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uniqs
1955

rfhar
The World Sport, Played In Every Country
Premium Member
join:2001-03-26
Buicktown,Mi

rfhar

Premium Member

Eaves-trough Leaking at the joints...

This house was built in 1990 and the eaves-troughs were sealed at all the joints with tar or something that looks like tar. They are almost all leaking and I have been up there before trying to stop the leaks with no success. Removing the tar is going to be very difficult if possible so I have tried to find something to paint over these joints on the inside but nothing I have tried has worked. I am getting ice sickles in places that will cause a problem.
Any ideas on how to seal old eaves-trough joints?

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

garys_2k

Premium Member

Troughs? Do you mean gutters? The roof should have flashing (metal, usually aluminum) under the last row of roofing shingles and folded over the roof edge and hanging into the gutters.

Pictures would help, a lot.

Ken
MVM
join:2003-06-16
Markle, IN

Ken to rfhar

MVM

to rfhar
Unfortunately for most of the products to work they need a nice clean surface to adhere properly. You can try cleaning as much as possible and try another product but no guarantees. For best results that tar stuff needs to come off, and then clean the surface with alcohol. Then put on a new product, I personally like Geocel 2300.
Ken

Ken to garys_2k

MVM

to garys_2k
US = gutters
Canada = Eaves trough

garys_2k
Premium Member
join:2004-05-07
Farmington, MI

garys_2k

Premium Member

said by Ken:

US = gutters
Canada = Eaves trough

Yeah, but he's in Flint, MI, not far from me! Must be an import.

stevek1949
We're not in Kansas anymore
Premium Member
join:2002-11-13
Virginia Beach, VA

2 recommendations

stevek1949 to rfhar

Premium Member

to rfhar
FlexSeal ? (couldn't resist!)

Msradell
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY

1 edit

Msradell to rfhar

Premium Member

to rfhar
I'm very surprised that your builder used sectional gutters. Most new homes have seamless aluminum gutters that are formed on site. The only joints that require sealing are where the end caps go on them. In the long run your best bet may be to have years replaced with seamless ones.

rfhar
The World Sport, Played In Every Country
Premium Member
join:2001-03-26
Buicktown,Mi

2 edits

1 recommendation

rfhar to garys_2k

Premium Member

to garys_2k
said by garys_2k:

said by Ken:

US = gutters
Canada = Eaves trough

Yeah, but he's in Flint, MI, not far from me! Must be an import.

Yep up here in Michigan we even inherited some words like beaucoup and derriere. I had a fellow tell me I must be from Michigan once after hearing me say beaucoup. Not too many people catch the Buicktown jest anymore. There was a time when all Buicks were built in Flint and there were signs up calling Flint Buicktown. Back a bit further all Chevrolets were built in Flint and who else heard much about Fisher Body Corporation.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

1 recommendation

John Galt6 to Ken

Premium Member

to Ken
Yes, the eaves troughs are where the hydro goes...

rfhar
The World Sport, Played In Every Country
Premium Member
join:2001-03-26
Buicktown,Mi

rfhar

Premium Member

I tried to remove that Tar once and give up. It was rock hard so that it appeared to need a chisel to remove it. That is why I have wondered if it is really tar. And yes would have loved to have the seamless gutters.

mityfowl
Premium Member
join:2000-11-06
Dallas, TX

mityfowl to rfhar

Premium Member

to rfhar
I'd be tempted to use something like that Magic Seal sold on late night TV

The E
Please allow me to retort
Premium Member
join:2002-05-26
Burnaby, BC

The E to rfhar

Premium Member

to rfhar
This. Guaranteed.

»m.homedepot.com/p/Amerim ··· 00011940

rfhar
The World Sport, Played In Every Country
Premium Member
join:2001-03-26
Buicktown,Mi

rfhar

Premium Member

I am willing to try that. I will try to use a putty knife to spread it on one seam first just to see if I can get away with not removing all the tar. But first I will make another attempt at that tar as suggested above.

John Galt6
Forward, March
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Happy Camp

John Galt6

Premium Member

You might try using a heat gun (but not an open-flame torch) to soften the 'tar' prior to attempting to remove it.

techguyga
Premium Member
join:2003-12-31
00000

techguyga to The E

Premium Member

to The E
That's what I used on mine years ago. Worked perfectly over the old stuff that was there...it wasn't tar, though. It looked pretty much like this sealer after it hardens.
gbwalsh
join:2010-07-25
Burlington, ON

gbwalsh to Msradell

Member

to Msradell
That's got to be an iphone.

techguyga
Premium Member
join:2003-12-31
00000

techguyga

Premium Member

said by gbwalsh:

That's got to be an iphone.

Written using Dragon NaturallySpeaking

rfhar
The World Sport, Played In Every Country
Premium Member
join:2001-03-26
Buicktown,Mi

rfhar to John Galt6

Premium Member

to John Galt6
Thanks, I will go shopping.

Msradell
Premium Member
join:2008-12-25
Louisville, KY

Msradell to gbwalsh

Premium Member

to gbwalsh
said by gbwalsh:

That's got to be an iphone.

if you had read by signature you would see that what techguyga said "Written using Dragon NaturallySpeaking" and that's what I use because of my disability.
joewho
Premium Member
join:2004-08-20
Dundee, IL

joewho to rfhar

Premium Member

to rfhar
I would guess that's it's just too cold to deal with at this point. Also, if it's leaking, let it leak. Better that freezing solid and backing up into the shingles. Let it go until spring. If you do a bit of research, it's not very difficult or time consuming to just do it the right way. Gutter parts are cheap and not hard to figure out.
Edit: I'm an old race car guy, I know all about Fisher Body parts. Good stuff.

Icarus
CHAOS RULES
Mod
join:2000-11-08
Off Center

Icarus to Ken

Mod

to Ken
said by Ken:

US = gutters
Canada = Eaves trough

Old timers here in New England still use the term eaves trough.

rfhar
The World Sport, Played In Every Country
Premium Member
join:2001-03-26
Buicktown,Mi

rfhar to stevek1949

Premium Member

to stevek1949
said by stevek1949:

FlexSeal ? (couldn't resist!)

You are right to put a big grin on that suggestion. Online reviews say it does not work very well.

Boooost
@exelisinc.com

Boooost to rfhar

Anon

to rfhar
We have seamless gutters except for two 90-degree turns over the garage. One of them leaked. The townhouse association replaced both of them. Now the other one leaks. You can't win.

When they replaced the gutters, they used 6" ones with real hangers, not the 4" drive-a-nail-through-them crappy gutters. I'd recommend the bigger ones if you decide to replace them.
joewho
Premium Member
join:2004-08-20
Dundee, IL

joewho to rfhar

Premium Member

to rfhar
Pretty cool to watch the machine on the back of a truck take raw material, bent it into a gutter and run it out to the exact length. Seamless.

mityfowl
Premium Member
join:2000-11-06
Dallas, TX

mityfowl to rfhar

Premium Member

to rfhar
I've got about 15 seamless connections.

Some leak others don't.