SB: Re: wood gutters

[Derek Roff <derek@unm.edu>]

I agree with almost everything that polymath Rob Tom says, including 
the advantages of a metal liner for wooden gutters.  However, 
creating reliable, waterproof wooden joints is possible, even 
reasonably easy.  While nothing is maintenance-free, properly made 
waterproof joints for gutters would not require the great skill in 
construction, nor the attentive yearly reworking that wooden boats 
do.  Boats have a  complex shape, and many joints, which must 
withstand intense and variable hydrodynamic pressures, as part of a 
structure that constantly flexes.  Gutters are easier.

Tar is indeed best avoided.  So is PVC, for environmental, health and 
lack-of-longevity-under-UV reasons.  Wood, with a metal liner seems 
like a solid option.  Wood with no liner can work.  To waterproof the 
wooden joints, use what modern wooden boat builders use.  I have used 
three of the several boatbuilding options, with success, for my 
outdoor wood projects:  resorcinol glue, marine epoxy and 3M Marine 
Sealant.

Wood technologists will point out that there are no true cedars in 
the western hemisphere.  The woods that we call cedars come from 
difference wood families, genera and species.  Most are aromatic and 
reddish.  Most, but not all, are rot resistant.  Some species are 
very rot resistant.  All can absorb water, and be degraded by the sun 
and by freeze-thaw cycles.  If you choose not to line your gutter 
with metal, protect the inside of the wooden channel from most of the 
effects of sun and water with a high quality paint.  Again, like boat 
builders do.

All of the concerns with snow, ice, impact and weight, which Rob Tom 
mentioned, must be dealt with, regardless of the chosen gutter 
material.

Swimming upstream without a paddle,

Derek

> If for some reason a metal liner is unsuitable, and an all-wood
> solution is desired,  then the gutter should be designed using
> water-tight joinery and waterproof glue. Even then, it is likely
> that the gutter will not remain watertight without annual
> maintenance (like a wooden boat). Tar is , well, tar ...and is best
> avoided.

Derek Roff
Language Learning Center, Ortega Hall Rm 129, University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131  505/277-7368 fax 505/277-3885
Internet: derek@unm.edu

Derek Roff
Language Learning Center, Ortega Hall Rm 129, University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131  505/277-7368 fax 505/277-3885
Internet: derek@unm.edu

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