Fitting Gutters to your Log Cabin

Fitting Gutters to your Log Cabin

There are clear advantages in fitting a gutter system to your log cabin. The two main benfits are :

1. Reduce the amount of splash back from rain falling from the roof, hitting the ground and bouncing back up onto the wall of the cabintaking with it either dirt or earth. Not only does this distract from the aestetics of the cabin it also increases the amount of water the wall logs are exposed to. If the external treatment is not maintained well, these wall logs are at risk of early degredation with the increased level of water exposure.
2. Saving you money ! - Yes, most people these days are on a water meter, so if you need water to feed your bedding plants in the summer, why not use the water collected from the cabin roof to fill water butt(s) via a gutter system.

And should your cabin have a reverse apex, ie, the ridgeline runs left to right, then guttering on the eaves will stop the rain water dripping off the roof and onto your head when you enter the cabin !

Fitting gutters is very straight forward. Whichever way your cabin is contructed, the gutter brackets will be secured to part no. 39b

Consider first the end of the gutter that will take the collected water away (either onto the ground or into a collecting vessel) this end needs to be the lowest end. Conversely, the opposite end needs to be attached at a higher level  - this will ensure the water flows to the drainage end correctly.

Attach a string line between the first and last bracket - this will show you where to attach any intermediate brackets required (usually one every 1.0m) at the correct height to maintain the linear level.

Consideration needs to be made for the collected water - you can either let the down pipe expel onto the ground or more normally, collect in a suitable water butt for use on the garden at a later stage.

Author - Martin Corby
Posted - 11 Oct 2017