Vinyl gutters are not tight to the fascia
In Buffalo NY we have a two family, two story house with porches on both levels. These porches seem to require frequent rebuilding. My carefully re-floored (pine T&G) porch is rotting out yet again. Plus the vinyl gutter above it came loose with snow. So I re-attach gutter, only to realize that water is flowing off the overhead porch, down the fascia behind the gutter. The mounting brackets hold the gutter about 3/8 inch off the fascia. This gap is built into the system. I think this is contributing to my problem below — the porch above looks like it has gutters, but it functionally doesn’t.
The porch above is floored with torch-down rubber which has been leak-free for about 19 years. It would be difficult to put bigger drip edge under it. Most of my neighbors have metal gutters nailed tight to the fascia with those ferrule things — that’s what I need to do.
This is a problem with vinyl gutters that should be more widely known. Or am I missing something?
Replies
This is a problem with vinyl gutters that should be more widely known. Or am I missing something?
Yes. No you are missing anything.
Replace with continuouse alum. gutter, Installed with hidden hangers and screws (neither screws or nails and ferruls will hold in a 1x gutter board). Be sure to hit the rater tails with the screws. Be sure to get the back of the gutter tight to the gutter board and under the turn out lip of the drip edge.
OK, that's what I'll do. I've been walking the neighborhood, peering up at porch roof gutters, and you are right -- those nail/ferrule combos pull out of the 1X fascia. With the pre-drilled holes, they are unlikely to land on a joist end.
Flooring material
There are other, more durable choices than T&G pine that I think would perform much better. True enough "back in the day" T&G pine may have been the material of choice but that that lumber may likely have been old growth species as opposed to the tree farm 5 YO stuff we get these days... Might want to start by looking at some #1 PT T&G or some naturally rot resistant species or whatever is available in your area.
One step you missed there - if he is going that route, he should be sure to sand the facia clean and give it a couple coats of an oil paint to keep moisture out of the wood before hanging the gutter.
That void is a good thing
When I remove gutters installed tioght to the facia, there is almost always rot there from the wood being kept damp.
The problem is that the roof does not drip into the gutter. Probably there was no design co-ordination between roofer and gutter guy.
Easy to have a flashing made to fit under the drip edge and over the gutter rear flange.
Yep.
I sometimes forget the obviouse intermediate steps. Things that seem a natural part of the "fix" might not be obviouse to someone doing it the first time.
Hi, Piffin -- what have they done to BT in my absence? Leaving for Vinalhaven this weekend.
Regarding your very helpful post -- there was excellent coordination between the roofer and gutter guy, because both were me. The problem is not lack of coordination, it's lack of skill! I like your point about the gap between the gutter and gutter board. Makes sense to let the wood dry out. Ideally I should replace the drip edge so that it really drips into the gutter. If this was a shingled roof, that wood be easy. Unfortunately it's torch-down rubber and I don't see any way to lift it up to sneak in the better drip edge.
I'm think'n...........
I know, fat chance that could happen.
But, I think he might be suggesting another pc of flash that would go up behind the drip edge (not under it) and lip into the gutter.
I've used this method when the gutter runs unusually long and the fall puts the top well below the drip edge kickout.
Yup, thinkin' rightly
See my signature line for the classic BT
You should be able to slip something in behind, unless the drip edge is face nailed.
Summer is already here - vegetation and blossoms are running about 2-3 weeks ahead of normal and ground starting to dry out like end of June already. Hope we keep getting some rain occasionally.
. Hope we keep getting some rain occasionally
Wish I could send you some. We haven't had the flooding that other areas have, but have had enough rain to make the 2-3 acres of woods behind my place look like a rain forrest. Farmers have already cut and put up the first cutting of hay. If this weather persist, they'll get three or for more cuttings this season.
They be starting haying around here already - talk of maybe three cuttings if they can time the rains right.
The last couple of years it seems you guys in the mid atlantic back to Tennessee have gotten worse weather than up here in Maine. Last winter the worst we drove through was in WV, while Buffalo was dry
I have the same problem. A lean-to/tractor shed on the side of my shop at our summer home. Roof is continuous from peak to soffitt of laean-to, standard pitch (3 in 12 or 4 in 12, can't remember). Water drops down between fascia & vinyl gutter & runs all over my firewood. This is with drip-edge installed & ashphalt shingles extending about 1/2" past drip edge. Had to bend up some aluminum to extend out into center of gutter. Problem solved. Dry firewood.
How did you fit the drip edge extender?
How did you fit the drip edge extender?
We often have the same problem you do with half round gutters. The hangers make the gutter stand proud of the fascia 1/2" or so. We bend a "Z" channel with the top leg going behind the drip edge, the almost horizontal part resting on the hanger and the bottom leg extending into the gutter. Pop rivets through the existing drip edge flange into the "Z" hold it in place.