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Repairing Holes in Your Seamless Rain Gutters
Leaks in your rain gutters can be very frustrating. Water drips or leaks out of the gutters where water should not be present. The leaks may have even caused the patches of ice that led you or someone else to slip and fall. If your gutters are leaking from holes in them, chances are you have steel gutters that are probably rusted on the inside. The gutters start rusting when your gutters are not draining properly which allows water, and other debris to sit in your gutters. The majority of the time you can not tell there is a hole in your rain gutters until the water starts dripping.
There are basically two ways to repair holes in rain gutters.
The easy way to repair the hole in your rain gutter has 3 easy steps:
| 1. |
Clean and completely dry the area in the gutter that has the hole or holes. |
| 2. |
Use a quality silicone based caulk and fill the hole and surrounding area (about an inch around the hole). Be sure to smooth out the caulk so you don’t stop the flow of water down the gutter towards the downspout. |
| 3. |
Let the caulk dry and either use a hose to get the gutters full of water or wait for the next rain storm to see if the holes were properly plugged. |
The more effective but also more difficult way to repair the hole in your rain gutter has 6 steps:
| 1. |
Clean and completely dry the area in the gutter that has the hole or holes. |
| 2. |
Cut a piece of metal the same gauge or thinner to fit inside the gutter and large enough to cover the hole and about two inches around it. |
| 3. |
Use a quality silicone based caulk and liberally apply it to the entire area. |
| 4. |
Slowly place the fitted metal plate into the silicone based caulk. |
| 5. |
On the outside of the gutter, use three to five screws to secure the metal plate into the gutter. |
| 6. |
Apply additional caulk to seal every screw and all the edges on the new metal plate |
Here are some pros and cons to fixing versus repairing your leaking rain gutters:
Leaking gutter repair is cheap and easy.
Replacing your rain gutters is difficult and expensive.
Repairing your rain gutters is something that will likely need semi-annual maintenance.
Most replacement rain gutters come with a one year warranty.
Remember, quality, clean, and working gutters and downspouts will help protect the valuable investment that is your home. |
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