Expert Advice on Home Improvement TV Host of Emmy®-Nominated Today's Homeowner® and home expert for The Weather Channel

Making a Rain Diverter

Roofing, Exterior Published 10/17/2007 by Ben Erickson

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Installing a rain diverter over the doorway to your house will make life a little easier the next time you come home during a downpour. While diverters are available at many building supply stores, they are not hard to make if you have trouble finding them.

Materials Needed

• Sheet aluminum
• Two straight 2×4s
• Two 3” or larger clamps
• Rubber mallet
• Utility knife
• Straight edge

Sheet aluminum is sold by the roll in the roofing section of building supply stores. You will need a piece 8” wide and two feet longer than the width of the door you plan to cover. While sheet aluminum can be cut with tin snips or even scissors, you can get a smoother more accurate cut using a utility knife and a straight edge such as a framing square.

Lay the aluminum sheet on a flat surface and cut it to length by scoring along the straight edge several times with a utility knife. Bend the aluminum back and forth along the mark until it breaks. Cut the sheet lengthwise to 8” wide using the same method.

Sandwich the sheet of aluminum between the 2×4s, leaving 2” protruding, and clamp it in place. The edges of the 2×4s must be straight and line up with each other, otherwise the bend will cause wrinkles in the sheet metal.

Start at one end and push down on the protruding aluminum while working toward the other end. Repeat this process several times until the sheet has been bent to a right angle.

Using the rubber mallet, or a hammer and block of wood, tap along the edge to finish the bend.

Remove the clamps and attach the diverter to the roof as detailed in the article Installing a Rain Diverter.