How to Repair Damage to Gutters Yourself

Damaged guttering can be very annoying and if left unchecked it can cause much bigger problems with your property. Luckily, much of the damage to your guttering can be quickly, easily and affordably fixed yourself.

To give you the best idea of how to fix gutters, here are some of the most common problems that you’re likely to come up against.

Blocked Gutters

Without regular maintenance, it is easy for leaves, dirt and other contaminants to get into your gutters and prevent water from flowing as it should. This is an incredibly easy fix – provided there’s no additional damage – as all you need is a ladder and a bucket.

You simply run your hands, or a trowel, along the guttering and scoop out all the gunk that’s clogging up the gutters. This is a very straight forward job that will only take a half hour or so, depending on the mess and how much guttering you have. While you’re cleaning it out, it is worth while looking for any cracks or breaks in joints so that you can fix them before they turn into major problems.

Leaking Joints

Sometimes guttering comes under too much pressure and the joints can fail. If this happens then you’ll have a leak – this could be caused by the gasket deteriorating or the bracket being positioned wrongly so that the guttering sags.

Figure out whether the issue is with the seal or the positioning of the bracket and then make the changed detailed below:

1. If the seal has gone then simply release the union piece, peel the gasket away and replace it with a new one.
2. If the bracket is wrongly positioned then you need to re-align the guttering and rescrew the bracket in a correct place. If it still sags after you’ve done this then you may need to install extra support brackets.

 Loose Downpipes

Another incredibly easy fix, if your plastic downpipe has worked itself loose then it could just be that one of the clips connecting it has come off. In this situation all you have to do is replace the clips that have come off and click the pipe back into place. Alternatively, it may be that the wallplugs holding the screws have worked loose, in which case remove these and insert new ones and screw it all back in – job done!

Cracked Guttering

If a section of your guttering is damaged then it is best to replace that section entirely. This is done very simply, by removing the joints and seals at each end and unclipping the guttering from the supporting joints. Once the section is removed, measure the distance and replace the guttering with a length that fits the space. Then simply clip it into the supporting brackets, replace the joints and use a silicon sealant to seal them and that’s it – back to having guttering that works perfectly.