Rain Chain Installation on the Front Long Gutter

Posted on by Julia

October 5, 2026

On the afternoon of September 24, Bruce decided it was time to install the rain chain. Let me back up here. Several months ago, we looked at various rain chains on Amazon and found one with a basin. We ordered it. We left the box unopened until September 22. When Bruce decided to do the install, he opened the box to find only the basin. He checked the Amazon order and realized we had only ordered the basin. Instead of ordering the chain shown with the basin, we spent some time looking at different chains and picked one. It arrived on September 23, so we could now install the rain chain. I say we, but my help was minimal.

Bruce Starting to Cut the Hole
The Gutter Hole Is Almost Complete
The Hole Is Finished
Adding the Bolt and Chain Ready to Attach
Bolt in Place
Rain Chain Attached
Rain Chain Attached to Basin

We put flagstones under the basin so it was the correct height to reach the chain.

Now, we just need to wait for rain to see how it works.

We had a pretty sunset.

37 thoughts on “Rain Chain Installation on the Front Long Gutter”

    1. Rain chains replace downspouts. The water follows the chain down to the ground. You still need to direct water away from the house. The original rain chains were just chains with large links. Now there are many different styles of rain chains.

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      1. Oh, my husband, like yours. does all those outside gutter and gets on the roof to sweep the gutters and roof of leaves and other things while I fiddle unhappily balancing the ladder and asking ‘can’t you hire someone to do this?” and he will say, ‘No, as long as I can climb on the roof, I can do this….”

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      3. Yes, I understand. Mike takes a lot of chances. I guess it is that Army mentality and he is jumping out of planes again. When he is well, he does not slow down. We have a great handyman and he helps us out with building some things but he is 65 and retiring but he works for a few customers still. I would not want him on the roof either.

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      4. After something Bruce does that scares me, he’ll say, “There’s a reason women live longer than men.”

        Then he’ll laugh and assure me it wasn’t dangerous. 🙄

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      8. Growing up on a farm, my dad taught me girls could do anything. Maybe he did that so he could have us do hard work. He did want us to know things to protect ourselves. He sent us to an automotive class so we could fix cars or at least know what the repair shop was talking about. Of course, now there is so much that it’s mechanical that can go wrong. He made us change a tire so we could do that. He sent us to a shooting class and shooting competitions. Mom sent us to piano and dance lessons.

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      9. Yes, I learned those things also in upstate NY and my brothers taught me how to shoot a rifle and I learned how to shot a bow and arrow in gym, years ago. I am sure not all the men on my ship thought we should be there. I was one of the first group on an ammunition ship. It was not easy but I tried my best. Growing up with brothers taught me independence.

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      10. I never learned how to shoot a bow and arrow. I tried it at a management retreat. I was an absolute failure. 😆

        Trying your best is all that can be done.

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  6. There is something quite charming about rain chains. I’ve always liked them. We have a rain barrel back home, and I enjoy watering my plants with the captured rain water. The sunset is beautiful, as usual! Have a good day, Julia!

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      2. We still need to do some work on the angle of the drain pipe. The gutter leans away from the house there, so the drain pipe shoots water towards the house with only a little making it down the chain.😭

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Published by Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. After deciding to stop RVing, we bought a ranch house halfway up a hill on five acres. After Bruce and I talked about names for our five acres, we settled on Blackberry Homestead as a homage to the wild blackberries on the hill. We are working on creating our homestead. I love cooking and enjoy sharing recipes. I am also an artist, and I’ll share my current projects. Gardening and reading are my favorite hobbies.