How to Repair Wooden Gutters

Milled wood gutters even in disrepair are a beautiful architectural detail that should be kept on the house at all cost. Besides being beautifully crafted, they add to the value of your home. The inside surface of a gutter is usually what needs repair. Rot or checking in the wood is a big problem with wood gutters. Maintain wood gutters regularly to avoid paying the price down the line for costly and time-consuming repairs.

Things You'll Need

• Ladder
• 5-in-1 tool
• Wood putty
• Caulk, 50-year elastic
• Caulk gun
• Brush
• Shingle oil
• Paint scraper
• Exterior primer
• Exterior paint

Instructions

Rot and Checking

1. Climb up a ladder and brush away any dirt and debris from the inside of the gutters. Inspect the condition of the inside of the wood gutters. Look for rot and checking.

2. If there's rot and the gutter has never been painted, it means the oil originally applied to the inside of the gutter has broken down. Dig out the rotted area with a 5-in-1 tool--a tool that looks like a putty knife but has various shapes cut into the blade's edges--and then fill in the cavity with wood putty. Smooth it so it's even with the surrounding wood surface.

3. Brush on shingle oil. Shingle oil is a non-drying oil that protects the wood from absorbing water.

4. If there is checking on the inside surface of the gutter, rehydrate the wood with a coat of shingle oil. Checking is cracks in the wood due to fast drying after it has rained or snowed.

Caulking

1. Look for miter joints that have opened up in the gutters. Miter joints are 45-degree angle cuts at the gutter's corners.

2. Load a tube of adhesive caulk and seal the open crack in the miter joints.

3. Smooth the caulk with a putty knife so it's even with the surrounding wood surface. This will insure the water flows unimpeded down the gutter

Painting

1. Scrape back peeling paint if the gutters are painted.

2. Prime the unpainted surfaces with exterior primer. Oil-based paint provides a tougher coat than latex.

3. Paint a cover coat of exterior oil paint.

Tips & Warnings

• When selecting a wood putty, choose the correct kind. If, for instance, you are going to stain the gutters, use a putty that accepts stain. Make sure the wood putty is rated for exterior use.

• Mineral oil and motor oil can be brushed on the inside of wood gutters to protect them.

• Many people believe that linseed oil or Tung oil are good oils to used on wood gutters. In fact they aren't because when they dry they create a film on the surface of the gutter. Eventually this film fails, water seeps under it and can't escape and the wood starts to rot.

References

• BlueOxMill: Redwood Gutter Install
• OldHouseWeb: Gutters and Downspouts

Resources

• Custom-Carpentry: Wooden Gutter Repair