Gutter trouble? When to replace instead of a repair

How often should my gutters be cleaned?

It should be more than once a year.
Annually, at a minimum. If you have a lot of trees, several times a year.
At the minimum, they need to be checked out & cleaned in the spring & fall.

What are some indications I may need to repair or replace my gutters?

Look for leaks in corners, staining or overflows from water, or rust in steel gutters. They should hang level, so if your gutters are turning down more toward the front, something needs to be done.
With galvanized steel gutters, you’ll start seeing rust. If the gutters aren’t secured well, they’ll start sagging. Also look for joints pulling apart or overflowing during rain.
If you see water coming out from behind the gutter, there’s something wrong.

What are the average prices for gutter replacement or repairs?

For an average 2,000-square-foot house, replacement usually costs $1,200 to $1,500, & repairs can range from $200 to $1,000.
For an average 2,000-square-foot home, the average repair costs $600, & replacement is $1,500.
Repairs cost approximately 60 percent of the cost of replacement. Your average house is approximately $1,000 for new gutters, so it can cost approximately $600 to fix them. Most of the time it’s better to replace them.

Do you recommend gutter guards, screens or covers?

Screens don’t work as well because of the fuzzies from oak trees in the spring. Gutter hoods are expensive, yet they make your gutters zero to little maintenance, so they say!
There are several different types & we recommend the one that’s right for your situation.
We recommend using aluminum type gutter guards. With a spring/Fall Gutter Cleaning!

How long will new gutters last? How can I extend their lifetime?

If you maintain aluminum gutters, they can last almost forever. Clean them, resecure the fasteners & reseal the corners & end caps.
We use stainless aluminum & the materials have a lifetime warranty. Keep them cleaned out, put leaf guards on them & obtain them adjusted from time to time.
Aluminum gutters should last a lifetime. Just keep them clean & sometimes, because of settling of the house, they may need to be raised or lowered.

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July 15, 2011February 4, 2012

How to Fix a Loose or Sagging Gutter

If a gutter sags too much, it looks unsightly, & if the sag is in the wrong direction, water collects, giving mosquitoes a breeding ground & creating leaks. It’s standard to pitch gutters 1/16 inch per foot (2 mm per 30 cm) toward the nearest downspout, yet even a level gutter will drain. Assuming that the spikes, brackets or hangers are installed correctly, most commonly a gutter sags due to ice & snow damage or because a ladder has bent or dislodged its supports.

Instructions

If the gutter is supported by spikes (see A)

1. Straighten a bent spike by pushing up on the gutter at that location with a pry bar (you’ll likely need a ladder to reach it); or remove a nailed gutter spike for replacement by locking the head of the spike firmly in a pair of locking pliers, then tapping the side of the jaws with a hammer to pull the spike out.

2. Replace a spike that has fallen out or been removed with a threaded gutter spike. For a tighter fit, press a few wood slivers coated with exterior adhesive or epoxy into the nail hole first, this is for the do it your self. Although It is highly recommended that gutter with these types of hanging systems be rehung with reinforced inside hidden hangers with screw.

If the gutter is supported by hangers or brackets

1. Remove the gutter by unclipping the brackets & disconnecting it from the downspout(s). This is unquestionably a job for two or more people.

2. Replace the damaged bracket. Fill the old screw holes with caulk or exterior putty & let dry. Install the new bracket at approximately the same height & position as the old one. Repeat as needed for other brackets & tighten any loose screws before reinstalling the gutter.

If the gutter is supported by hangers or straps (see C)

1. If the strap is bent down, press down on it approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) up the roof from the edge of the shingle it lies under, or from the surface to which it’s nailed. Then pull up just below the point of the bend.

2. If the bracket has pulled out of the roof or needs replacing, & the roofing is asphalt shingles, disconnect the bracket from the gutter & carefully pry up the shingle to remove the nails (or screws), or drive new fasteners through the strap into the roof recommend screws.

If the gutter is supported by concealed brackets

1. Remove the mounting screw to replace a damaged bracket.

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July 15, 2011February 4, 2012

Fixing Damaged Gutters

Rain gutters aren’t very exciting. You probably never even notice yours until something goes wrong with them. And then it’s the wrong kind of excitement.

Gutters & downspouts collect & carry away rainwater that would otherwise run off the roof, splash down & erode the soil & stain the siding. More important, gutters & downspouts form the first line of defense against a wet basement or crawl space: If you let water collect along the foundation, hydrostatic pressure will build, & water will eventually find its way inside the house. It’s equally significant to keep the ground around a hillside home dry.

For these reasons it’s significant that your gutters are in proper working order. Here, we’ll show you how to patch a hole, seal a leaky corner joint & secure a gutter that’s pulled away from the house. Fix these problems as shortly as they occur & your gutters will work more effectively & last many years longer.

Patching a hole

Gutters develop holes in a number of ways. Rust eats through steel gutters, & copper & aluminum versions are easily punctured by falling branches or sharp tools. Occasionally, you’ll find a hole that someone drilled through a gutter in an attempt to drain standing water. (If a gutter isn’t draining properly, it’s either not sloping toward the downspout or it’s sagging & needs to be raised.)

You have to patch any hole right away so it doesn’t grow larger. Buy a tube of gutter seal ($1.40) found at any local hardware store or contact us for a free quote. It’s significant that the seal is used. If you don’t you could encourage electrolytic corrosion—a process that slowly etches away one metal in favor of the other.

First, clean all debris from the gutter with a wide putty knife or plastic gutter scoop ($4). Wearing leather work gloves, scrub the area clean with a stiff-bristle wire brush. If there’s any rust around the hole, cut it out with aviation snips. Then run the seal down any open seams.

Fixing leaky joints

Over time, the joints between lengths of gutter can fail. And even seamless gutters aren’t immune to drips. They have seams where the gutters connect to preformed corners & to downspout outlets. Whether it’s a corner or straight joint, the repair is pretty much the same.

Curing sagging gutters

Most gutters are held in place with large spikes that pass through tubular sleeves, called ferrules. When a spike pulls free, a gutter can sag and, in some cases, come crashing down.

To repair a sagging gutter, you have to replace the spike with something that won’t withdraw easily, witch is the hang swift reinforced hidden hangers that gets screwed in contact us to have this performed.

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