Box Gutters

I have leaking box gutters. An excellent roofer will be investigating the cause, of which there could be several, some more expensive to repair than others. I'm anticipating a pricey fix and will probably be looking for estimates from other contractors. Any suggestions? By the way, I have a slate proof and these are ornate gutters, with dentil molding trim.

We had the tar scraped out of our wood gutters and lined them with copper, a gutter within your gutter. They look fantastic and it is a long term fix. Some roofers wanted to slather tar or rubber in the gutter and just create a copper edge, I wouldn't go that route. Some will recommend ripping off the wood gutter and replacing with aluminum.  I wouldn't go that route either. All solutions will be dependent on your budget.

Kurt

Thanks for your response. Mine are already copper-lined from when the house was built in 1932. I had to replace all the copper roof flashing a few years ago. Maybe the copper liner is badly deteriorated as well. I definitely would not want to replace them with aluminum. It would destroy the look of the house. 

I would appreciate any contractor recommendations in case I bid out the job.

We have been using Peter Traub, and have been happy with his work. It's quite probable the existing copper is damaged, especially if you have a tree dropping stuff in and on it. It also only takes a small hole to start the freeze thaw damage cycle.

Kurt

We had our integrated gutters rebuilt by D Greene Construction. I actually think the end result is better than what when the house was originally constructed in 1920.

http://www.dcgreene.com/#!gallery/c57x

Click on "gallery" and "Yankee Gutters" and you'll see our project. He's not cheap, but nothing worth doing is.

Gorgeous

Beautiful work.

Kurt

As expected, the copper lining is corroding and soldered joints are failing. The roofer said it would cost about $12,000 to replace the liners. Since I'm planning to sell the house within the next year, I'm going with his much less costly suggestion of a really good patch job that he says should last at least seven years. He's an expert slate roofer who replaced all of my copper roof flashing a few years ago, so I trust him. I just don't have enough money in my budget for the long-term fix.

I'm attaching a picture of the house. The box gutters really are handsome, I think.

Beautiful home, very similar to ours. 12G for both gutters sounds like it's in the ballpark of what to expect. To do the job right they need to remove the lower two courses of slate so they can bring the copper up the fascia and onto the roof, this prevents water and ice from backing up and leaking in.

Happy to hear you are keeping the gutters and repairing them, they are an integral part of the fabric of your home.

Kurt

That's exactly what the roofer said (about removing the slates). A lot
of labor involved with a job like this, but It's worth it. Thanks for
all of the information. You learn a lot when you own an old house. I
bought this from the original owners, who had it custom-built in 1932.
They even preserved the blueprints and architect's plans, which are fun
to look at.