Warped Gutters and Sagging Gutters

When they were brand new, your gutters looked like they'd last forever. But of course, no metal lasts forever. Constant exposure to the outdoors makes sure of that.

The metals most commonly used for gutter replacement—aluminum and steel—each have their own properties. (See our article on gutter materials.) Aluminum has a relatively high rate of thermal expansion and contraction, while steel has a low rate.

Over a period of years, all that movement can cause the metal to warp. Warped gutters can often pull away from the house, allowing water to leak. Then, too, aluminum is a much softer metal than steel and thus more prone to deformation. And as we've seen, the problem is compounded if gutters aren't properly installed in the first place. Again, this is why experienced installers speak of your gutters as a system, because the gutters themselves and the installation hardware must work in tandem to prolong the life of the system.

Gutters become worn, of course, through simple corrosion over the years. Your gutters are industrially coated—aluminum with paint and steel with galvanization—and not all coatings perform the same. The coatings can break down from years of exposure to water and ultraviolet rays. And older gutters may feature coatings that were top-of-the-line a generation ago but are substandard today. (See our article on gutter coatings.)

Two other factors, however, can accelerate the process. First, if your gutters become warped and crinkled, then all those little pockmarks become magnets for debris to collect. Debris becomes sludge, and sludge attacks metal.

Second, while steel gutters are joined together by soldering, aluminum gutter systems are sealed with rivets (or screws) and caulk. Every time an aluminum gutter turns a corner, reaches the end of a roof line, or must be joined with a downspout, there are rivets and caulk. Rivets can pop when metal warps. When rivets are no longer flush, they too become collecting points for debris and sludge. And caulk becomes brittle over time. As the caulk loses its flexibility and no longer expands and contracts along with the metal, it can fail.

Sagging gutters often occur when the brackets holding your gutters against the home fail or break. Without the brace, traditional gutter systems can "sag" in the middle of each gutter section. Water, sludge and debris tend to collect in sagging gutters, further damaging your gutters and potentially opening your home to water damage in case of overflow.

Thus we see, yet again, that all components must act as a system for your gutters to achieve peak performance. Whether or not your existing system can be rescued—once it's warped and worn—is a call for an experienced installer
to make.

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Warped Gutters and Sagging Gutters