When New Gutters Won't Fix the Problem

Gutters move water from the roof edge to where you want it. When water is the problem, gutters get blamed and new gutters get sold, but several common water problems start somewhere else. Here are the ones new gutters will not fix, who does fix them, and what gutters genuinely do fix.

Ice dams: an attic problem

An ice dam forms when heat escaping from the house warms the roof, snow melts on the upper roof, and the meltwater refreezes at the colder eave. Gutters and gutter guards neither cause ice dams nor cure them, and the dam forms at the eave whether a gutter is there or not.

The fix is in the attic, in this order: seal the air leaks from the house into the attic, then insulate, then make sure the attic is ventilated. An insulation contractor or a home energy auditor is the right first call. What a gutter can do is drain freely instead of holding water that freezes, so it is not adding its own weight of ice to the eave. More in our guide to ice dams and gutters.

Roof leaks: a roofer

Water that comes through a ceiling, or shows up around a chimney, skylight or roof valley, has usually got in through the roofing or the flashing. That is roofing work. Overflowing gutters tend to soak the fascia, siding and the ground below rather than the inside of the house. Gutter company, roofer or handyman? helps you tell which you need.

Foundation cracks and a wet basement

Gutters and downspouts are one source of water near a foundation, not the only one. If a basement gets wet only in heavy rain, and only near one corner, look at the downspout there first: where it discharges, and whether the water runs back toward the house. If the basement is damp whatever the weather, or the foundation is cracking or moving, that is a job for a structural engineer or a basement waterproofing contractor, and new gutters will not change it. Our guide to how gutters protect your foundation covers the part gutters do play.

A yard that slopes toward the house

If the ground around the house slopes back toward the foundation, water from the roof, the yard and the neighbors ends up against the walls however good the gutters are. The fix is grading the soil to fall away from the house, or a drainage system that carries water away below ground, from a landscaper or drainage contractor.

What gutters do fix

New gutters, or repairs to the ones you have, are the right answer for:

• Water spilling over the front of the gutter in rain, from clogs or gutters too small for the roof.
• Gutters that hold standing water because the pitch is wrong.
• Leaks at seams, corners and end caps.
• Sagging runs and gutters pulling away from the fascia.
• Downspouts in the wrong place, too few of them, or dumping water against the foundation.

Not sure which of these you have? A free estimate is a good time to ask, so put the question to the estimator directly: is this a gutter problem, or something else? See what happens at a free gutter estimate.