Why Is My Rain Gutter Leaking

The gutters then direct the water to a downspout allowing the water to run down until it reaches the ground.

Why is my rain gutter leaking.

If your gutters are pulling away or falling off your home it may appear you have a leak. Capillary action is a water activity in which water adheres to a surface and follow the surface around. When the roof shingles do not extend past the metal drip edge the water will suck back on the metal drip edge this is called capillary action and run behind your gutters. If you don t clean the gutters regularly water can seep over the edge along the soffit and down the siding.

But what happens when your roof s gutters become worn out or cracked or clogged. Water leaking between gutter and fascia when there is rain the water is expected to roll down the roof and into the gutters. Nonetheless each cause tends to have its own tell tale signs making it all that much easier to identify the culprit. This not only discolors and deteriorates the siding it can cause leaks in the house and create erosion problems for the foundation.

If rushing rainwater hits a blockage while running through gutters it s going to surge up and over that blockage usually spilling over the sides of the gutter. If the gutters look clear run a hose and fill the gutters with water. Often the real issue is that the gutters aren t fastened tightly to the fascia. Standing water in gutters eventually will rust galvanized steel seams or seep through the seams in aluminum gutters.

If the gutters are clogged it s possible that the water is overflowing the gutters and this is contributing to the leak. Water should run out the downspout and away from the house without filling the gutter. Water can t run off the roof and into the gutter so it runs between the gutter and the roof s edge. Some gutter backups are caused by blockages in the downspouts.

First check for signs of standing water and sagging. Why are my gutters dripping. The final word as you can see gutter leaks can be caused by a range of different problems some of them quite minor and some not so much.