Leaking gutter!

20 years ago

I have a leaking gutter at the back of my house. Sadly it looks like a small crack in the gutter itself rather than at the join. It affects 2-3 feet of the gutter. The water itself is merely a trickle at the moment (though it caused icicles last night with the freezing weather we currently have).

Most of my neighbours have had replacement PVC fascias put up within the past few years. The houses are 40 years old and I'm in a good neighbourhood. Sadly I'm unemployed due to serious illness. Have recovered and retrained but still not found anything. Am considering going for self-employment in 2006 but am still several months away from earning anything (autumn looks the earliest). So money is extremely tight.

I've had cowboys sniffing around. One firm tried blackmail and threats (I called the police but they never got them). One firm knocked on the door a few days ago - said that my guttering had collapsed. It's not as bad as that, and I didn't trust them. They walked over my garden wall and my flower beds. They didn't look trustworthy to me.

I asked a local firm for quotes in the summer after the cowboys had been poking around. I asked them for a quote to simply make sure it was waterproof, and one for fascias as well (with cowboys hanging around I thought it sensible to have some straight facts). They only gave me one quote and that was for fascias, and it was too expensive for me. This is a good, reliable and trustworthy firm. But all I really wanted was for a simple repair job, if repairs were needed.

Do I go back to my firm and ask them for a simple repair job? As I say, it's a good neighbourhood and they probably don't expect someone to be unemployed. If I need quotes from another firm, how do I know that they are not cowboys?

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Comments (5)

DNT1
20 years ago
UPS is always hiring go sling a few packages for a few weeks maybe get a couple of pizza and newspaper delivery jobs and have a reputable firm repair your crib Good Luck
lyfia
20 years ago
Now this is the oddest post I've ever read about repairs of a gutter. Not sure I understand what you mean by cowboys? Why don't you do something temporary until you can afford to do it right.

Couple of things you can do. Hack saw off the portion that is cracked and seam in another piece. Materials are all available from Home Depot and Lowe's. Or you could try sealing the crack with caulk that is made for gutter sealing or metal roof sealing also available from your local Home Improvement store.
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www.buildtec.co.uk
19 years ago
hiya,think the best repair method would be use a silicone based repair,its cheap and very effective,gets into all the nooks,and crannys,a small repair would cost,Â£25 thats sterling,you need a firm that approved,like federation of master builders,roofing federation,etc,but for small repair try to fing local handyman,i will show link below,but its uk link,with contact numbers etc,i hope my comments help anyway,good luck... JOSH

Here is a link that might be useful: BUILDTEC WWW.BUILDTEC.CO.UK
chris_ont
19 years ago
I am trying to imagine a bunch of cowpokes with hats and whips skulking around your place, sniffing your eaves. What the...?

Why are people (cowboys??) instantly drawn to your leaky gutter IN THE BACK of your house and then threaten lawsuits? No one in their right mind would come to your door and mention that your gutters have collapsed when there's just a little crack.

If you just have a crack in the gutter, why get a quote for whole new facias? And why would they care if you're unemployed? Are you not planning to pay them for the work?

I think you either have a bit more than a small crack (which you could just patch yourself if it's that small) or you have other problems not fully explained in your post.

I'd be more concerned with water coming down too close to the foundation. Make sure your grade is okay and find a way to direct the water away from the house until you can get this repaired.
mightyanvil
19 years ago
Silicone rubber is very flexible but it should never be exposed to water for very long and it doesn't adhere well to surfaces. I would recommend butyl rubber sealant formulated for gutter repair.