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Common Reason Behind Leaking Gutters & How to Fix Them?

Clog in Rain Gutters

A clog is the most common reason behind leaking gutters.  When rainwater cascades down, it fills the rain gutters with leaves and debris.  Over time, these can lead to a clog.  As a result of a clog, the water won’t flow out of the downspout.  Instead, it will flow over the sides or even flow up.  Fortunately, it is easy to detect and fix.

The clog in rain gutters is very easy to remove. The simplest and fastest method is to use your hands to get the debris out.

Clog in Downspouts

On the other hand, if the clog is in the downspout, disconnect it from the rain gutter.  Then, you can clean it.  To help avoid the problem, considering using leaf guards.  It is also important to clean your rain gutters at least once a year.

Damages

Tough weather conditions can cause damages even in the toughest rain gutters.  This brings us to the next reason behind leaking rain gutters.  If there are small holes and cracks in your rain gutter system, you will notice minor leakage.  But, the small drips can grow bigger over time.  The simplest way to check any cracks is to pour water down the rain gutters.  Mark the spots where the water leaks.  It is easy to fix the leaking gutters with damages.  Simply apply a waterproof sealant over cracks and holes.  You can also caulk the damaged spots.  However, if the cracks are bigger, you will have to replace the damaged section of the rain gutters.

Leaking Joints 

Joints are the points where sections of rain gutters meet.  With time, the joints may show some leakage.  So, if you see a leakage close to the joint, check the area carefully.  You may notice that joints have started separating at the points of leaks.  Here as well, if you don’t see the separation spot, pour water to detect the leakage.

You can fix the leaking joints in your rain gutters easily.  To do this, simply remove the old sealant.  And, replace it.  This works when the sealant is no longer watertight and is causing leaks.  However, if the problem is bigger, you may have to replace the joints.

Gutter Miters

The most common place that you will see gutter leaks are the miters.  Gutter miters are the corner joints that take the water around a corner to another gutter section. Without miters the gutters would be separate from each other and every gutter would need it’s own downspout.  A good way to think of a gutter miter is a corner joint.

Water will drip from the seams of miters for a few reasons.  The first thing people think is that the seal has broken and the miter needs to be resealed.  While this is often true there are actually a couple other possibilities that could cause this.  Such as clogged downspouts.  When the downspout is clogged the water can not drain and eventually it begins to fill up the gutter.  That water must go somewhere so it will escape from any seams it can find like the miter seams.  Be sure to verify that your downspouts are not clogged before re-sealing the miter.

Two sections of gutter are joined together sometimes for whatever reason and the seam is sealed over will a sealant or caulk.  Over time the sealant eats away and the gutter will leak.  It all depends on how much water hits the seal, if it drains, etc.  Regardless of the cause, if water is leaking from an area where to gutters are joined, then likely the gutter seam needs to be cleaned and re-sealed.

The most common reason for miter leaks (assuming they are sealed properly) is when the gutter pitch is off.  When the pitch of the gutters is off the water is not able to flow properly towards the downspout.  This will cause water to sit in the gutters.  It is frequent for the water to pool in the corners.  This water eats the seals away in the miters.

Sagging

When installing gutters, a slight slope is made to allow water to flow easily.  With time, rain gutters can start sagging.

There are two main causes behind sagging:

• Loose fasteners

• Water weight/volume

To fix sagging gutters, you need to re-align and re-hang sagging sections.  Sometimes, even the entire rain gutter needs fixing.  Therefore, for sagging gutters, I recommend calling professionals for help.

Loose Fasteners

Other than sagging, loose fasteners can cause other problems in gutters.  And, as a result, you will get leaking gutters.  Fasteners are screws or nails that attach the gutters to the fascia boards.  As they loosen over time, you will start experiencing small leaks.  As a result, you will see water dripping from the rear of the rain gutters. It may also reach the fascia.

Proximity to the fascia can make the problem worse.  If the fascia starts rotting, you may have to replace it as well as the gutters.  Depending on how far the damage has reached, you can fix the problem.  In the best cases, you can tighten the fasteners to stop drips. Then, apply caulking (or sealant).  In other cases, you will have to replace the fasteners.  And, in the worst cases, the fascia and the gutters will need fixing.

Gutter End Caps

On the left end and right end of every gutter is either a miter of an end cap.  Miters are for going around corners whereas end caps are for ending the gutter run.  It is easy to identify a gutter end cap because it is the end of the gutter. Therefore, it is also easy to identify a gutter end cap leak because the water will be leaking from the end of the gutter.

Almost every time you see an end cap leak it is directly related to the gutter pitch being off.  When the gutter is tilted in the wrong direction, the only place for the water to go is through the the gutter end cap seal.  There are many reasons that can cause leaks and drips.  If you are lucky, and you catch them at the right time, you may be able to fix them yourself. I hope these easy DIY fixes will help you in fixing your leaking gutters.

Gutter and Downspout Connection

The place where the downspout meets the gutter is called the gutter outlet.  It is basically a circular outlet that is installed to the gutter that the downspout then attaches to.  Water leaks from this area pretty much mean one thing, and that is that the downspout is clogged.  Nothing else causes water to leak from this area.

Downspout Seams

Two or three story homes require downspout runs to be 20 to 30 ft. plus.  Since downspouts only come in 10 ft. sticks they need to be seamed together.  The connection point of two sticks of downspout is called the downspout seam.  Much like the gutter outlet connection or seam, there is only one cause of this.  And this is a clogged downspout.  If you see water leaking from you downspout seams it is a direct indication of clogged downspouts.

When in doubt, call a Professional!