Gutters run along the bottom of the roof.
Gutters protect your home from standing water by collecting rainfall from the roof and directing it away from the base of your home. Over time, gutters can start to leak or fail, and this can put your home's foundation in jeopardy as pools of water build up around the base. To fix a gutter, you first need to diagnose why it is leaking. Gutter leaks can come from an improper slope, a hole in the gutter or a hole in the seam between two pieces of gutter material. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Correct Gutter Slope
1. Remove the gutter screws from the area of the gutter around the downspout. Working your way up the gutter, continue to remove screws until you can freely adjust the height of the area around the downspout.
2. Create a level pencil line on the fascia boards, using your level as a guide, starting just above where the gutter starts and running to the downspout. Make sure the line starts out aligned with the top of the gutter. Continue the line around any corners that you may encounter in this stretch of roof.
3. Measure the line and make a vertical mark on the fascia board every 10 feet.
4. Position yourself under the first pencil mark. Align the gutter so that the top of the gutter is 1/4 inch below the line. Screw the gutter into place, then go back and add any screws between the first mark and the start of the gutter.
5. Move to the second mark and do the same process, only this time the top of the gutter should be 1/2 inch below the line. Continue to attach the gutter, dropping the top of the gutter 1/4 inch for every 10 feet of run.
Reapir Gutter Hole
6. Scrape the area around the hole with a putty knife to remove any dirt or debris. Apply a little bit of detergent to a wire brush and scrub the area clean. Dry the area completely.
7. Apply roofing cement to the area around the hole in the gutter. Apply the cement at least 2 inches on each side of the hole.
8. Cut your gutter patch with the tin snips, so that the patch is just smaller than the size of the cement area. Press the patch down into the cement, centered on the hole.
9. Apply a second layer of roofing cement over the patch. As you apply this layer, press down with your putty knife to get the area as smooth as possible.
Reapir Gutter Seam
10. Scrape the seam area with a putty knife to remove any dirt and debris. Remove as much of the old sealant as you can.
11. Apply some detergent to a wire brush and thoroughly clean the area around the seam. Dry the area completely.
12. Apply a long, continuous bead of sealant underneath the top portion of the seam. Use a lot of sealant, as the bead will contract a little when it dries. If the leaky seam is on a gutter seamer piece, which is a small metal piece that connects two larger gutter pieces together, apply sealer to both of the adjacent seams.
Tags: area around, putty knife, your home, area around hole, area completely, area completely Apply, around downspout
