QUESTION: Last fall, we replaced the soffits, fascia and eavestroughs on our 40-year-old home. Now, with the melting, I see water dripping in three different spots. In one place, the water is dripping out of the spot where two troughs are joining at a corner.
When these troublesome areas freeze at night we can see several 12- to 14-cm icicles. I understand the water has to go somewhere, but I assumed it would exit through the downspouts. I see my neighbour, who also replaced his eavestroughs, is not having this same trouble.
Am I justified in my concern?
Thanks, Alison
ANSWER: The straight answer to your question is a definite yes. Newly installed eavestroughs and downspouts should not leak water, except from the areas designed to channel it out of the system. There may be a simple explanation and repair for the cause, but the underlying issue is quality of workmanship.
The root cause of the problem with your almost new roof drainage system is undoubtedly poor-quality materials or workmanship by the installers. This may range from improperly secured troughs to poor-quality sealant used at the seams. I will elaborate on several possible defects that may be present and repairs that should be undertaken before they get worse.
I would expect the contractor that installed the leaky troughs may have given you some sort of warranty and I would contact them to alert them to your problems. Many contractors of this type subcontract out various aspects of a job such as yours and they genuinely want to know when the installers are doing substandard work. A good contractor should offer to send someone to immediately inspect the job and offer to fix the issue shortly after.
One possibility for the leakage you are experiencing could be due to poor or improper fastening of the troughs to the fascia. This may be seen if the contractors use fasteners that are too short, which may only secure the troughs to the new metal fascia covering the old wood behind.
Also, short screws can become loose from the weight of snow and ice inside the troughs in the winter. This is also a possibility with any length of fastener if the old wooden fascia was partially rotten and simply covered up with the new metal without replacement.
Loose eavestroughs can also occur if the screws are tightened too much and the heads snap off from the shaft. This may go undetected by an inexperienced installer, because the head of the screw can still remain inside the clip supporting the trough when broken.
If the leakage and icicles you are seeing appear to be coming from behind the troughs themselves, improper securing is the likely cause. If the dripping is only seen at the corners, or any joints or junctions in the troughs, there may be another culprit.
Because most new eavestroughs are made from thin, pre-finished aluminum sheets, they can be difficult to properly seam together without the use of sealant at the overlapping joints. The choice and application of the sealant is the likely cause of your issue.
There are numerous types and brands of sealants or adhesives used for various applications throughout a home or building. For securing eavestroughs and waterproofing the joints, the sealant must be very moisture-resistant to prevent leaks.
A common type of waterproof sealant, readily available in caulking tubes for easy application, is silicone. This material is low in cost, very easy to apply at many temperatures due to its fluidity, and available at numerous vendors. It is often used for exterior applications, such as on aluminum eavestroughs, but it is not well-suited for this purpose.
The problem with many types of silicone caulking is they are subject to deterioration from ultraviolet radiation and other weather-related factors. After a few seasons they may lose their adhesion to the substrate or become brittle or damaged. If this was the product used at the joints on your troughs, it's the reason they are leaking.
To ensure the joints and corners of your eavestroughs are well-sealed to prevent leaking for several years, proper exterior-grade sealant must be used. There are varying qualities, colours and types of caulking that may be suitable for this purpose, with the better ones normally significantly more costly than standard silicone. Despite the extra cost, very little of this material may be required for a complete job, so overall expense would be minimal to a busy contractor.
I would tactfully inquire about the type of sealant used by the installer, when you contact the contractor to schedule the repair. If he suggests they always use standard silicone caulking and it works fine, you may want to look elsewhere to fix the leaks. If bad caulking application is the cause of your issue, repairs should be quite simple and only require removal of the old caulking and reapplication of proper material at the joints.
As with most problems or issues with new construction or renovations, they can usually be traced back to either poor workmanship or materials. If you determine the eavestroughs and downspouts were properly secured to your home, the only defect may be in having chosen the wrong sealant for the overlapping joints. In that case, removal of the leaky caulking and replacement with proper exterior-rated sealant should fix the problem, whether done by the original contractor or someone else.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be emailed to the address below. Ari can be reached at 204-291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
trainedeye@iname.com
