| Author | Message | ||
     John_chan (John_chan) Senior Member Username: John_chan Post Number: 198 Registered: 08-2006 |
John is right. At 93 years old, it's on its last legs unless it's 24 ounce copper or thicker. You want the high-back gutter if the front is either lower than the back or if the front has very little height differential than the back. | ||
| Old_school (Old_school) Senior Member Username: Old_school Post Number: 1225 Registered: 01-2009 |
It is hard to say with the picture you have. Do they drain? Perhaps you could slide a piece of copper beneath the slates and have it come down and over the bend at the flange. The water has to be directed into the gutters. That is the bottom line. | ||
| Mr_clay (Mr_clay) New member Username: Mr_clay Post Number: 4 Registered: 08-2017 |
Thank you for the advice. Is it necessary to replace with similar high-back gutters or will regular gutter with a flashing work just as well? It seems to me that installing high-back gutters is a bit more complicated due to the pitch for down flow. Thank you again. | ||
| Old_school (Old_school) Senior Member Username: Old_school Post Number: 1223 Registered: 01-2009 |
It is 93 years old now. The copper wears out and it oxidizes as it gets older. That is what is called the "patina" or the green color. When Steel oxidizes, it is the same process, but it is called rust. It just takes longer with the copper. It first turns green, and when it gets really thin, it turns light brown again. What you will find is that it is paper thin and getting worse. It is time to replace the gutters. Good luck. | ||
| Mr_clay (Mr_clay) New member Username: Mr_clay Post Number: 3 Registered: 08-2017 |
Repair or replace the copper gutter? The gutters generally appear to be in good condition. There are no leaks on the channel part of the gutters and only a few leaks at the solder joints. The main problem is at the bend of the flange per the picture below. There are several holes like these throughout the gutters, but these are the largest, about 1 inch in size, most are pinholes. It seems to me that the deterioration at the flange bend is due to A) the bending of the metal weakened it at this point, and B) the water runoff from the tile hits at that exact point. The house was built in 1925. I have 2 solutions in mind and would greatly appreciate advice: 1) Replace the gutters at a cost of about $6,000 to fabricate. 2) Fabricate a flange and place over the existing flange and re-solder the leaks at the joints for a cost of about $1,000, and save $5,000. The uncertainty that I have is since the gutters are deteriorating at the flange bend, how can I determine the integrity of the rest of the metal? The gutter channel feels and looks solid, but I don’t have experience to determine condition. When will I be climbing up scaffold again to repair if I repair now vs replace? I don’t think I’ll be able to do this in 10 years… too old. Got back aches now. Advice is greatly appreciated.  |
