How to Repair Sagging Gutters

Sagging gutters not only ruin curb appeal but they also prevent rainwater from channeling properly off the roof through gutters and downspouts. This allows water to spill onto exterior walls and pool near the foundation, potentially flooding the basement or crawl space (and creating a major headache for you). Gutters sag when old fasteners come loose over time. Straightening them is usually a simple matter of replacing the old fasteners with better screw-type hangers.

It's essential to repair a sagging gutter problem immediately — not only because it's unattractive but because it compromises your home's drainage system. To address sagging rain gutters, you can hire a professional gutter company for around $75 to $200, but if you're confident working on a ladder, it's an easy DIY home improvement project when you use the right tools, materials, and hardware. Follow the proper steps and procedures to ensure a secure hold from your gutter to the structure of your home.

One of the biggest causes of sagging gutters is the weather, specifically snow, ice, and rain. In winter, snow and ice put extreme weight and pressure on gutters, pushing them down and causing them to sag in the middle. Two feet of level snow from one snowfall actually weighs 60 pounds, which weighs down on your gutters, and an inch of rain falling on a 40 x 70-foot roof weighs a whopping 1,743 pounds.

In autumn, this rainwater gets trapped by fallen leaves that prevent the water from flowing through downspouts, which clogs and weighs heavily on your gutter system. This puts pressure on your gutters — especially if you neglect to clean your gutters properly after leaves fall.

A good defense against the weather is using strong, durable hardware and fastening your gutters to the fascia board and rafters. Inferior hardware that comes loose allows gutters to sag, which leads to homeowners needing to refasten hardware periodically.

If you know about gutter hardware, you're familiar with the old spike and ferrule hardware system that may be on your home right now. However, when compared with hangers with hidden screws, the old system falls short in many areas.

The conventional method of spike and ferrule systems consists of 7-inch spikes and 5-inch ferrules, which are little pieces that look like cylinders and act as spacers to prevent the spike from crushing the gutter. Spikes are driven through pre-drilled holes in the front of the gutter and then through the ferrule inside the gutter. Then, they pierce the back side of the gutter and are driven through the fascia board and into the rafter located behind the fascia.

There are several reasons they fall short:

• Gutter spikes aren't aesthetically pleasing. They're visible from the ground, which puts a damper on your curb appeal.
  
• Gutter spikes aren't DIY-friendly. When you hammer in spikes and miss with your hammer, you badly dent the gutter. It can be tricky to drive the large spikes and keep everything straight.
  
• Gutter spikes don't have threads. Since gutter spikes are nails, they don't contain threads that prevent the fastener from pulling out. Spikes can loosen under the weight of ice and snow, causing them to detach from the fascia board. This usually means you'll need to hammer them back into place or replace them as needed.
  

The design of concealed hangers with hidden screws forms a stronger hold and looks better on your property. The reason why there's a stronger hold? This is because you're fastening screws through the 3/4-inch-thick fascia and into the rafter. This enables you to drive screws into the structural lumber for a better hold.

Hangers with screws come in 4-inch, 5-inch, and 6-inch sizes to fit most standard gutter sizes. When choosing new hangers, opt for heavyweight gutter hangers with hidden screws and install them at every other rafter location.

There are several reasons they are preferred:

• Gutter hangers with hidden screws aren't visible from the ground, giving your gutters a more seamless appearance.
  
• Screws have threads. The screws in the gutter hangers contain 2 inches of coarse thread that screws into the fascia and rafter, providing a stronger hold than spikes that don't contain threads.
  
• Screws allow for expansion and contraction. The screws in the hangers hold better than spikes by resisting the expansion and contraction of the wood.

Examine your fascia board to ensure there isn't any wood rot or other damage prior to installing new gutter hangers and replace the board if necessary.