12 Dec

How to Fix a Gutter Leak

Gutters are an important part of your roof’s water management system. They guide water towards the correct drains, protecting your home from excessive overflow and potential water damage. 

A leaky gutter can cause a lot of problems for your home if left unattended. But how do you repair a gutter leak? In this article, we’ll provide all the information you need to complete basic repairs to ensure your gutters are working properly.

For personalised advice, contact our team at O’Boyles Roof Plumbing today.

Why Repairing Your Gutter Matters 

If your gutter is leaking, warped or damaged it will not be able to direct the water flow across your home correctly. This can result in several different costly issues developing in and around your home.

Over time, a leaky gutter can cause damage to your roof and even affect the integrity of your home’s foundation. Likewise, this can lead to water damage causing hazards such as mould to begin to grow. Overall, it can make your roof less able to withstand severe weather conditions and potentially cause extensive damage to occur.

Fixing Your Gutter

To repair your gutters correctly it’s important to take the process one step at a time. Here, we’ll go through the best methods in detail so you can restore your gutters with confidence.

Identifying The Problem

The first step in repairing your gutters is identifying the type of leak that has developed. Here we’ve listed some common leaks and how they occur:

1. Overflow Leaks: These are usually caused by clogs in the gutter, causing the water to flow over the edges.
2. Joint Leaks: These are leaks that occur at the joints usually caused by poor or damaged sealing or loose fasteners.
3. Hangar Leaks: These leaks occur when the hangar brackets loosen, creating gaps in the gutter.
4. Cracks and Holes: These occur from rust, age and natural wear and tear that break through the guttering.
5. Misaligned Gutters: Some gutters may not be aligned correctly leading to sloped or unsealed gutters. This is often caused by damage or poor installation.

Cleaning

Once you’ve identified the cause of the leak, you should then clean your gutters out. Cleaning out your gutters does more than prevent overflow leaks from occurring. It ensures your roof gutter system is in the best condition to work correctly. Likewise, it makes it easier to complete repairs without having to worry about debris.

Reseal Gutter Seams

If water is leaking through the seams and joins of your gutters they likely need to be resealed. This can be done by applying new sealant to the relevant area. When applying sealant, ensure the area in question is clean and dry.

Likewise, if the guttering pieces are too tightly pressed together your sealant may struggle to stay in place and keep it secure. To fix this you may have to loosen the gutter fastening and screws.

Tighten Your Brackets

If your gutters are sagging, or your brackets are loose your next step should be to retighten the screws holding your brackets in place. To do so you will need to ensure your gutter is in the correct position. You may need an extra pair of hands to hold it and put it back into place while you repair it.

Then, the process should be simple. Simply tighten the screws holding the brackets in place to resecure them.

Knowing What to Do

While basic repairs can fix basic leaks, more intense damage may require professional attention. If your gutters have more than a handful of leaks, there may underlying roofing issues that need to be addressed. Likewise, while aging gutters can naturally cause issues to develop intense damage from weather or falling debris likely means your gutter will have to be replaced.

If you’ve experienced weather that has damaged your gutters or you’ve noticed that your gutter system has problems, you should seek professional services.

Read related article: Signs It’s Time to Replace Your Gutters

For Gutter Services You Can Trust

If you’ve noticed your gutters may be leaking, don’t hesitate to contact our team at O’Boyles Roof Plumbing. With our years of experience, we can quickly assess and identify the cause of your concerns. We can use the best gutter repair techniques, to extend your gutter systems lifespan.

If your guttering is too damaged for repair, we also offer gutter replacement services so you can protect the integrity of your home. Reach out to our team to get the professional help you need.

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