Have your galvanized gutters on your house developed holes? If yes, that means you need to repair them as soon as possible. Gutters that have developed holes cannot drain water effectively which can cause more damage to your house. Water drops from these holes can sip into your home causing damage to household items as well as the flooring. The good news is that patching up holes in galvanized gutters is a simple job that can take less than an hour. So how do you go about repairing galvanized gutters?

Things you will need

– Tin snips
– Steel wool or wire brush
– Eye protection
– Clean cloth
– Leather gloves
– Ladder

Additional materials

– Pop rivet gun, pop rivets, silicon and a piece of metal flashing.
– Flashing cement
– Roofing cement
– Piece of window screen wire

How to prepare the gutter for patching

Lean the ladder against the walls of your house in a safe angle to ensure your weight is balanced well. You need to clean the gutters especially around the areas with holes. Get rid of twigs and old leaves by hand. Ensure that you wear the leather gloves to avoid twigs and sharp objects from piercing your hands. Next, use the wire brush or the steel wool to thoroughly clean around the holes to get rid of corrosion. Wipe the areas around the holes clean using a piece of cloth.

How to patch using window screen

Take a small piece of wire window screen and ensure it is larger than the hole you need to patch. Before placing the window screen, spread the hole with roofing cement all around. Ensure that you tightly press down the window screen and don’t leave any air space. Spread another layer of roofing cement on the window screen. Check to make sure that there are no holes in the window screen.

How to patch using metal flashing

Take a piece of the metal flashing and smear the back of it using the roofing cement. Just like the window screen, press the metal flashing on the hole tightly. Wipe any excess roofing cement around the edges.

How to patch using rivets

Get a piece of metal one inch larger than the hole. Place the patch on the hole and using a drill, make two small holes through the patch and the gutter from inside. Apply caulk around the edges of the hole and the patch metal. Set the metal patch on the hole and use pop rivets to secure it in place. Apply more caulk around the patch and smoothen the patch using a finger.

How to avoid holes in your gutter in the future

– Clean out gutters: You need to make a routine check on your gutters at least once or twice a year. Clean out old leaves and other debris that collect in your gutter. Use a hosepipe to run water through the gutters and check to make sure it flows through the downspouts. If not, use a plumbing snake to unclog the downspout.

– Install splash guards: Sometimes water can travel too fast through the gutters and often times it can end up splashing over to the ground. To avoid this, have a professional install splash guards on your gutters.

– Install gutter guards: When you allow debris to sit for long in the gutters, they end up causing corrosion which leads to holes. To avoid debris collection in your gutter, call a professional specializing in gutters in Toronto to install gutter guards. These guards are usually mesh type screens that are fit across a gutter to prevent debris from getting into the gutter. After installing the gutter guard, ensure that the openings don’t get clogged.