Replace them with thick wall steel rectangle tubing. Weld brackets to the tubing and bolt it to the wall. For angled outlets, cut off 1' with a 22.5 degree angle cut, rotate tube
180 and weld back on. 45 degree outlet angle.Oh and charge the repairs to the tenants with the children/adults who did the damage.
Barbed wire, then.
Pete
I have to agree with this one. No matter what you run up the outside of the wall where it is exposed to the "Little Darlings"(*) in the complex, if it isn't totally bomb-proof - like 1/8" wall steel tubing, with lots of mounting tabs lag-bolted into studs - you'll have nothing but trouble.
There will be kids trying to break it, climb up it to get in or out of a second-floor window, or up onto the roof on it. And there will be kids falling off it, and then suing for their injuries. Sad, but reality.
(* - Mother: "Why are you accusing my son of vandalism? My Little Darling Peter would never do anything like that!" Landlord: "Because we have proof. I have four eyewitnesses, and take a look at the security camera footage...")
Myself, I would open the wall and build the downspout into the walls using 3" or 4" ABS DWV pipe during initial construction. With only a stub-out showing at the top for the raingutter attachment, and a cleanout cap at the bottom where it goes through the footing and out to the landscape drains. A lot of extra work, but it makes for a very clean and vandal-resistant exterior.
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Rust....
That's why I wanted something either galvanized or cast iron.
- Jerry Kaidor
and take a look at the security camera footage..."
*** And that's my NEXT project. Security cameras. But making THEM vandal-resistant is a whole 'nuther can of worms. The first one is going on top of a ten-foot pole sticking above the roof line. And I shall have to put anti-climb plates with security screws on the roof access ladders... ....Wonder if there's a fire code against that or something?- Jerry Kaidor
Fab them up out of heavy wall square or round steel tubing, find all the studs in the walls and weld on the mounting tabs just where you want them. And when in doubt, make the mounting tabs a bit big, in case you have a lag-screw snap later and need to move the hole.
Make slip joints at each bend or story change using a 1" chunk of the next size larger seamless tubing welded on as a spacer, and 6" of the next larger after that as the socket, make it a loose fit. Keep the sections under 8 to 10 feet (*). Plan ahead with big scuppers where you might want to dump in a balcony drain or add another downspout later. And hang them on the wall to make sure they fit just the way you want them.
Then take them off the wall, and send them out to be cleaned up (pickled or blasted) and hot-dip galvanized. Because it's not healthy to weld on them if you buy galvanized stock, or after they've been dipped.
(* - Call and see how big their dip tank is, that will affect how long your sections can be.)
And remember, there is no such thing as "Vandal-Proof", and any salesman trying to sell you something that purports to be is lying to you. (Some of those ba***rds will spend money on tools just to break your stuff - if they can't steal or shoplift them, that is...)
The best you can hope for is "Highly Vandal Resistant".
I've had a few buildings where I had to 'up the ante' and start armoring the electrical equipment until they stopped breaking it.
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And remember, there is no such thing as "Vandal-Proof",
*** That which was made by man can be broken by man....I'm going have to make some vandal-resistant electrical stuff too: Security cameras. The basic strategy is to put them out of reach, put all the wiring in conduit ( even though it's low-voltage ), put the recorder in a locked room, and put anti-climb plates with security screws on the roof access ladders.
- Jerry Kaidor ( snipped-for-privacy@tr2.com )
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