What does a gutter need to carry on a heavy-rain day?
A gutter must carry the peak flow of the storm, not the average rain. The channel size, the pitch and the number of outlets together decide whether it keeps up.
A downspout that is too small or too far from the next one is overwhelmed quickly. A technician looks at the size of the channel and the spacing of the outlets before deciding whether the existing system is adequate.
The test is simple: pour a bucket of water into the far end and watch whether it reaches the outlet without spilling. A system that passes the test on a dry afternoon is more likely to carry a storm than one that looked clean but has a dip.
Why do gutters pull away from the fascia?
Gutters pull away when the hangers loosen, when the fascia board behind them rots or when the weight of debris and water pulls the run downward. The fault is often at the first hanger after a corner.
Hangers that are nailed only into the fascia's face tend to pull out. A hanger fixed into the rafter tail or into a solid backing holds better, and that is the fixing the technician uses where the structure allows.
Soft fascia behind the gutter is a sign of a longer leak. Where the wood is soft, the board is cut out and replaced so the gutter has something solid to hang from.
How should a downspout discharge be placed?
The discharge should carry water well away from the foundation and onto a surface that drains. A splash block or an extension is the simplest way to achieve that, with the grade falling away from the house.
A downspout that discharges at the foot of a wall can soak the soil beside the foundation. Over time that water can undermine a footing, wet a crawl space or push water toward a patio. Routing the outlet to a lawn, a planter or a drain avoids that.
Where the lot is flat, a buried pipe may be needed to carry the water to a suitable outlet. The technician notes the route and the fall on the scope so the owner knows where the water is going.
Where a downspout runs into a planter, the planter edge is checked so the water does not wash the soil out and leave a trench at the base of the pipe. A short run of pipe under the path, with a clean outlet at the lawn, is often the simplest fix for a yard that floods near the wall. The technician measures the fall from the outlet before choosing the route, because a pipe laid flat will hold water and silt.
What does a seamless system change?
A seamless gutter is formed on site from a continuous coil, so it has fewer joints to leak. The trade-off is that it is a larger job and the coil must be sized correctly for the roof.
Fewer joints mean fewer places for water to leak and fewer seams to open in the sun. The main leaks in a sectional system are at the joints, so a seamless run removes a common source of trouble.
The technician does not push a change of system as the answer to every leak. A joint that is sealed well on a sound run is often the cheaper repair.
What should be cleared between seasons?
Leaves, roof grit and any debris from nearby trees should be cleared from the channel and the downspouts before the rainy weeks start, and again after a windy spell.
Grit from the roof surface washes into the gutter and forms a dense sludge that holds the water and the leaves together. A simple flush once a season prevents that build-up from blocking the outlet.
After a fall of branches, a check of the gutter line is worth making, since a bent section can hold water even when the outlet is clear.
