Problems With Corner Gutters

• Corner gutters are the hardest to install correctly due to the multiple angles and little anchor space for brackets. roman-catholic church. image by iChip from Fotolia.com

  Corner gutter sections create a necessary evil in house roof drainage. While they help route water away from the house after it falls on the roof, the methods of installing corner gutters can create new problems. Much of it has to do with how the gutters are connected to each other. In addition, problems can occur with the corner downspouts and the angles they must use to reach the ground.

Construction

• Corner gutters handle both the joining of the side of a house and usually the downspout connection. To make this happen hardware is used to keep the corner pieces attached to the house. These hardware methods can work lose.

  Long nail brackets pierce through the gutter in cheaper construction and nail it directly to the wood flashing behind. This holds the gutter to the house. However, when these nails corrode or weaken, the entire gutter unit can fall off.

  Use of different metals can produce corrosion. Metals oxidize when exposed to moisture. Weaker metals will take the brunt of oxidation when connected with stronger metals. While aluminum gutters won't rust, they can corrode to nothing, taking on the oxidation of copper or metal corner gutter units.

Sealing Seams

• Sealant is used to connect gutters together. At the corners the gutters incorporate additional sealant between the pieces where they overlap. When this sealant falls apart to the elements, it creates leakage points where significant water is being funneled to.

  Using the wrong sealant can also contribute to problems if the sealant fails to adhere properly. Not every sealant works properly with aluminum gutters.

  If previous sealant or silicone is on a gutter piece to be joined, it needs to be scraped off clean. Any residue can cause a gap when new sealant is applied with a replacement joining or a new corner.

Appearance Problems

• Using pre-fabricated gutter corner allows easier installation, but they also create overlap issues as the pre-fab units slip over the existing gutters rather than aligning in size to them. The resulting appearance looks rough and obvious where the units join up.