Gutters falling off house

Anyway, I am buying my first house(foreclosure, so I'll be here a lot) and in one spot the gutters have been falling off the house. I close in a few weeks. I went over today and hammered them back in thier original holes, obviously I was guessing they would just slide right out. They were over loaded with snow (iowa winter).

Well I hammered them back in their original holes (since I dont own the property yet thats about all i can do, I just didnt want them falling off the house completely) I did notice one nail(spike?) was completely missing, so I plan to go buy some more tomorrow and hammer them in.

I expect them to fall out because hammering them back in will only make the hole bigger and the nails looser (right?)

What can I do to keep them in there, I had considered filling the holes with wood glue and then hammering them back in (whenever they start coming out of the wood again). What do I need to know and make sure I do next time they start coming off the house? What would be a better more permanent fix? Ive never messed with gutters but it seems easy enough. Anyway. Thanks for your feedback/help

oh and there are a bunch of trees in the back yard that im gonna be removing (at least branches that point towards the house.) and that might be part of the cause (cloggin the gutters)

 

They make screws that replace the nails in gutters. Be sure the screws go into the rafter tails and use the spacers that go inside the gutters. Yes plugged gutters get heavy especially when frozen and snow filled. The spacers I mentioned are like pipe that the screw or nail goes through to keep from squeezing the gutter when the screw or nail is tightened. Wood glue in the hole would not help. Epoxy glue might but the screws that are longer than the nails would be a more permanent fix.

 

You could also add something like this:

Mill Finish Aluminum Fascia Strap Hanger 5 inch 21028 by Amerimax | DoItYourself.com

They screw through the back of the gutter. You could add as many of these as you like to add additional support to the gutter. As mentioned, hitting the rafter tails is always a good idea, if possible. If the spikes are already in the rafter tails, you might want to add additional hangers between the rafter tails to give the gutter additional support. If you do, you would need to use screws, since spikes won't hold in a 3/4" fascia for very long.

Simply hammering the spikes in won't last long, as the hole is shot. You could also pull the spikes and ferrules, and just angle them over a 1/2" or so to a new hole in some fresh wood.

 

I would recommend not working on any part of the house without permission from the owner until it goes through escrow. Have a brother who almost lost a house because of that. What type of gutter is on the house? Is it plastic store bought with the clips around it, or professional steel? Is it nailed through the top lip, or it is nailed through the back of the gutter or into the rafter tail? If its steel gutter, and nailed into the back through the rafter tail, and assuming there is no dry rot in the wood where it won't hold a nail, then just simply put a nail in a new location preferably a little higher if possible and cover over the old hole with gutter sealant also use galvanized nails so they don't rust also there should be at least 1 gutter strap every other rafter tail. hope that helps

 

either replace the spikes with long screws,or install inside gutter brackets with screws as previously suggested,I would use the right brackets at 16" - 24" intervals,and be sure the fascia board is secure 1st