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Connecting to a Downspout

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Canale Catcher Blog, January 2020

Face it, for a Canale Catcher to work well, it needs to be connected to a downspout.

I have a confession to make: I hate working with downspouts, or at least I used to.  They’re a hassle to join together, and it took me all kinds of effort, occasional cuts, and plenty of bad language to fit them together.  But now I’m using a tool that makes it a breeze to fit downspout sections together: a hand crimper.  I found mine at Home Depot, and Amazon carries a number of different brands. Other places may carry them, although I suspect they’re kind of a specialty item.  I got a Malco Redline 5-blade crimper, and it works great, but other brands look they’d work as well.  They’re a bit pricey (~$35) for just a few uses, but it makes the job go a lot easier.  To use them, place the two-blade jaw inside the downspout section you want to put inside (the male piece), centered over the corner, so one of the three-bladed jaw sections contacts the center of the corner.  Crimp the corner, and fully insert the crimper and use the full jaw to crimp again.  Repeat on all four corners.  It looks great, and more importantly: it works great! There’s a YouTube video (of course!) that shows the process as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVNkVoX-fP0 .

 

 

Spring is here

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This isn’t going to be about Canale Catchers®, but about other stuff that’s related. When was the last time you were up on your roof? Not peering across it, but actually on top of it, looking around. If it’s been more than a year, it’s time to get up there and take a good look around. This is a great time of year to get up there, it’s warm, but not hot, and it’s not too bad to be working up there for a few hours.
Many, many years ago I was talking to a roofer, and asked him if he had any advice for a homeowner. He said to go up on your roof every year with a bucket (gallon) of roof goop (asphalt patch or similar) and look for places to use it, as well as just looking at the roof. Seal cracks in the roof and roofing tar with the roof goop. The first time you do this you’ll probably run out of goop. The second year you may have some left over, and after that you may struggle to use it. That’s a good thing! Cracks are bad. Cracks are where water can get in. Pay particular attention to the areas around canales and corners. Anything that looks like a crack is fair game. Apply the goop with a 3” or 4” disposable spatula, smear it around the area, feather the edges, and think about where water wants to flow. Don’t make ponding or puddling opportunities. You want all the water to flow off your roof, and preferably into Canale Catchers®.
After patching all the roof cracks, its time to look at the parapet stucco. Cracks in the parapet stucco let in water, which in the winter will freeze, expand, and widen the crack and cause further damage. To patch small cracks (up to about 1/8”, use color coat that matches the stucco. Some home building supply companies can help you get a gallon or two that matches your stucco color. It may take them a week or two to get the color mixed, so grab a piece to match and take it down. I’ll talk about stucco patching in another post.