How to repair gutter nails

[Christopher Nelson]

We had a big thaw around Albany, NY last week and I got out in my backyard to look around a little at what winter did to the yard. The yard is OK but I noticed that half of the nails holding the gutter up on my 3-season porch are backed out an inch or so. They are so loose I can push them back in or grab them and pull them out with my hand. I can't easily move them -- I'd leave a big hole in the side of lip of the gutter where the nail used to be -- so I imagine I have to replace or reinforce them. I didn't take the gutter down but there doesn't seem to be any damage to the eaves. I'll replace the front of the eaves if I must but that seems like overkill. Any recommendations?

[aemeijers]

One at a time, pull them out, and shove a skinny dowel or a plastic anchor in the hole, and tap the nail back in. That isn't a permanent fix, but it should buy you a couple years. A semi-permanent fix would be to replace with long skinny lag bolts, a hair larger or longer than the nails, but that would still fit through the tubes that hold the gutter open. If you can find a cheap source, you could squirt epoxy in the holes.

-- aem sends...

[mm]

I used gutter screws. Designed for just this purpose. A lot like nails, but screws. HomeDepot, for example, has them in white and brown, in boxes of iirc 10. Maybe other colors are available online? They probably won't last forever**, but it only took a minute each and it's been two years so far.

**otoh, it's the nature of nails that they make a hole as big as they are. The thing holding them in is the squeezieness of the wood. Once the screw is in, the squeezieness can taper off completely, but unless the wood recedes, there is still wood in the way of the screw coming straight out. And it's going to take a long time to unscrew. So I'll be looking forward to see how long they last. So far, no sign that they are coming out.

o loose

[Ed Pawlowski]

I did the same. First I banged the nails back in but that lasted less than a year. The screws are easy and have lasted over 5 years so far.

[mm]

I tried banging them back in too. I asked the roofer to do it,and I have plenty reason to think he would have done it, but it rained as he was finishing and I think he forgot.

It also lasted about a year.

[Gary]

make sure you get the right size

[BobR]

The problem with most gutter nails is that they don't simply set into the wood as say a 10p nail would. Instead, they are so large that more often than not, they split the wood and as a result will easily pull out which is what yours have done. Pounding them back in will not be a permanent fix and neither will plugging the hole and pounding them back in. The facia is probably split and won't hold the nail from now on. The best option is to use screw in brackets to how the gutter and get rid of those nails. You may need to pull the gutter down and check the facia to determine how much damage has been done.

[Van Chocstraw]

Pull them out, pump the hole full of liquid nails, then put them back in. I never did it, but it sounds good.

[LouB]

Yabut will that stuff take being wet as well as freezing / thawing?

Lou

[kenannwalters]

Replace spikes (nails) with brackets, called hidden hangers in some locations. The hanger has a hook to attatch to the front of the gutter and is folded over to fit behind and inside the back of the gutter. Don't worry about making the fold fit behind the gutter, just hook it on front where gutter is rolled to the inside and laying against the inside back. Use hex head screws in hanger through the back of the gutter and into the fascia of the house. The screws at least an inch long will not work out as easy as nails but are easy to remove when you have to remove gutter from house.

[Gary]

If you are going to do that, use PL Premium is it a polyurethane which water in fact activates. I have a rental house with that same problem. I will use this system to keep the nails in because the holes will look ugly without the nails and then I will use gutter hangers with the screws to beef up that area.