Discover Solutions to Seal Your Rain Gutters

For an eavestrough to continue to be useful throughout the seasons, it is essential to maintain it, which is done by:
– Cleaning the eavestrough,
– gutter repair.
This maintenance will prolong its life and avoid the need for major repairs or changes to eavestroughs that are no longer in use.

Check your gutters regularly

Your eavestrough should be checked annually to ensure that it is working correctly.

You should check:

– the tools used for plumbing,
– the absence of leaks, at the level of the connections, the births, over the entire length of the profiles,
– the absence of major obstruction,
– the good condition of the fastener,
– from the hooks to the rafters: if necessary, tighten the screws,
– from the profiles to the hooks: the interlocking at the gutter flanges may have shifted,
– if there is any broken or badly deformed hook that must be changed.

Causes of gutter leaks: fittings that have become defective

– If the parts were glued together: glue them back together after cleaning and degreasing.
– If the parts were welded: make a new weld (call in a professional: redoing a weld is even more difficult than making a new one).
– If you find another cause: change it.

Sealing: a temporary gutter repair

You can plug your leak if it’s still reasonable in size.
This solution is temporary, pending a more definitive intervention:
– use a unique mastic cover,
– sand and degrease the part to be repaired,
– putty over it with a spatula,
– for leaks, i.e., large holes, apply a glass cloth to the surface, cover with putty again.

Caution: A sealant requires a drying time of 24 hours; you should intervene only in dry weather!

Zinc gutter repair: several solutions

A hole in a zinc gutter can be solved in several ways:

– by tin soldering, a technique that requires a skilled gutter repairer
– by asphalting:
– by covering with several layers of bitumen coating: wait several hours between coats,
– by applying bitumen-coated aluminum foils, glued with heat,
– by sealing: with a special zinc sealant,

Tip: Avoid sealing with a silicone gasket: this method is to be discarded as it is unreliable and does not age well over time.

Good to know: Finally, a large hole cannot be repaired, especially if your gutter is old; this damage may indicate its great fragility. In this case, you must change the portion concerned, and calling a professional technician is the best you can do.

Good luck with your rain gutters! Remember to leave your comments in the section below.