My house has the kind of metal rain gutters that are attached with really long nails that go all the way through the top edge of the gutters, about every six feet. Geniuses that installed them did not think at all about where would be good places to dump the water, and pretty much chose the worst spots possible. They're in good shape and are the correct lengths and everything, so I'm wondering if it's possible for me to "reslope" them to send the water to more logical places. I'd also need to plug the stupidly-located downspout holes, and cut (how?) new holes in the correct positions. I dunno, this all sounds pretty difficult for a one-person job, but I hate the idea of trashing otherwise good gutters and eating the cost of replacement. Currently I'm just using a bunch of drain flex-tubes to get the water somewhat away from where it shouldn't be; if there's no way to "fix" my existing gutters I might just live with the tubes rather than eat the cost. Well, if anyone has any tips for me I'd be grateful!

 

Would it be easier to add downspout extensions to re-route the water instead? Or is that pretty much what you're already doing?

 

Yeah, that's what I'm doing as a stopgap. It helps, but it's unsightly and still doesn't get the water to where I'd like it to go (just gets it away from where I don't want it to go).

 

You really don't need to worry about slope, once the gutters fill up to a given level they will flow to the downspout. If there is a low point the water will eventually evaporate.

Nothing looks worse than a long run of gutter along a fascia where it slopes down 2".

 

I agree with Marq1, sloped gutters look bad. With the parallel lines of the roof edge and soffit right next to the gutter any angle is very apparent.

Cutting new downspout holes can be done with a step drill to open up a hole. Then use tin snips to open the hole to the size and shape needed. If you are abandoning old downspout holes you can cover the holes with a scrap of vinyl siding trim stock or aluminum gutter. Those materials are usually sold in bulk but if you are riding around and see a house getting gutters or siding stop in and ask for a few pieces of scrap.

 

Working with long gutters alone is not easy. How long are your gutters and what would the distance be between the old and new downspout? How much slope is in the current gutter and where would the new downspout go related to the slope? While covering the existing downspout hole and cutting a new one is not easy with the gutter mounted, I would not remove it unless the slope does not match the new downspout location. There is nothing worse than low spots in a long gutter run. The weight of the water will loosen spikes over time.

 

I've resloped gutters several times. The trick is not to slope it so much that it shows from ground level. If it's so long that it can't be helped, then two downspouts are needed at opposite ends.
I'm not about to match expertise with my fellow members (who by the way are pros or have more experience), but, gutters that do not fully drain away roof water can be very damaging. If they fill up and don't drain they can overflow (I dis-agree with Marq about this), seeping under the roofing and drip edge, and can freeze and pull down the gutter. The slope can be very minimal as long as you enough of the fascia board to nail the gutter to. Usually you can use the same nail holes. You will need two people. It's not hard on a one story home, but two story can be a challenge.
I had to add another down spout on my attached garage section of roof due to the fact that the smaller garage roof could not handle the full house roof water drain off that was directed to the garage roof. I went in the middle section removed the nails and reslopped from mid-section to opposite end. The reslope was very minimal but enough to drain the large volume of water quickly.

 

Were only talking about the amount of water that would be present along the bottom of the gutter due to the amount the run could be out of level, probably no more than 1/4",

 

Thanks guys, this is really helpful. It hadn't occurred to me that slope isn't absolutely necessary; that might explain why I don't see any slope on visual inspection. I think what I'll do is, first, try to check the existing slope so I know what I'm dealing with. Then if things are sufficiently flat, I'll try adding new downspouts where I want them and plugging the ones that I don't want, then see how that works. Then, if it seems necessary, I can add some re-slope. Norm201 , how would I go about re-using the same nail holes, if I only need to raise or lower by 1/8" or 1/4"? Jam a popsicle stick in the hole on one side before hammering the nail back?

We don't get very heavy rains here; maybe once a year we might have a short downpour when we get 1/4" in an hour, generally much lighter than that. And the roof is fairly small; the north and west sides that I'm concerned about are perhaps 70' long in total, with maybe 1,000 square feet of area. (Which gets me 155 gallons/hour maximum, or 2.6 gallons per minute.)

 

The other's say they can see a slope on gutters and that it looks bad. To be honest if I don't see a slight slope on a gutter, then I suspect a problem. And seeing a slope on gutters is not odd looking. In fact if done properly you won't notice a slope unless you look hard. Incline should be approximately 1 to 1/2 inch for every sixteen feet. On lengths longer than 40 feet or more the incline should start in the middle and a down spout installed at both ends. Climate and local weather conditions play a big part of how your gutters should be placed. From your description, do you really need to do anything? With so little rain fall the water deposit can't be that bad. If I were you I would live with it!

However, to answer your direct question to me...

I never had a problem with using the same gutter holes. If I started in the middle, as I needed to do on the garage, I pulled all the nails out from one side. That gave me enough play to tilt the gutter down enough to provide the slop and never having to interfere with the old holes in fascia board. You might need to drill one new hole if it within 1/8 of old one.
When I had to re-do the gutters on my cabin, I did not provide enough slant the first time and had to pull them off and re-do the gutters. Again I had no problem with using the same gutter holes and not interfere with the old holes in fascia board.
BTW...I never bother to fill in the old holes. Unless you have a bug problem those old nails won't affect anything. But you can throw in some caulk in you want.

 

Y'know, I didn't worry about it for quite a few years, for exactly this reason, but I'm finding water seeping into the crawlspace, either under or through cracks in the poured-concrete perimeter foundation. I'm thinking that maybe because my soil is heavy and clay-ish, that even though rain doesn't come fast and furious, that it's still being retained right next to the house and allowing it to seep past the foundation.

 

Before doing gutter work, make sure your soil/land is sloped away from the foundation. It's amazing how this can help or relieve water seepage. 10 to 15 degrees would be ideal.

 

Yep, working on this too. I've kind of been skeptical that it would make much difference but I'm doing it, and I'm glad to have your confirmation that it should be helpful.

 

A single piece of step flashing could be bought very cheap to form a cover over the hole.

 

It's an old trick I learned from my Grandfather, but-
IIRC, nothing in current code prevents you from putting down spouts on BOTH ENDS of a GUTTER.
Works great with a large roof- level gutter, downspouts on both ends.

If you have an existing sloped gutter and add a downspout at the upper end, you can cut the top and bottom off of a beer can, slide that into the throat of the lower drain and leave is about 1/8" inch above the height of the gutter on the uphill side. During a slow rain, or with melting snow, the gutter will drain to the newer-higher downspout. When there is a heavy rain, BOTH sides of the gutter will drain.

 

There should not be a depression filled with mulch or gravel all along the foundation.
The land contour sloping away from the house should be established with dense soil typically used for the lawn and preferably having a reasonable amount of clay content.

 

I agree with what Hal said. But why not just buy a new downspout section, a cap and drain down spout pipe. Your done. Oh and lots of sealant. Don't be afraid to use lots of it.

https://www.doityourself.com/stry/h2repairdownspout

Look at the pic on the above link. Buy those parts add another down spout. If you can slant it, fine, if not, no worries.

 

I would recommend to have Aluminum flashing between roof and gutter... before you mount the gutter-line. Here's a quick suggestion. I reside where rainfalls are very heavy (we get about 72 inches a year, lately it's been close to 90 to 100 inches)... If you can "tip" the gutters so they are "leaning" forward (level from front view but side view will appear "off" by 3-5 degrees); this creates an "overflow" which ... is why there's a lot of landscaping (hedge bushes, decor plants, etc) down here where gutters are found commonly because the overflow will "dig into the ground" (create mini-trenches in dirt/grass/etc). If a double down-spout is not possible; this may be your only option left that actually works!

BUT DO CHECK CODE ENFORCEMENT REGULATIONS FIRST!
Believe it or not, in Florida; there are some towns and cities that actually have a "law" on gutter tipping!
Same way with the Elephant must be parked in parking slots, and if metered parking, must pay meter!


<--- don't know anyone who owns an Elephant or seen an Elephant "parked" yet...

 

Another trick, Uncle who lived in lake-effect-snow zone around lake Erie.

Paint the fascia board and gutters black.

They REALLY disappear and blend into the roof. AND black gutters/downspouts will heat up and thaw much quicker, so you don't have freeze / ice dam issues as much as you do with white gutters.

 

Hal, great idea. They do have brown, but I like the black idea.

 

On a two story home I doubt it can be noticed. Even a ranch it would not stand out severely.