(316) 927-2233A loose gutter clip can be a surprisingly damaging problem. It seems minor, but faulty gutters can result in water in your fascia boards or even in your basement.
By following a systematic approach, replacing a gutter clip or rehanging a gutter section is manageable for most DIYers. Just keep in mind that all work on or near a roof requires safety as the priority, not the project.
This article walks you through how to achieve proper slope for drainage, how to identify various mounting systems, and best-practices for reinstallation.
Common Gutter Systems
Before you can replace a gutter clip or rehang a section of gutter you need to know which type of gutter you have. Generally, gutters are separated into three categories of design: K-style, box, and half-round. Most homes today use K-style gutters, especially on sloped roofs.
What Are K-Style Gutters, and Why Are They So Common?
K-style gutters are by far the most prevalent type of gutter used on a sloped roof design. K-style gutters have a unique shape that’s designed to optimize water flow and management. Their cost-effectiveness, ease of manufacturing, simple installation, and efficacy make them the most common gutter style on single-family properties.
K-style gutters are a type of ogee design, which typically features gentle curves that curve both inward and outward, like many interior crown moldings. Roman architects discovered the ogee shape was strong, and modern designers use it today for both strength and visual appeal.
K-style gutters have a flat back, which allows them to fit under the overhang of shingles and collect the roof’s water runoff.
How Are K-Style Gutters Made?
The K-style profile is similar to the letter K when looking at the gutter from the end, so these gutters quickly became known as “K” style. They are usually made from aluminum sheet metal, known as “coil”. The aluminum sheet is formed by a machine called a brake, which molds the sheet metal into its distinctive K shape.
K-style gutters are dependent on their joints and end caps for rigidity. When the gutter exits the brake, the coil is still malleable, so end caps are glued to each end of straight sections to add rigidity. If the section adjoins with another section or turns a corner, a molded elbow joint can add rigidity as well.
Inside of new seamless gutters with hidden hangar mounting system visible and the joint seam visible before sealant is applied.
Common Gutter Mounting Systems
You’ll need to make sure that the gutter clip or hanger you purchase will fit the gutter you are repairing. Below are the three most common gutter mounting systems on single-family properties.
Gutter Clips (Hidden Hangars)
Gutter clips, or hidden hangers, are the most common gutter mounting system used today. Gutter clips replace the traditional gutter spikes or gutter screws that puncture through the gutter, leaving a hole. This allows the clips to be moved or replaced without damaging the gutter. Because gutter clips support the gutter from both the outside and inside edges, its weight is evenly distributed across the clip.
Gutter clips have two primary components: the bracket and the screw. Gutter clips snap under the outer lip of the gutter, and again on the back of the gutter. Lag screws are driven into the fascia board to fasten the clips and provide the gutters with slope for proper drainage.
Traditional Mounting: Gutter Spikes
Before gutter clips were popularized, the traditional mounting method for most gutters used gutter spikes. 
These require a hole to be drilled parallel to the bottom of the gutter, at the uppermost point on the lip. The spike would then pass through these two holes and attach through the fascia board behind the gutter.
Gutter Straps and Gutter Wedges
Gutter straps are often reserved for gutters that hang at an unusual angle. For example, A-frame roof designs often have a pitch of 12:12 or greater, so the fascia boards are not perpendicular to the ground like they would be on a less steep roof.
They’re commonly used alongside gutter wedges, which are shims inserted between the fascia and the back of the gutter to ensure the gutter remains level. Wedges are sized to match the roof pitch, preventing an unlevel gutter from spilling water before it can reach the downspout.
What Causes a Gutter Clip to Loosen?
The two most common types of damage to gutter clips are from physical impact, usually caused by falling debris like tree limbs, and wood rot caused by capillarity. Excessive loading from ponding water can also cause gutter clips to pull out, although capillary action damaging the fascia is likely to precipitate damage caused by excessive loads.
Downspouts play an outsized role in potential gutter damage. Clogs will occur if too much debris is left behind, or the debris is too large to pass through the downspout. Clogs will then cause the gutter to overflow at its next lowest point.
Gutters hung with gutter spikes tend to pull out over time. The extra force applied by the ponding water and subsequent spillovers overloads the nearest spike, literally pulling it out of the fascia. The solution is usually to pound the spikes back in, but by then the wood has been softened by the water. This means the nail can’t secure properly to the fascia, reducing its holding power and increasing the likelihood of future fastening failure.
The same applies to the lag screw on a gutter clip, and the lag screws used to attach gutter straps. Thick lag screws have more holding power than spikes, so the damaging effect of the water has a reduced effect.
Why Proper Gutter Slope Matters
Rehanging the gutter section to correct its slope if needed is critically important. It doesn’t matter which accessories are used if the gutter does not drain as it should.
Unless designed otherwise, gutters should slope ¼” per 10 feet over the entire run. Since most runs are longer than 10 feet, the ratio is calculated as: .25 x 10 = correct slope.
It’s tempting to overestimate the slope and pitch the gutters as much as the fascia board allows to make sure it won’t hold water. This is avoided because fast-moving water may leave debris behind in the gutter that would otherwise float all the way to the downspout, resulting in more clogs.
How to Determine Your Gutter’s Available Slope
If the existing fascia boards are made from 2” x 6” lumber, which is typical, the recommended slope of a section of gutter is .25’ x 10’, or ¼” per 10 linear feet. If the fascia board is narrower, the slope will be limited to a maximum of about 120 feet (.25 x 120 = 3”).
Since the lag screw will need to be at least 1” away from both the top and bottom edge to prevent splitting, only about 3 ½” in the center of the fascia is suitable for mounting.
However, if the fascia board is 2” x 8” instead of a 2” x 6”, the run can be much longer.
A 2” x 8” is 7 ½” wide, so using the formula above, if we subtract 1” from the top and bottom edges, we are left with 5 ½” of usable space on the fascia. This means the run can be closer to 200 feet long, although roofs seldom exceed 60 feet of run without additional downspouts.
How to Replace a Gutter Clip and Rehang a Section of Gutter
Step 1: Measure the Length and Slope of the Gutter Section
Before proceeding with clip replacement or rehanging your gutters, you must first determine the slope of your gutters and the length of each section.
Using a level, determine the slope of the section by measuring the distance between an accurate level and the top edge of the gutter.
The easiest way to measure the slope is with a 4’ level. If the level is touching the gutter on one end, and the gap is ⅛” on the other end, the measurement is still sufficient. More than likely, the gutter will be closer to level, instead of showing this ⅛” gap. This means the slope is not steep enough and must be increased for proper drainage.
Once you have your start and end marked, you can use a long straight board, long level, or chalk line to make a line to follow for steps 2 and 4.
The optimal gutter line for proper slope can be chalked before rehanging them. After the gutter clips are reinstalled and the gutters have been rehung, always check the slope with a level.
Step 2: Correct the Gutter Slope, if Needed
If the measured slope difference from step 1 is greater than ⅝”, the gutter needs to be raised slightly. If the difference is less than ⅝”, the gutter is nearly flat and needs more slope towards the downspout. Keep in mind that small slope changes on one end can dramatically affect the slope on the other end of that gutter section.
Oftentimes, simply tightening the hangars can solve any slope issues. If the slope is inadequate, even after tightening the hangars, there is probably underlying structural damage allowing the gutter to sag.
Step 3: Fix any Structural Issues
If you aren’t comfortable doing carpentry work, hiring a professional contractor at this stage is a good idea. If the fascia has rotted, or the rafter tails have decayed, “sister” rafters will likely need to be installed. If the soffit is also made from wood, there’s a chance it will require repairs as well.
Once any necessary wood repairs on the fascia, rafters, or soffits have been completed, the gutter can be reinstalled, or replaced, depending on its condition.
Step 4: Replace or Move the Gutter Clip
To replace or move a gutter clip, unsnap it from the outer edge of the gutter and back out the lag screw. The outer edge of the clip snaps on to the outer edge of the gutter, so you simply need to unfasten the clip. The lag screw usually takes a ¼” driver bit to unscrew.
If a new clip is needed, find a new location, as reusing the same hole will produce fastening issues, and drive the new lag screw taut to the fascia. You can slide the clip a few inches away from its original location and drive the screw in there. If you chalked the optimal gutter line in step 1, clip placement will be much easier.
Step 5: Seal Holes and Test Drainage
Once you’ve replaced the gutter clip or moved it, it’s important to caulk the previous holes. If you don’t, water can permeate the fascia, causing wood rot to accelerate.
A water test can be performed to assess drainage once the gutter clips have been reinstalled.
To learn how to reattach downspouts, watch our video series that walks through the process.
