Every homeowner has to deal with gutters, and they can be a real pain sometimes. You will occasionally run into the need to make repairs or replace them completely. This article will go over some tips and tricks for dealing with gutter problems.
A very common gutter problem is the sagging gutter. To fix this you need to re-hang them. You'll want to have the gutter slope and not be completely level because the water needs to run toward the downspouts and not just fill-up and run over the sides of the gutters. To make sure you have this right, you can snap a chalk line or setup a laser line level at a slight downward angle. Once you have your line, remove all the gutter hangers in the sagging spots and push up the gutters to match that line. Once in place reattach the gutter hangers. We recommend using different holes so offset them by a couple of inches from the original spot. Be sure they're no more than 2 feet apart.
What if your gutters are leaking at the joint? There's no need to replace them, just seal the leaks. First you need to separate the two pieces at the joint by unscrewing them. Then clean them with a scrubber or wire brush. Wash with water and dry. To make the seal apply a caulking for gutters to the pieces that join together, put the ends together and let the new caulking dry. Reattach the screws and you've just fixed the leak.
Cleaning gutters can be another big problem, especially in the fall when the leaves are falling. When cleaning gutters be sure to approach them from the ground up, never from the top of your roof. Be sure the ladder is secure and carefully remove any debris you find, then climb down and move the ladder. Be careful not to overextend yourself. If you're tired of cleaning them every year you could consider getting some kind of gutter guard to defray the collection of leaves and debris, making it much easier to sweep the surface debris off, or better yet, get one that encourages the leaves to just slide off while the water runs through the holes in the guard into the gutters.
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