Why are my gutters pulling away from the house?

Gutters pull away from a house when the fasteners holding them to the fascia lose their grip. The usual reasons are old spikes that have worked loose, too few hangers, or a fascia board that has rotted behind them, and the final push is weight: wet leaves, standing water, snow and ice, or a ladder leaned against the gutter. Which one you have decides whether it is an afternoon's ladder fix or a carpentry repair.

Cause 1: the fasteners have worked loose

One fastening Amerimax's installation sheet covers is spike and ferrule: a long spike or screw driven through the front of the gutter, through a tube called a ferrule inside it, and into the fascia board.^[1] Over years of wood swelling and drying, and of the gutter's weight tugging on it, a spike often backs out a little at a time. You see it as a nail head standing proud of the gutter lip, or a gap between the back of the gutter and the board.

Another option on the same sheet, Amerimax's Hidden Hanger with Screw, uses hidden hangers held by a 1/4-inch hex-head screw driven into the fascia.^[1] Screws usually hold better than smooth spikes, but they can still strip out of soft wood.

Cause 2: too few hangers

A gutter needs support all along its length. Amerimax's installation sheet calls for one hanger every 24 inches, or every 18 inches in areas with heavy ice and snow loads.^[1] Gutters that sag between hangers and then peel away at one end often have hangers much farther apart than that, or have lost a few over the years.

Cause 3: weight

Gutters carry a lot of water. A few inches of rain on a roof can produce several thousand gallons of runoff,^[3] and a gutter that is clogged or has lost its slope holds some of it instead of passing it on. Wet leaves and roof grit add more. Fairfax County's Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District says gutters should be cleaned at least once a year, and more often with trees close to the house.^[4]

Standing water is often both cause and effect: a sagging gutter holds water, and the water makes it sag more. The Building America Solution Center, run for the U.S. Department of Energy, says gutters should slope at least 1/16 inch per foot of run toward the downspouts.^[2]

Winter adds load. The same guide notes that in heavy snow, gutters can fill with snow that freezes and becomes part of an ice dam already forming on the roof,^[2] and for cold and very cold climates it recommends having gutters clean as winter approaches so they drain instead of filling with water that could freeze.^[2]

Cause 4: rotten fascia

If the hangers are tight but the wood they are screwed into is soft, nothing will hold. Fascia rots where water has been getting behind the gutter or overflowing for years. Amerimax starts a gutter replacement by removing the old gutters and inspecting the fascia board, replacing it if needed,^[1] and it uses a hidden hanger with a roof strap only when no fascia board exists.^[1]

Water running down behind the gutter is a warning sign. On a house with a drip edge at the roof's lower edge, the gutter slips under the drip edge,^[1] so the roof water lands inside it. A gutter hung too low or with a gap behind it lets water soak the fascia, and the rot that follows is what eventually lets the gutter go.

Cause 5: impact

The Building America guide notes that vinyl and aluminum gutters can crack or dent from impacts from ladders and tree branches.^[2] A ladder leaned on the gutter, a falling limb, or a sliding sheet of snow can bend hangers or pry the back of the gutter off the board. Look for a kink or dent near where the gap starts.

Doing the repair safely

Gutter repairs on a single-storey eave are ladder work. Virginia Commonwealth University's ladder program says to pull the base out so its distance from the wall is one-fourth the height to the point of support,^[5] and that the top rest for a rung ladder has to be rigid and strong enough to support the load.^[5] A gutter that is already pulling loose is neither. Rest the top of the ladder on the wall below the gutter, or fit a stand-off that holds it clear, and move the ladder along the run rather than leaning out to reach. The same program says the top two rungs of a straight or extension ladder are not for standing.^[5]

Look up before you raise the ladder. Virginia's Overhead High Voltage Line Safety Act forbids work that puts a person or a ladder within 10 feet of any overhead high voltage line,^[6] and VCU's program adds that metal ladders must not be used when working on or near electrical wires.^[5] The wire that feeds the house deserves the same distance.

For checking the slope once the gutter is back up, see how to adjust gutters so they drain properly.

Stop and call a pro if

• The fascia is soft, cracked or crumbling where the hangers are, or the rafter ends behind it look dark or damaged. Fascia and rafter repairs come before any gutter goes back up.
• The gutter is above the first storey, or the only way to reach it is from the roof.
• An overhead power line or the service wire into the house runs within 10 feet of where you, the ladder, your tools or the gutter would be. Virginia law forbids work that brings a person or a ladder within 10 feet of an overhead high voltage line.^[6]
• A long section has come down, is hanging, or has kinked badly.
• Water is running behind the gutter, which involves the roof edge and drip edge.
• The gutter is old, leaking at most of its seams and pulling loose in several places, so replacement makes more sense than repair. In Virginia, a Class C licence covers construction, removal, repair or improvement jobs with a single contract over $1,000 and under $30,000,^[7] so check the licence of anyone quoting in that range.

If replacement is on the table, read how much new gutters cost in Virginia. Browse gutter repair on Loclis, the other exterior answers, or exterior pros around Blacksburg. When it is time to fix it, describe the gutter repair once and licensed local businesses quote it.