By Daniel Weadley
© DanielsRoof.com

There are dozens of reasons why a plastic gutter may suddenly start leaking and require a repair, a solution that works in one situation may not work for everyone. There are however some steps you can take to determine what is actually causing the problem, it is then just a case of applying the appropriate solution.

Rather than just guessing what the cause is, I recommend the following steps as outlined on this page. When a professional roofing or guttering company checks over a faulty gutter this is the type of checklist they will go through before attempting a repair.

Please note that this is applicable for the repairing of plastic gutters although similar checks can be made on any type of gutter, such as cast iron.

Gutter Blockages

If your property suffers from a blocked gutter, rain water pipe or even a drain the water can back up and either over flow the gutter or start leaking at a weak spot in the gutter system – usually a joint or outlet.

Solution – Unblock the gutter and rain water pipe, pour a significant amount of water in the gutter (with a hose perhaps?) and see what happens.

Check for Signs of Poor Workmanship

After you have cleared the gutters and pipe of any leaves, roof moss or other blockages and poured some water into the system it is usually very easy to see exactly where the leak is coming from. If a support bracket has come loose then re-secure it with a screw, the same applies to any outlets, joints or corner sections that have become dislodged.

All rainwater that collects in the gutter should flow towards the outlet and pipe, if the water doesn’t flow correctly and “ponds” in the gutter then it may overflow during periods of heavy rain. In this case the gutter should be re fitted with the correct alignment, making sure any rain water flows towards the pipe that have already checked for blockages.

Replace Joints and Parts

Plastic guttering does suffer from thermal expansion and will sometimes slip out of the joints, in this case it is best to replace the part rather than trying to seal any gaps with mastic sealant as this is a questionable method to repair guttering with expandable gutter joints. If you have plastic guttering then you can buy individual replacement parts, they are easy to install as you only need a screw and screwdriver.

Occasionally when installing a new gutter joint the existing gutter length needs to be adjusted so it fits snugly into the joint. Very rarely does a whole new length of gutter need to be purchased.