Cleaning and maintaining rain gutters may be one of the most ignored tasks for home owners. We will only drag out the ladder when the gutters are overflowing; water leaking into the basement or there are so many maple seedlings growing our houses look like a Chia Pet. You don't need me to remind you that cleaning the gutters twice a year is a must. The spring cleaning, after the seeds and helicopters come down, is the most important. Many seeds float and fast make their way to the downspout where it will come to be clogged in no time. In the fall the weather can convert fast and the cold and wet is miserable and perilous for ladder climbing. I have been in the gutter heal and maintenance firm for more than five years and I can tell you late spring cleaning is needful to yearly gutter maintenance.
But you're saying that you clean the gutters twice yearly and the dang things are still hanging off the house with water pooling far away from the downspout giving mosquitoes a exquisite breeding pond for their eggs. What is happening is the nails are pulling out of the house and need to be hammered back in. This is a easy and productive way to extend the working life of your gutters indefinitely. The next time you're at the hardware store get a hammer belt hook. This small thick leather devise with a heavy wire loop and slots for your belt is a safe way to carry a claw hammer up and down the ladder. As you move along cleaning the gutter, hammer the nails back in but do not crush the gutter. You should be able to reach three nails but be just to never reach out to far. A good rule of thumb is to all the time keep your shoulders within the width of the ladder.
A few solid hits should tighten the nail but what if the nail remains loose? A properly installed nail must drill the end of the truss, rafter or ceiling joist. The fascia, nailed to the ends of the trusses, is less than an inch thick and ¼ inch gutter nails will split the plank then the nail will come loose if done incorrectly. Seeing the truss ends is nearly impossible if the fascia has been covered with aluminum or vinyl siding because you can't see the nails used to fix the fascia in place and trying to part for the truss ends, even if you're 1/16 of an inch off, by the third truss you'll be missing the solid wood needful to hold the nail.
So you have a gutter that has been ignored for years and you can't tighten the gutter nail. I have cleaned and repaired thousands and thousands of feet of gutters and the underground hanger with an integral self-drilling screw is the answer. You can get these hangers at the big-box home store but a better bet is to go to a siding and gutter contribute house. It is worth the trip as you'll be amazed at the choice and range of gutter products and tools. This type of underground hanger uses a ¼ inch hex-head drive and nothing else but is screwed straight through the back of the gutter and into the fascia. The screw is at an angle to increase keeping power and because it drills its own hole, it is far classic to nails. The smaller diameter self-drilling screw will not split the plank and if you don't hit the truss end will still hold for many years. The qoute with the underground hanger is you'll need clearance to hook it under the upper face edge of the gutter and then swing it over to clip over the edge of the back of the gutter. If the roof overhang is too great you can't make the swing without prying up the shingles. If the gutter is hanging away from the roof edge put the hangers in place along the offending length, then push up the gutter as best you can, then drive the screws in. Leave the old nails in place to fill the holes.
Another stock is gutter screws that replace the gutter nail. These work well if the old nail was in the truss but pulled out anyway. The screws come with a tube to fit inside the gutter and are slightly larger in diameter. The screw is also longer to bite into solid wood. The favorite screw will have a quadrilateral drive which is supplied in the box. To setup a gutter screw you'll have to first pull out the old nail with a pair of locking pliers like Vice-Grips. Then plainly drive the screw into the old hole, straight through the tube and into the wood.
Remember to be just on ladders and wear over-the-ankle lace-up boots. You'll also need a good battery powered drill/driver, hammer with a belt hook and locking pliers. keeping those nails tight will extend the life and usefulness of your gutters for years.
Gutters and Repairing Or Replacing Gutter Nails - Gutters Sagging Or Falling Off? Some uncomplicated heal
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