New Gutters Under The Old Ones!?

[76artcraft]

Hi everybody,

I just found out (from searching this site) you can install new gutters under the old ones. Which is really thrilling to me (in a fix my home kindda way). I thought I'd have to take off the old ones first(can't imagine with all those screws!).

Yesterday found out when it rains the gutter pools up in one spot and spills over- and it just had to be right over my outside light and outside breaker box. I just don't feel comfortable having the outside breaker box sitting in a pool of water!
From what I've heard you describe it in the manuel... but I don't have that just yet.

So just wondering if I can use any kind of house sized gutter or should it be on the smaller size.
I seen a cheep one that looked like a mobile home gutter but a little bigger in the menards paper(hoping something like that is ideal)$5.99 for like 8-12 ft can't remember the length.
Then do I screw it up(LOL- didn't mean that!-u know what I meant) with hex screws or use some kind of clip bracket?

Just wondering how to install it.
Since I can't finish my roof cause it's gonna rain this weekned, I'd like to at least put up gutters on one side of the house(Where it spills over).
Hope I can do 70 ft in one day.

Thanks for all the advice

Sam

[Brenda (OH)]

Hi!

I'll let wiser folks comment on replacement gutter choices. There is probably an ideal size of small gutters, or whether seamless gutters are worth the price.

I had failed drip channels on all 3 MHs I am rehabbing, and I have had to try several different things to get all the water to stop flowing down the walls like faucets, or down the fronts of some windows. So please don't get discouraged if the first fix you try doesn't do the whole deal. I spent 2 weeks putting up a j channel siding piece under the original drip channels, and they carried away alot of the water that had been going down the sides, but the I found out that buckets of water were coming in the kitchen through the back of the range hood on the stove.....I put up a piece of bent metal above the range hood outlet, and that worked for now.

If after putting up the extra gutters, if you still get overflow, you may need to put a piece of metal that sticks out further than the electrical box, to pitch the water out away from the wall.

I got a friend to make me some pieces with his bending machine, but I could have used regular flashing, and bent it with a board.

the trick I have found is to be sure the front edge of the piece is lower than horizontal, ie more than a 90 degree angle, so that the water runs off the front of the metal piece instead of off of the edges and down the mobile home wall.

the diverter could go either up near the gutter, or above the electrical box. or both? lol

the tricky part is getting the water to not travel down the mobile home wall, but to be diverted by whatever you install. I have used a lot of caulk to fill the gaps caused by the irregular shape of the siding.

two days of rain this week, and I did not find water inside the MHs, so I may be winning the leak war....

Brenda

[Yanita]

Hi,

Welcome to the site!

You can use any traditional gutter system that fits your budget. You install them under your current ones and then bend the original ones down to go into the gutters.

Thoroughly inspect the caulking at the roof line for any signs of cracking or peeling. Personally for good measure I would wipe clean and then reseal with a good neoprene caulking.

Just for further info, while you are doing that now is a good time to check the caulking around the windows and doors, this is where water gets into our homes the most often. Preventive maintenance is always best.

Yanita

[76artcraft]

Hi,
Took me awhile to get back to the forum...busy time of year!
Thanks for the input/tips.
I finally figured out how to fasten them underneath the old gutter (with hex screws).

Now it seems the one side of the house I'm having the trouble on is already a replacement gutter, but it's smaller than the original.
It's c shaped and is an inch deep on one side of the house and only half inch deep on the other(2 different sizes).

So, I would just like to know if I should just take the old replacement down then put up the new one?
There doesn't seem to be much space under the old (replacement ) one.

Thanks for all the help
PS I did drill holes in the gutter to divert water away from the electrical breaker box(for now).

[Yanita]

Hi,

Can you take a pic of what you think you need to replace?

Yanita

[76artcraft]

Hi,
Sorry it's taking me so long to reply I've just been busy with other repairs around this place.

I haven't been able to get up and take a picture of the old "replacement" gutter.
It's been really wet & rainy here.

So here's a pic of something that looks like the one I'm talking about but is deeper and has a higher back on it.
And I think the one I thought was a c channel is actually a J channel(like the one in the picture).
Just got confused because just thought the original one on my house was a j channel but it looks like a V.

OK now I'm just starting to confuse myself.

[76artcraft]

Here's the pic

[76artcraft]

Hi,
OK here is a picture of my gutter that I think needs replacing.
I know it is not original, because it is not very deep and the original gutter that is still on the other side of the house has an embossed(correct term?) print the same as some other trim on the exterior.

So I am just asking if I'm doing the right thing by taking this off and replacing this?
because I don't think there is very much room underneath it.

and also when I went to Menard's nobody heard of butyl tape...
So is it OK to use butyl caulking underneath it?

I'm just double checking because I never did this before or seen it done... and things that I asked about before seemed logical to me but obviously seemed idiotic to the experts on this site.

Thank you all again for helping me
Sam

[JD]

Hi Sam,

First of all, here is a link to butyl putty tape. Not like recommending the web site, it was just the first one that came up on a google search. Good price though! I can get mine locally. Anyways, here's the link http://www.bestmaterials.com/detail.aspx?ID=8984

Looking at your last pic, there may be other things to think about. It looks to me like you have some type of a coated roof product. I can see the fabric scrim coming through the worn top coatings. Water can definitely be coming through this worn coating and coming in behind the existing elaborate "J" channel or minuscule gutter, what ever you want to call it. It also looks like the scrim comes down over the top edge of this J channel you want to remove. Cutting or tearing the scrim material in this area could create other problems, allowing edge leaks.

If it were me, I would start with coating the roof, at least on the edges and vents. I don't think I would recommend removing this j channel. Maybe the gutter you want to install could be modified a little bit to fit, if it is too big to fit down the entire side of the home. Tucking the new gutter up under the j channel as best you can would help it get a good seal. But again, this would do no good if the sealants at the edge is leaking.

The butyl putty tape will work well on rigid aluminum products, but I don't know how well it would work on your replacement gutter. Whatever you are applying the butyl tape to, needs to be rigid enough to flatten the tape a bit in between the screws.

Hope this helps,

JD

[76artcraft]

Hi JD,
Thanks for replying.
I'm lol here cause I just put that stuff on a few weeks ago.
I was gonna take it off anyways and use neoprene caulking instead...
Ok I guess I'm done asking "gutter" questions now ...
thanks for the help
Sam