Gutters play a very important role when it comes to protecting the home from rain. As long as the gutters are working properly, water would drain, as it should, keeping water off the exterior of the home. However, when gutters leak, a number of problems would arise. For one thing, the water splashing against the house would eventually lead to wood rot, mold beneath siding from dripping behind the panels, and with water pooling around the foundation, it would make its way inside only to flood the basement.
The most common reason for gutters that leak is that the joints between the various sections around the home’s perimeter have pulled apart or become damaged in one way or another. Obviously, gutters have to be made in sections, which are then connected. However, if your gutters are the older type made from galvanized steel, if any water should back up inside, the seams would begin to rust. For aluminum gutters, seams that have pulled apart, even slightly would allow water to seep through and over time, the gap would widen.
If you were experiencing gutters that leak, the first thing would be to look at the gutters on the inside to see if you notice any standing water. If so, look at the gutters from ground level to see if any of the sections are sagging. In this case, the gutters are not level so as it rains, rather than water move through the gutters as designed, any sections with an upward angle would hold water. The simple solution would be to adjust the hangers to level the sagging areas.
In addition, clean the gutters of any debris such as leaves, branches, and dirt so you can look at the seams. Even if you do not see any significant gaps, it would not hurt to use high quality silicone-rubber caulking to go along each joint section to seal it. That way, once the caulk has dried, the next rain would not end up with water dripping through small gaps.
It would also be important to look for any holes, perhaps caused by areas of the gutter rusting out. If the holes are small enough, they too could be filled but with roofing cement. However, for large holes, you would probably need to have the damaged section of the gutter replaced. Make sure that when sealing the inside of the gutter that the seam on the outside is sealed too.
You also want to make sure your home has the right size gutter. If guttering were too narrow, especially if you live in a part of the country with significant rain, water would not be able to drain out quick enough, leading to a backup within the gutters. The most important part is the downspout, which needs to be large enough to accommodate the amount of rain. If you live in a state with a lot of rain, we recommend you have the downspout go into a dry well approximately 2×4-feet wide and 3-feet deep.
Most importantly, make sure the downspout always goes away from the home’s foundation. An easy way to accomplish this is with a diverter. This simple and inexpensive device fits onto the bottom portion of the downspouts to carry water three to four feet away from the home. However, in addition to the dry well and diverter, you could also bury a piece of ABS drain pipe measuring four inches in diameter beneath the ground that connects to the downspout. That way, water would flow from the downspout into the pipe, and away from the house.
