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While sagging gutters can be serious, gutters pulling away from the roof is a more immediate concern.  As gutters separate from roofing, they lose their ability to provide proper drainage. This problem can lead to a buildup of water and debris, causing your gutters to clog.

Why Gutters Pull Away

A common reason for gutters pulling away from the roof is improper installation.  Many homeowners have learned the hard way that getting a friend to install home features at a discount can lead to higher costs down the road.  When it comes to something as serious as the roof over your head, you should avoid cutting corners and stick with certified professionals.  It’s essential for installers to use proper tools and follow the manufacturer’s requirements so the materials’ warranties remain valid.

The area covering the ends of the beams (or rafters) on a roof is known as the fascia.  Gutters can pull away from the fascia due to the weight of water, leaves and other debris trapped in the system.  This excessive weight can cause gutters to sag.

Seamless gutters are a solution that eliminates the problems caused by sectional gutters joined together with fasteners.  If the fasteners are not installed correctly, it may lead to gutters pulling away.  Too many seams can also cause sections to separate. Incorrect hanger spacing may lead to the gutter sagging, which puts pressure on fasteners.  A gutter must be pitched properly during installation to prevent water buildup.

Repairing Pulling Gutters

If broken fasteners are making the gutters pull away from the roof, an experienced technician will need to reinstall the brackets, which could mean drilling new holes and covering old ones with caulk.  There may also be a need for drilling new holes when spaces between hangers or brackets are too far apart.

These changes should only be done by highly experienced technicians with specialized training.  Hiring an expert contractor for periodic inspections will help prevent future gutter problems.

Sagging gutters are one thing.  When they start pulling away, that is another issue and it is something that needs to be remedied asap.  Rain gutters lose their effectivity once they separate from the roof of any house.  Too much weight being held by rain gutters is the primary reason why it sags and eventually pulls away.  It is not really a problem if heavy rainfalls are present every now and then. What is problematic is when all that water, as well as debris, settles and remains on the rain gutters for a long period.

Another likely cause for sagging gutters or for them to pull away is incorrect installation.  If the professional who installed your rain gutters failed to check the condition of the fascia or soffit before attaching them, or the fasteners are incorrectly installed, there is a great chance for it to detach from your house after some time.

From all these, you will probably think that the solution is simple: reattach it to your house.  You need to know that this is partially correct.  It may solve these issues but there are also instances where this is just a band-aid solution.  Most professionals will first check out the condition of not just the rain gutters but also the fascia where they were previously attached.  This is important because they need to confirm if reattaching them will likely work or other solutions need to be done as well.

If other components of your rain gutter, as well as the roof and fascia, are still in working order, the technician will just have to reattach it to the fascia.  It usually involves replacing the gutter spikes, hangers, brackets, or any combination of those three:

• The spikes may be reused if they are still straight, but it is recommended that the threaded ones are used for gutters.  Once they are inserted to the existing holes, the technician may add some wood and epoxy, or any other material, to make sure that it is a tight fit and that the spikes will not loosen up by itself.

• If the hangers are the issue, the damaged ones will need to be replaced as well.  The technician may also opt to change their positions to ensure that your rain gutters will stay in place.  Reusing their old spots may cause the newly-installed hangers to not fully support the rain gutters, especially if the holes have become too big.

• For gutter brackets, a bit more work is needed.  After removing these brackets, the technician will have to cover up the screw holes with caulk and let it dry before continuing. Covering up the previous holes and making new ones is important because the old holes may have become too big to hold the screws in place.

When it is finally dry, new holes should be drilled at the previous spot to make sure that the rain gutter doesn’t change its slope or pitch.  The brackets may now be screwed into place and once it is done, the gutters can now be placed on top of it.  The spaces in between these hangers or brackets may also be too far apart, and this causes the sagging of your rain gutter.  To solve this, new holes where the brackets, spikes, and hangers will be inserted that are closer to each other will be made and the existing ones on both the fascia and rain gutters will have to be covered up.

If the issue does not only involve your rain gutters but your fascia or soffit as well, a major sign would be having the rain gutters still sagging despite doing the repairs mentioned above.  If you had a professional do the work for you, they are more likely to immediately notice that something is wrong with your fascia before trying to reattach your rain gutters.

Rot is the most common issue with fascia boards.  When this happens, the only remedy is to get the board replaced.  Only a professional can determine if all the fascia boards of your home will be replaced or only certain sections. After replacing them, that is the only time when the rain gutters will be reattached.

Damage to the rain gutter itself may also cause it to sag and separate from any house.  They may withstand extreme weather but can still get damaged, especially when repeatedly hit hard by tree branches and other objects.  When this happens, it is more likely that you need to have the damaged sections replaced.  If you are using the seamless type, you might need to replace your entire gutter system.

How to Avoid Gutter Troubles 

There is a way to keep gutter problems from costing you a fortune: keep them clean.  This involves cleaning the gutters out a couple times per year – ideally spring and fall.

But what if you don’t have time to climb out on a ladder, fish out the debris by hand, and do it all over again in a few short months?  Gutter protection helps eliminate the need for routine gutter maintenance.  A stainless steel mesh tops off the gutter and keeps major debris from entering the system.  This helps homeowners enjoy clog-free gutters without the worry of ice dams or excessive debris causing leaks.