Gutter Restoration

Hey folks, working on restoring the gutters on the house we bought in the last year. Reasons why I feel this is needed are that the gutters have several sags and the slope is dead flat on on 40 foot run with one downspout at one end.

My plan is to rehang the gutters so the high point is the center with a slight slope towards each end with a downspout on each end.

There are two issues I need to get past, one of which I need input on. The key one (pictures below) is that the fascia seems to be a half board that butts up against the underside of the gutter providing an obstruction so they cannot be hung the way I want. The current gutters are already butt up against the roof line, problem in itself, so raising the center and resting the ends on the board is not an option. I am thinking to correct this would require removing the gutters and the fascia board and replacing with a fascia that spans the full height.

The second issue is that the gutters are currently hung using roof straps but I believe I can cut those off using my sawzall.

It appears that the gutter is now tucked behind the drip edge. If so, when you replace the facia. the shingle drip edge will be behind the front edge of the fascia, unless you use a 1x fascia and a new drip edge metal.

A dead flat gutter will inherently drain either way to an outlet, so, have you ascertained whether or not the dwelling may have settled in one direction or another, so that elevating the center will not be creating another problem?

Snoonyb said:

It appears that the gutter is now tucked behind the drip edge. If so, when you replace the facia. the shingle drip edge will be behind the front edge of the fascia, unless you use a 1x fascia and a new drip edge metal.

A dead flat gutter will inherently drain either way to an outlet, so, have you ascertained whether or not the dwelling may have settled in one direction or another, so that elevating the center will not be creating another problem?

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Thanks for the info about the drops edge, I was kinda wondering about that. I will add it to my list of things to check out when I get up there again.

On your second point about the center being higher and potentially creating a problem, can you clarify? My plan was to find the ideal center point (as high as possible while still allowing the angle of the roof to miss the gutter front edge) and then use a level to drop the ends the appropriate slope.So no assumption that that any part of the house (I.e. fascia, roof, etc) is level.

T2P said:

On your second point about the center being higher and potentially creating a problem, can you clarify? My plan was to find the ideal center point (as high as possible while still allowing the angle of the roof to miss the gutter front edge) and then use a level to drop the ends the appropriate slope.So no assumption that that any part of the house (I.e. fascia, roof, etc) is level.

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Good thinking.

That's the point. Best laid plans of mice and men.

Until it isn't.

Perhaps you could remove the gutter and the board below install metal like the rake and install gutters as you wish.

Is any water coming out now? Perhaps you can get by by just putting another downpipe on the opposite end.

Never once have I seen a fashia installed that way.
I can see it acting like a funnel to trap water behind it when the gutters over flow.
Try to do as your suggesting is going to open up a whole new can of worms unless you also cut off the rafter tails.

joecaption said:

Never once have I seen a fashia installed that way.
I can see it acting like a funnel to trap water behind it when the gutters over flow.
Try to do as your suggesting is going to open up a whole new can of worms unless you also cut off the rafter tails.

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I was thinking the piece below the gutter was just an add on.

:agree: It's probably just an add-on to support the gutter. But it would still provide a place for water to seep in and not dry out.

So assuming it is an add on, how do I tell? Or provide images to help?

VanMark water comes out the existing downspout but the sag in the middle is causing overflow there.

Joecaption I assume you mean it will cause issues by extending the gutter beyond the shingle edge as Snoonyb suggested?

T2P said:

So assuming it is an add on, how do I tell? Or provide images to help?

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There should a be liner behind it. Something nailed to every rafter, Joe is thinking that board is the liner so look at the nails, we can see two on the end.
If there are nails precisely every 16 or 24", he may be right.
He suggested the rafters would have toi be cut back to fix that situation but instead of a liner you could just put blocking between the rafters to make a solid edge.

Before you get into that, stand back and see if the roof is straight across the top.

A more panoramic photo would provide a better detail of the rafter projection and overhang.

nealtw said:

Perhaps you could remove the gutter and the board below install metal like the rake and install gutters as you wish.

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:thbup:This sounds like best way to eliminate problem.Take that wood off.Doesnt appear the soffit is attached to it.