When should you replace gutters?
Short answer. Replace gutters when repairs stop holding: when they sag or pull away in several places, leak at many seams, show rust-through or cracks, hold standing water you cannot fix with slope adjustments, or have let water rot the fascia behind them. One leaking corner is a repair; a run that fails in five places is a replacement.
Signs that point to replacement
- Sagging or separation. Gutters pulling away from the house, especially if the hangers keep loosening because the fascia will not hold screws.
- Many leaking seams. Sectional gutters with drips at most joints have reached the end; resealing becomes an annual chore.
- Rust or holes. Galvanized steel with rust spreading from seams or the trough bottom.
- Cracks and splits. Common on aging vinyl and on aluminum damaged by ladders or ice.
- Permanent standing water. Gutters that have bent out of shape and cannot be re-sloped.
- Damage below. Peeling paint and rot on fascia and soffit, stained siding, washed-out beds, and water in the crawl space or basement.
- Storm damage. Dented faces from hail and runs crushed by limbs.
- Too small. Gutters that overflow in hard rain even when clean.
Repair or replace?
Repair makes sense when the problem is one corner, one hanger or one downspout and the rest of the system is sound. Replace when problems are spread across the house, when the gutters are sectional and old, or when you need to upsize. Factor in the roof: if a roof replacement is a few years away, replacing the gutters at the same time is cleaner and avoids hanging new gutters twice.
After a storm
Hail-dented gutters often accompany roof damage. Photograph dents and crushed downspouts before any repairs, since they may be part of an insurance claim depending on your policy. More in gutter sizing and seamless gutters and Georgia hail season.