Gutter System Installed

Once you have decided on the material for your gutter, you will then likely choose between three common styles of gutter: K-style gutter, half-round gutter and box gutter. A box gutter will give you the most volume with which to garden with, and as it's name suggests, it has a rectangular box appearance or if you like a plain box planter. K-style gutters are probably the most common residential gutters used in the U.S. and are somewhat boxy as well, though with a angled stepped front for a little more pizzazz. Half round gutters do look just like they sound, like half of a round cylinder or pipe and half-round gutters also have the most elegant appearance of all the various gutter types. There are also quarter round gutters which also are very attractive with their curved front. Quarter round and K-style gutters are generally available from 5 inches to 8 inches wide, half round gutters usually from 5 inches to 10 inches wide and box gutters are usually manufactured to size. Custom widths are also available through Rutland Gutter Supply. Compare the different appearances of K-style, box gutters, half-round, quarter round and embossed gutters, all pictured below.

K-Style Gutters

Box Gutter & Beveled Box Gutter

Half Round Gutters

Quarter Round Gutter & Custom 1/4 Round Gutter

Embossed K-Style Gutter & Half Round Embossed Gutter

In addition to choosing the material and style of gutter for your gutter garden, you will also choose the type of gutter hangers you will use to hang your gutter garden and the end caps used to cap off and finish the two ends of your gutter garden. There are several styles or types of gutter hangers available. So-called hidden gutter hangers are very commonly used and are called hidden because they are mostly not seen from the ground in a roof gutter system. Hidden hangers may not be the best choice for your gutter garden since they are positioned across the top of your gutter, they may obstruct or at least inconvenience your gardening work. A fascia mounting, squared-off gutter hanger with a front lip as pictured below may be better for box and K-style gutters while one of the decorative gutter hangers pictured below would prove ideal for the rounded gutters. A gutter spring clip holds the gutter in place when resting on a decorative gutter hanger and works well should you wish to remove the gutter easily for any kind of maintenance in another spot. You would use a gutter hanger every few feet to hold up the weight of your gutter garden, generally every three feet at least or every 2 feet if you also happen to live in the snow belt. You will also need to use so-called gutter hanger wedges, if your home's walls have an angled slope, to keep the gutter garden aligned perpendicular. Gutter hanger wedges are available in several sizes to address a variety of slopes in your home's siding or fascia. Installers typically use nails or screws to fasten gutter hangers and gutters to your home's wall or fascia. I would recommend a screw's added holding power recognizing a gutter garden's weight. Your choice of gutter end caps include flat end caps for all the various styles of gutters or also available for the half round guttering are radius end caps, which give your gutter garden ends an attractive and graceful rounded appearance. The gutter end caps are attached by both riveting and soldering them to the gutter. If choosing copper guttering for your gutter garden, it is recommended you use all copper materials for the guttering, gutter end caps, copper rivets, gutter hangers, hanger wedges and bronze or stainless steel screws. This is to maintain a uniform matching appearance and avoid corrosive effect of dissimilar metals. Below are pictures of various types of gutter hangers, gutter end caps, gutter spring clips and gutter hanger wedges.

K-Style Gutter Flat End Cap & 1/2 Round Gutter Flat End Cap

Gutter Radius End Cap

K-Style & Half-round Hidden Gutter Hangers

Decorative Scroll Gutter Hangers

Decorative Seahorse & Rope Gutter Hangers

Squared-off Fascia-Mounting
Gutter Hanger w/Front Lip

Gutter Hanger Wedges

Gutter Hanger Spring Clips & Copper Rivet

Hanging Copper Rain Chains - Single & Double Loop

After you have decided on the exact style and material for your gutter garden components, measure the exact lengths of guttering you need and keep in mind that you can go with a double or triple decker design if you desire. Your gutter garden should be in a location where it will receive the amount of sunshine recommended for what ever you are planning to grow. After the components have been ordered and they have been delivered, you are ready to attach the guttering for your gutter garden to your house. Measure and mark off the locations for your gutter hangers, to keep them evenly spaced and horizontally level. If using hidden hangers place them evenly spaced across the top of the guttering and attach to the wall with screws and use wedges if necessary. If using a squared-off box hanger or the decorative rounded hangers, attach the gutter hangers to the house siding with screws using appropriate sloped wedges if necessary, lay your gutter on the hangers and attach the hanger spring clips between the gutter hanger and guttering. Now you are done and can fill up your gutter garden with gardening soil or some composite mixture of garden soil, peat moss, manure, fertilizer and moisture retaining granules. Plant your seeds, seedlings or plants, water and enjoy your garden!

Additional Tips:
Avoid applying any chemicals or paint to the inside of your gutter garden for healthier plants and produce. If you absolutely must paint to achieve a desired color match, then do so only on the outside surface. Stainless steel will need to be cleaned and polished occasionally to keep it's appearance while zinc and copper weather naturally and keep their beautiful, elegant appearance throughout their lifespan. Copper can be waxed regularly or even coated with a clearcoat or lacquer if you wish to keep the shiny new copper appearance but again do not apply any coating to the inside to avoid chemicals and to take full advantage of copper's natural germicidal, antimicrobial and fungicidal properties. Also any wax or coating is temporary and needs to be re-applied. The natural copper patina however needs little to no maintenance When copper weathers there is a natural patina that forms on it's surface which serves as a protective coating and the patina does not affect copper's antibacterial properties. The copper patina changes color with age, progressing from a shiny salmon color, to reddish shades of brown, brown, greenish brown and finally a light green pastel color. The outside patination process can also be accelerated if desired by applying selective accelerants. Copper is revered and prized for it's graceful, elegant appearance and gradually changing color throughout it's very long lifespan. Approximate copper weathering color chart is illustrated below. If you desire drainage for your gutter garden, you may either choose to drill a few small holes sparsely across the entire length or have your guttering fabricated with rain chain style taps every few feet along the length.

Resource:

All types, styles and sizes of gutters and gutter materials discussed above can be obtained from Rutland Gutter Supply as well as all of the associated gutter parts and gutter accessories you will need for your gutter garden. Rutland carries the largest selection of gutter supplies in the USA with all the gutter accessories to match. Rutland also does custom metal fabrication and architectural copper work and ships all of it's products globally all over the world. If you like the general idea of a gutter garden but would prefer to have a custom sized planter made for you, Rutland can custom fabricate virtually any size and style copper planter you desire.

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/06/hanging_gutter_gardens.html

Wall Gutter Garden Pictured by Suzanne Forsling, Juno, AK

Copper Dome Construction

2009-05-27T13:41:54.062-04:00

Today's blog will take a simplified look at custom copper dome construction. Copper domes are typically constructed with the surface consisting of some variety of either copper tile or copper panels. For this example we will be using copper tile for our custom copper dome roof. Copper roof tile can be purchased from a manufacturer and in this particular case we will be using hand-made copper tile, hand-cut from copper sheets. Diamond shaped hand made, hand cut, interlocking copper tile are shown below - there are approximately 136 per square (100 sq ft).

For the framework we will be using aluminum tubing, plywood sheathing and waterproof membrane. We begin by precisely cutting square aluminum tubing to size and bending the tubes using a roll forming machine to form the base and the many vertical support cross members. A partially completed aluminum frame is shown below.

After all the aluminum framing tubes have been fully welded together, we then cut plywood sheathing panels to size, to fit precisely between the aluminum cross members and stretch from base to top. We affix them to the aluminum vertical support framework. See partially completed plywood sheathing work below.

After all the plywood sheathing panels have been securely fastened in place with self-tapping screws, we then apply to the partially completed dome a self-sealing waterproof membrane, taking care to completely seal the dome. After the membrane is in place, we draw guidelines and begin carefully attaching the hand-cut copper tile to the dome and to each other. The copper tile have been designed to interlock securely with each other and we use copper ring shank nails to fasten them to the plywood.

Now this copper dome project is nearly completed as we attach the last of the copper tile to the very top of the copper dome roof. When all the copper tile have finally been attached, we are ready to crown the top of the copper dome with a copper finial. Copper finials come in a multitude of shapes, sizes and designs. They can be simple like the first photo below or more elaborate as in the 2nd picture below.

Copper Tile Dome with Copper Ball Finial

Standing Seam Copper Panels With Snap Lock & Copper Finial Pineapple

Although this project may have been over simplified here, it was actually extremely labor intensive, benefiting from knowledgeable construction and metal fabrication expertise. Copper dome construction is very precise work and it can be very exacting just keeping each copper tile perfectly lined up straight and in perfect alignment with each other. All pictures provided herein and this copper dome project very beautifully accomplished by the skilled team at Rutland Copper Gutter Supply & Architectural Copper Work
Also check out our How To article on eHow.com "How To Construct a Copper Dome"

Copper Leader Head Restoration Project

2009-05-21T13:53:33.937-04:00

The custom copper leader head (also known as conductor head, hopper head, rain collector box) in video below is a recreation of a cast iron leader head that adorned a church in England for centuries. Rutland Gutter Supply specializes in the highest quality of custom architectural copper work and copper gutter systems. There are over sixty-five different leader head designs now in Rutland's growing collection. View some of these custom copper leader heads and other custom copperwork, such as copper domes, copper cupolas, copper finials, copper chimney caps, copper spires, copper gutters, etc at Rutland Gutter Supply & Architectural Copper Work. Leader heads are mounted inline on the downspouts being fed from a building's gutters. Leader heads mix air in with the water flowing down through the downspouts, eliminating the back pressure or vacuum. See picture below of an installed copper leader head and copper guttering.

Custom leader heads are typically manufactured from pure copper, zinc, mill finish aluminum or lead coated copper on the finest commercial and residential gutter systems. Copper guttering and copper leader heads particularly, can last 80-100 years, require little to no maintenance, are aesthetically pleasing, they can be recycled nearly 100% and contribute to green building objectives. Leader heads add both a decorative (as seen in picture) and functional touch. Watch video below of a custom leader head that has been recreated from a centuries old one.

Copper Leader Head - Restoration Project Video on YouTube

Copper - EPA Approved As Antimicrobial Agent

2009-05-05T11:56:16.953-04:00

With a solid body of evidence showing copper's broad spectrum of antimicrobial efficacy and copper's ability to inhibit the most important pathogens challenging public health today, including MRSA, Clostridium difficile, Escherichia coli (E.coli), Legionella pneumophila (Legionnaire's disease bactera) and Influenza A viruses. Clinical trials examining copper's antimicrobial potential and role in fighting pathogens, transmissions of germs and Influenza A viruses such the bird flu and swine flu epidemics are being undertaken in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan and South Africa.

The EPA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has approved the registration of copper as an antimicrobial agent to reduce harmful bacteria linked to potentially deadly microbial infections, following a year of comprehensive testing in an independent US laboratory. The tests showed that 99.9% of bacteria on a copper surface were eliminated within 2 hours of exposure. Typically this type of registration has previously been granted to liquids and gases falling under the sanitizer and disinfectant categories. Copper's mechanical and aesthetic properties makes it an ideal choice for use in all products or surfaces offering us the benefits of copper's antimicrobial power.

A concise reference article to download is "Copper: essential for life" and a reference website page entitled "Antimicrobial Copper". Increased use of copper is indicated not just for commercial or public buildings and outside public fixtures but in the home copper's logical uses are plentiful including the bathrooms and in a copper kitchen. You can enjoy copper's aesthetic appearance throughout your home, while enjoying copper's natural health benefits with it's proven germicidal, antibacterial and antimicrobial power.

Copper Effective At Stopping Spread of Germs

2009-05-03T12:44:13.781-04:00

The need to prevent the spread of germs has always been a major concern. Research indicates that a copper surface is more effective at preventing the spread of germs than stainless steel. Copper has a 2000 year history of antimicrobial applications in a multitude of cultures. More recent research has sought to determine uncoated copper's effectiveness in stemming the proliferation of infectious disease. At the University of Southampton in the U.K. research studies have shown that many common disease causing microbes such as E. coli, Aspergillus niger (black mold) and Influenza A, die within hours on copper surfaces. The Influenza A family of viruses includes the problematic Avian flu and swine flu strains and copper can help contain a flu. Even deadly antibiotic resistant bacteria associated with infections such as MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) die within1.5 hourson pure copper. On stainless steel and plastics, typically used for food-processing hardware, pathogens survived unabated for days, sometimes more than 30 days. There is enough solid evidence to put man’s oldest metal to work throughout the world to help protect us from infectious disease. Tested copper alloys, such as brass or bronze also offer increased protection over non-copper containing materials such as stainless steel, painted surfaces, wood and plastics, although not nearly as effective as pure copper surfaces.

Some fairly common and obvious uses in the home for elegant yet functional copper home decor include copper kitchen sinks, bathroom copper sinks, copper bar sinks, food prep sinks, copper basin, copper vanity sink, copper door knobs, copper handles, copper range hoods, copper planters, copper pot racks, copper bowls, copper sheets or copper tiles for making copper countertops and copper sink backsplashes, copper tabletops, copper chair arms, copper wall plates and switches, copper light canopies, copper ceiling fans, copper vents, copper louvers, copper cookware, etc. There are germ killing copper facades available for refrigerators, dishwashers, freezers, ice-makers, ovens and ranges. There are copper-plated kitchen appliances, copper vases, copper sculpture, copper accent pieces, copper planters, even copper flowers. Copper bathroom fixtures and copper kitchen appointments may be the most obvious places to most benefit from and utilize copper's antimicrobial power, yet manufacturers are now focusing in on all home furnishings and furniture as well as laptop, remote control and cell phone cases. The ceiling for new copper surfaced products is sky high, especially considering copper's aesthetic qualities, durability, long lifespan and green copper work as eco-friendly too.

For more detailed health information regarding the necessity of copper in the human diet and medicinal purposes, I will heartily recommend starting out with these two excellent articles: Copper and Human Health and Copper in Human Health.

Gutter Hangers - Focus on Gutter Brackets

2009-04-29T10:53:59.604-04:00

Rutland Gutter Supply is family owned and operated. Their manufacturing facility is located in beautiful Orlando , Florida . They have over 40 years of experience in the construction and sheet metal fabrication business. Rutland operates some of the most modern CNC machinery available, from computerized roll forming machines to a fully automated 4" round seamless, welded pipe machine. They have many customers globally and have installed copper gutters and architectural copperwork spanning Florida and the Caribbean . Rutland Gutter Supply’s products are marketed and sold throughout the United States , Canada and Internationally.

Rutland ’s products can be fabricated in Mill Finish Aluminum, Zinc, Lead Coated Copper, Stainless Steel, Copper, Galvanized Steel and Galvalume. They stock the largest selection of custom gutter supply components including decorative hangers, decorative brackets and pipe straps, flat and radius end caps, box mitres, elbows, rain chains, copper pipe and custom leader heads with copper castings.

Rutland’s latest line of products include fully welded, hand made 48 oz custom kitchen hoods, island range hoods, fireplace hoods and copper billiard hoods, most incorporating hand finished designs. Rutland is able to hand craft any view or scene of your choice into them as these are truly custom design hoods. Additional items available for your copper kitchen are copper pot racks, copper bowl, copper sink, copper basin, hammered copper range hoods and copper fireplace hoods. All Rutland's copper hoods and sinks are available as custom copper hammered designs created by artisans who can create the truly personal design touch for your "copper kitchen".

Rutland also fabricates both stock and custom copper chimney caps, copper cupolas, copper stove pipe and roof vents, copper gable vents, copper dormers, copper roof tiles, copper seam roofs, copper dome roofs, copper chimney turbines, copper roof scuppers or rain spouts, copper finials, copper spires, copper steeples, copper balustrades, copper pineapples, copper balls, copper spheres, copper dock lights, copper fish elbow downspouts and copper dragons, etc. Virtually every architectural copper work and metal fabrication has been or can be accomplished by Rutland.

Gutter Hangers, Gutter Hangers, Gutter Hangers . .

Rutland stocks the largest selection of gutter hangers in the country. Rutland offers decorative gutter hangers such as their seahorse, rope, scroll, combo and acanthus gutter hangers available in cast copper and also in powder coated finished or mill finish cast aluminum. They are designed to fit Rutland ’s seamless gutters ranging in half round gutter sizes from 5” to 10”. Various size wedges from 1” to 2.5” are available in both cast copper and aluminum to properly align the gutter system to various fascia angles.

Rutland also stocks many different types of stamped and hidden gutter hangers, all available in a wide selection of materials and sizes. Hidden hangers are available for half round, K-style, quarter round and box gutters in a wide variety of sizes and materials including copper, aluminum and stainless steel. Rutland also stocks many roof mounted, rafter tail mounted and fascia mounted gutter hangers for both half round and K-style gutters including copper, aluminum and stainless steel. Many different sizes of these are stocked by Rutland Gutter Supply and scroll design hangers are available for fascia, roof and rafter mounting.

Rutland Gutter Supply’s superior selection of in stock gutter system parts, components or accessories is immense and unmatched in the U.S. Rutland offers next day shipping on most of Rutland ’s gutter supplies as virtually all gutter system components are in stock. In addition to having the largest selection of gutter hangers, Rutland has the largest selection of decorative downspout pipe straps, available in cast copper and aluminum, as well as custom and standard pipe straps. Rutland ’s selection of leader heads (else known as conductor heads-collector heads-hopper heads) is again the largest in the U.S.A and most of them are in stock and available with or without one of Rutland ’s custom decorative castings incorporated. Rutland strives to have the largest selection on hand for same day shipping. Rutland also encourages it’s customers to submit custom requests as Rutland has extensive custom fabrication experience and Rutland’s facilities and operations are conducive to custom metal work.