Water between gutter and fascia...
#1
08-27-10, 10:57 AM
Water between gutter and fascia...
Hope someone can help with this. Every time it rains really hard, there's one section of gutter (maybe 3' in length) where the water just comes down in sheets. It appears to be coming down between the gutter and fascia, but for the life of me, I can't see how.
I got up on a ladder the past weekend and verified the gutter is not clogged up. The roofing shingles appear to over hang the gutter enough, and I even took a hose and got water streaming down the roof to try and duplicate, but never could. The odd thing is the front of the gutter is lower than the back side (that attaches to the fascia), so even if the gutter was
"overloaded", I would think the water would spill over the front part and not the back.
The bad part is we noticed some water in the window sill (actually, it was under a metal strip the window sets on), and a small piece of the window frame near the sill (the drywall section) was damp.
Any ideas what is going on and how to correct?
Thanks,
Andy
I got up on a ladder the past weekend and verified the gutter is not clogged up. The roofing shingles appear to over hang the gutter enough, and I even took a hose and got water streaming down the roof to try and duplicate, but never could. The odd thing is the front of the gutter is lower than the back side (that attaches to the fascia), so even if the gutter was
"overloaded", I would think the water would spill over the front part and not the back.
The bad part is we noticed some water in the window sill (actually, it was under a metal strip the window sets on), and a small piece of the window frame near the sill (the drywall section) was damp.
Any ideas what is going on and how to correct?
Thanks,
Andy
#2
08-27-10, 11:41 AM
Group Moderator
Well if you are not sure what's going on then I'm not either... but here are some ideas.
#1... are your "downspouts" plugged? If they are, or maybe are partially plugged, water can't get away fast enough and your gutter could be filling up with water, and are so full they are spilling over at the lowest part of the gutter where there is a sag in the run.
#2... if gutters are positioned too low, water can actually shoot right off the roof, missing the gutter. You surely would not be able to duplicate this with a water hose, but the sheer volume of water coming off the roof in a thunderstorm might cause this to happen. Perhaps there is a dip in the gutter causing this to happen. A deflector is often used at the bottom of a valley to prevent this from happening. Not sure if this could be your problem or not.
If the water is really coming from behind the gutter (and not spilling over the front, running down the front, across the bottom and dripping off the back) then the question is, is there gutter apron or drip edge flashing over the back edge of the gutter. If the answer is no, then that's one problem.
You could also have a roof leak, if there is something unusual above this area, like a chimney, vent pipe, dormer, wall, etc.
If you also have water in a window, and you have storm windows, verify that the storm window is CLOSED! You don't know how many people complain about a leaky window and don't even THINK to close their storm window. Water comes in through the screen and can't get out if the weep holes are plugged.
If no storm windows, then there could be a problem with the siding, window flashing, or even a roof leak that is letting water into the wall from above.
These aren't the sort of things a person can easily diagnose from 1000 miles away, but if you have more specific questions we'll give it a shot. Pictures along with notations also help.
#1... are your "downspouts" plugged? If they are, or maybe are partially plugged, water can't get away fast enough and your gutter could be filling up with water, and are so full they are spilling over at the lowest part of the gutter where there is a sag in the run.
#2... if gutters are positioned too low, water can actually shoot right off the roof, missing the gutter. You surely would not be able to duplicate this with a water hose, but the sheer volume of water coming off the roof in a thunderstorm might cause this to happen. Perhaps there is a dip in the gutter causing this to happen. A deflector is often used at the bottom of a valley to prevent this from happening. Not sure if this could be your problem or not.
If the water is really coming from behind the gutter (and not spilling over the front, running down the front, across the bottom and dripping off the back) then the question is, is there gutter apron or drip edge flashing over the back edge of the gutter. If the answer is no, then that's one problem.
You could also have a roof leak, if there is something unusual above this area, like a chimney, vent pipe, dormer, wall, etc.
If you also have water in a window, and you have storm windows, verify that the storm window is CLOSED! You don't know how many people complain about a leaky window and don't even THINK to close their storm window. Water comes in through the screen and can't get out if the weep holes are plugged.
If no storm windows, then there could be a problem with the siding, window flashing, or even a roof leak that is letting water into the wall from above.
These aren't the sort of things a person can easily diagnose from 1000 miles away, but if you have more specific questions we'll give it a shot. Pictures along with notations also help.
#3
10-04-10, 01:48 PM
re: water between gutter and fascia....
Well, after adding a drip edge (purchased from HD), we still have the same problem. When it rains, it "appears" to be dripping out of the middle of the gutter (about a 4' section), but the reality is it can't be. I tested this this morning by taking a garden hose (with the sprayer off) and just letting water run in the gutter in the area where we saw the "leak". It is definitely not coming out of the gutter itself.
When I was up on the ladder this time, I noticed the gutter was a little loose in two areas (in the general vicinity of where we see water flowing down). I took a hammer and gave a few good whacks to the two nails holding this section in place and now it's nice and tight. Could this looseness have caused the illusion of water coming out of the center of the gutter?
Thanks,
Andy
When I was up on the ladder this time, I noticed the gutter was a little loose in two areas (in the general vicinity of where we see water flowing down). I took a hammer and gave a few good whacks to the two nails holding this section in place and now it's nice and tight. Could this looseness have caused the illusion of water coming out of the center of the gutter?
Thanks,
Andy
