# Is replacing the corner of a gutter difficult?



## Phases (Sep 18, 2014)

(Apologize if this goes in the metal forum..)

So one of our gutter corner leaks. I tried (terribly bad) probably a year ago to repair it with some spray on rubber stuff and boy was that a failure. 

Now look at it (see attached). 

Ugh. It's ugly ask heck and the leak is way worse. It's 2 stories up and a little hard to reach but, I can get there. 

Is this hard to replace? I can't find any good step by step guides, I'm sure its fairly common right?


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Nothing to replace. Just peal off the old sealant and reseal. 

If you are feeling especially industrious, you can pull the corner apart (they are either screwed or crimped together), clean the sealant off, reinstall, and reseal. 

Nothing is rocket science, but it is ladder work. Are you okay on a ladder like that?


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## Phases (Sep 18, 2014)

Yeah. I was nervous at first but I've been around the whole house, cleaned gutters and installed gutter guards. I'm okay with it, but that corner is pretty difficult. 

So clean off all i can and recaulk and just see. Couldn't get much worse. I don't mind the ugly/black look. I guess I could spray paint it or something if I need to lighten it up.


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## rjniles (Feb 5, 2007)

The gutter seal goes inside, nothing to see from the outside. Unless you're a bird.


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## Phases (Sep 18, 2014)

..or your me, and you sprayed the outside as well as the inside and now it looks like junk heh.


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## PatChap (Nov 17, 2012)

The trick to making it last is to really clean it out. Bring a screwdriver for peeling and some fine sandpaper. Use high quality caulking, and make sure you tool it smooth so water can pass without too much pooling.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

PatChap said:


> Use high quality caulking,


Buytl caulk would be my choice.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/DAP-Buty...Flashing-Sealant-12-Pack-7079827062/205030316


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

You can buy a big tube of gutter sealant at the home centers, it's white. A can of canned air might help too, to get it dry and clean before you reseal. Do both inside and outside.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

OSI makes a quality gutter sealant.


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## FrodoOne (Mar 4, 2016)

ChuckF. said:


> A can of canned air might help too, to get it dry and clean before you reseal. Do both inside and outside.


Certainly make sure that the gap that you are trying to fill is clean and DRY. I have used a "hair dryer" on a hot summers day to ensure this - in a similar situation!

However, also ensure that the two pieces ARE firmly attached together. I found the problem that I had was that the rivets originally used to hold the two pieces together were NOT holding properly and there was movement between the surfaces. This had resulted in the original sealant giving way and allowing leaking.

I removed the existing rivets, cleaned the surfaces, drilled for new rivets, applied the sealant and installed rivets in both the old and new positions.


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

If there is a roofing/siding supply store, you might try there. Sorry but I forgot all details, but they gave me a tube of sealant that was more liquid than a regular caulk and also silver in color. If quality sealant shows in smell, this had the worst smell. I installed the gutter myself and did fairly good job with rivets for all joints but also used the sealant liberally on the joints. No leaks 10 plus yrs.
I think the homedepot gutter sealants also improved over the years. The osi quad sticks well as long as you press the caulk on - I've used it over glass, cleaned with brake cleaner first, tape, press the caulk on, then tool finish.


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## Phases (Sep 18, 2014)

Thanks all. Soon as I can sort out this leaky pump connection, hopefully today, I'll try to move on to this. Looks like I have a lot of options! I'll just have to get up there and see how well I can clean it up and go from there once I see it, I think.


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## daveblt (Nov 7, 2011)

At home depot they have Seamer mate gutter sealant . It works great.


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## paintdrying (Jul 13, 2012)

You do not want to replace that corner. I use brake cleaner in a can, my leaf blower and geo cell or similair. Sometimes i replace the nails with screws to add support to the corner. 
If the corner is really bad I have added a downspout so water does not go to the corner.


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## Phases (Sep 18, 2014)

Alright so the nasty black you see on the gutter, I was pleased to see that was caused by that crap I sprayed on that was my last attempt at fixing this. It had peeled up and so water and grime and probably mold was up in there. It just pulled/peeled right off. 

Inside, I pulled out what was in there that I had sprayed - and dug out all the old sealant, and redid it all. I hope I did well enough. 

I definitely agree either way it doesn't need to be replaced at all. It already looks 100% better, back to normal, so last to do is just fix the leak, which I believe I have successfully done, but I'll find out soon.


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