Gutter Repair in Sterling Heights, MI

A drip line on the driveway under one spot usually means a failed joint. Sectional gutters have a joint wherever two 10-foot lengths meet at a slip connector. On a seamless run, look at the end caps, the outlet tubes and the corner mitres instead. The fix is to scrape out the old sealant, dry and clean the metal, and lay a new bead on the inside of the seam. A rivet or screw goes in first if the joint has pulled apart. HomeGuide lists gutter leak repairs at $100 to $225, sealant along seams at $1.50 to $6.50 a foot, and metal flashing patches over larger holes at $1 to $2 a foot.

A gutter that bellies out between hangers has usually lost its grip on the fascia. The usual cause is a spike or hanger that has worked loose. The repair is to rehang it on hidden hangers that hook under the front lip and screw through the back into the fascia, placed at the rafter ends (usually 16 or 24 inches apart, per a gutter maker's installation sheet that The Home Depot publishes). HomeGuide puts a sagging-gutter repair at $75 to $300, with hangers at $2 to $3 each plus $50 to $150 an hour in labor. New screws only hold in sound wood, and HomeGuide notes that solid fascia is what carries a gutter's weight. If the screw spins, see the fascia section below.

Water that stands in the trough a day after rain, or a gutter that overflows in the middle instead of at the outlet, points to lost pitch. That same installation sheet calls for a slope of 1/4 inch per 10 feet toward the downspout, set with a taut string line before the hangers go in. That fall is small enough that a single sunken bracket can flatten a run. HomeGuide prices a pitch adjustment at $75 to $200. The fix is to loosen the brackets, reset the gutter to a new string line and refasten it.

A downspout that's packed with leaves or has come apart at an elbow sends a whole roof's worth of water onto the foundation. Clearing it means opening the outlet from the top, flushing it, and pulling the bottom elbow if needed. Reconnecting means crimped ends pointing down into the next piece, screwed at each joint, and two straps for every 8 to 10 feet of downspout, per the install sheet. Replacing a crushed or split length runs $2 to $4 a foot in HomeGuide's figures. On a lot that slopes toward the house, it notes, the extension may need to carry water more than 5 feet from the foundation.

Rotted fascia is what turns a gutter repair into a carpentry job. When a gutter overflows for years, or the drip edge sits behind the gutter instead of over it, water runs down the face of the board and into the end grain. HomeGuide puts fascia or soffit replacement at $6 to $20 a foot where the roof edge has rotted, done with the gutter down. The board, the aluminum wrap and the drip edge fix are on our soffit and fascia replacement page.