Contemporary Downspouts & Custom Collector Boxes
Coming in as a referral, the customer knew they wanted box gutters, contemporary downspouts, and a custom/artisan look.
Components: Gutters, Box Gutters, Commercial Gutters, Downspouts, Rain Chains, Contemporary Downspouts
Project City: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Project By: David Lovett
Project Scope
Nearly all aspects of this project were custom. They desired a high level of curb appeal. Typically, gutters and downspouts are hidden on the sides or back of homes. With these contemporary gutters and collector boxes, we created a head-turning showpiece.
The colors were chosen to match the front doors and shutters – great complementary colors – a modern, and presently popular color combination.
Commercial-Grade Box Gutters
- Type: 6” Box Gutter
- Material: Aluminum
- Color: Black
- Thickness: .032 inches
On your typical residential homes, gutter materials are .027″ in thickness. We used a commercial-grade (.032″) thickness to better accommodate larger-volume rainfalls and give a sturdier and more industrial look.
Read more about box gutters.
Smooth “Contemporary” Downspouts
- Type: Smooth, Contemporary downspout
- Material: Aluminum
- Color: Black
- Dimensions: 3-inch x 4-inch
As you might envision with columns, the contemporary downspouts (a.k.a smooth downspouts) on the front of the house make it “stand taller” and offers a much nicer curb appeal. Few homeowners want to see their gutters and downspouts, but when you spend the money on quality custom work, customers want to see them. Read more about contemporary downspouts.
Custom Collector Boxes
- The collector boxes are a standard design
- Hand-made to order
When you order collector boxes like this, you don’t want them installed on the side or back of the house. You want them on the front as a showpiece. The boxes and gutter system become part of the overall appearance or architecture of the home.
Old guttering methods would put a nail or screw through the box to attach them to the house. However, with modern methods and to protect the integrity of the collector boxes, mounting brackets are used to attach them to the house. We level and set the brackets, then we mount the boxes on them. Also, the elbow above attaches to the collector boxes to add sturdiness.
Read more about collector boxes and leader heads.
Rain Chains
- Copper
- Buddha cup
- Heavy-duty, high-volume
There’s a myth about rain chains, but this project certainly helps dispel them by proving they’re very capable of handling high-volume rainfalls. The type and quality of the rain chain will affect its ability to perform as a downspout is supposed to.
To reduce the risk of galvanic corrosion, a membrane is used between the aluminum downspouts and the copper rain chain.
The copper color of the rain chains also stands out well against the black contemporary downspouts and gutters.
Learn more about rain chains.
Watch this! See them in action.
Final Notes:
- All the endcaps were handmade. In non-custom applications, a 45-degree cut is made on each side then you affix the two ends with a strip. In this project, for the miter itself, we created little tabs that go into each side to adjoin the two gutter ends. This is 100% custom. Each side, miter, and end cap are custom made and hand tapped together for a truly contemporary downspout and gutter system.
- In typical home guttering, we use screws for connecting the various pieces (gutters, downspouts, elbows, etc.), but everything on this project was riveted for that smooth look (instead of having screw heads sticking out).
- This home was not a new house. The gutter/downspout system was installed as a phase during a major remodeling project.
