LESLIE: Now we’ve got Mark from Massachusetts on the line with a gutter question. What can we do for you?
MARK: Hi. I have rental property: two-story, 1890 house. And two days ago, snow just finished melting in Rhode Island and the end of the gutter looks a little bit not at an angle, the wrong angle. And the gutter is dripping at the very end, onto the front granite stairs to the house.
TOM: Right. OK.
MARK: So, my concern is – well, obviously fixing that, what would the problem actually be and things like that.
TOM: Ice is known to damage roofs and gutters. It sounds like you may have had some ice buildup there and expanded and pushed the gutter partway off the house. So, I mean typically, that kind of repair is pretty minor. But if it gets into any expense, it could be considered storm damage and something that would be covered by homeowner’s insurance. But again, if the repair is minor, you might not meet your deductible. So that’s a pretty easy fix. That happens a lot.
And what I would do, Mark, is when you put the gutter back, I would not use the spikes that are there now. I would replace the spikes with something called a “gutter bolt” or a “gutter screw.” It looks exactly like the spike except it’s threaded. And once you install it, the gutter can’t easily pull out again.
MARK: But it’s leaking from the bottom of the gutter. Would it be the gutter itself at the end not welded together or something?
TOM: So it could be a couple of things. It could be that the seam broke, which is unlikely, or it could be that the water’s getting around the gutter and it’s just dripping from the bottom of the gutter. It might not be aligned properly.
MARK: Oh, wow, wow. I’ve got you now.
TOM: So I would take a close look at it and make that repair. In my experience, they’re generally minor repairs.
MARK: OK. Thank you so much.
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