How to Maintain your Wooden Rain Gutters
Wooden Rain gutters can sometimes be a real problem for homeowners and, truth be told, a lot of “contractors” don’t understand them either.
It’s not that these wooden rain gutters are not so complicated – after all, they’ve been used successfully on homes for centuries. You’ll find wooden rain gutters on historic homes all over Denver and, in fact, it’s not uncommon for us to encounter wooden rain gutters ranging from 75 to over a hundred years old! What complicates things is that wooden gutter installation and repair is “old school” craftsmanship and today not so many people understand how to do the job.
The type of wood used can sometimes be a factor in how the wooden rain gutters will last. Various types of wood are used for wooden rain gutters and some are better than others. Cypress and Fir for example are commonly used and both do a good job. However, the real key is maintenance. One complaint that we hear most often is that wooden rain gutters “rot”. The truth is that when properly maintained, wood gutters will never rot. All they require to last is the absence of standing water. Here are some keys to maintaining your wooden rain rain gutters:
Clean the leaves out twice a year. Then, wash out any dirt and roof granules that have collected into a muddy sludge in the bottom of the wooden rain gutters.
After the gutter is clean, brush on boiled linseed oil all over the interior face of the gutter (my grandfather used to use old engine crankcase oil. I don’t recommend it, but it works).
Inspect the joints and end caps (more on that later) and re-tar as needed. Again, the tar can be brushed in.
This kind of work is usually done from a ladder so use a paint pot hook to hold a bucket or a pail with everything you need inside so that it’s right there and easily accessible.
These are some simple tasks that will keep your gutters working well for decades. By performing these tasks routinely, you not only ensure that the wooden rain gutters will last, but that your home will be better protected from the more costly repairs that can result from interior water damage. But, what do you do if you haven’t taken care of these items routinely? Is it too late? We’ll tell you what to do if you’ve already experienced wooden rain gutters damage.