How to Find a Gutter Leak Before You Call Anyone
The awkward thing about Sacramento gutters is that they fail in February and get fixed in September, when there's been no rain since April and the evidence has dried out. So you can't just stand in the yard and watch. You can, however, find almost any leak in an hour with a garden hose, and once you know what kind of leak it is, you know roughly what it costs.
First, read the dry evidence
Before the hose, walk the house and look for last winter's marks. They're still there.
- A dark streak down the fascia or stucco at a corner. That corner has been dripping. Common on the south and west sides, where the sealant bakes hardest.
- A white mineral line or green algae on the wall under a spot along the run. Water has been landing there from above — either overflow or a seam.
- A scoured dip in the dirt or mulch, a few inches out from the wall. Overflow, or a downspout that dumps at the foundation.
- Rust streaks on steel gutters, along the bottom. Pinholes. That gutter is at the end, not leaking at a joint.
- A spatter line on the walkway 6–10 inches out from the wall, on a tile-roof house. Water is shooting past the gutter, not through it.
- Stained or peeling fascia behind the gutter, but a clean gutter. Water is getting behind the gutter from the roof edge.
The hose test
Put a ladder up at the far end of a run — the end away from the downspout — with someone holding it. Set the hose in the gutter on a moderate flow and let it run for five minutes. Then walk the run from the ground and look.
Drip at a corner or end cap. The sealant has failed. On aluminum this is the most common leak in Sacramento and the cheapest fix: clean the joint back to bare metal, reseal with a polyurethane sealant that stays flexible in summer, $175–$300. Silicone from the hardware store will hold until about July.
Drip at a seam along a straight run. You have sectional gutters, and this seam is one of many. Reseal it if the gutters are otherwise sound and under 15 years old. If there are several, read repair vs. replacement before spending on seams.
Water pooling mid-run and not reaching the downspout. Not a leak — the pitch is gone. If it overflows there, the run needs re-hanging on hidden hangers and re-pitching, $175–$350 per run.
Water overflowing at the downspout end, downspout full. The outlet is blocked, or on an older home the buried drain line under the lawn is plugged. Pull the downspout off at the bottom elbow and try again; if it drains freely now, the line is the problem. Jetting it is $150–$400; rerouting the downspout onto an extension is less.
Water running down the fascia behind the gutter. The roof edge has no drip edge flashing, or the shingles stop short of the gutter, so water wicks back under. That's a roofing repair. We'll flag it; a roofer fixes it.
Water coming through a pinhole along the bottom. Steel with rust-through. Sealing it buys a season. Plan to replace.
The tile-roof version
On concrete tile roofs in Roseville, Folsom, Rocklin and the newer parts of Elk Grove, run the hose on the roof — from the ladder, not by walking on it — over the first course of tile and watch where the water lands. If it clears the front edge of the gutter or lands right on the lip, the gutter is hung too high behind the tile overhang. That's the most common "leak" on tile homes, and it isn't a leak at all. The fix is a re-hang lower and forward on long-reach hangers, covered on the tile roof gutters page.
A sorting table
| Where the water shows up | What it is | Typical Sacramento fix |
|---|---|---|
| Dripping at a corner or end cap | Failed sealant | Reseal, $175 – $300 |
| Dripping at a seam mid-run | Sectional seam | Reseal, or replace if several |
| Pooling mid-run | Lost pitch | Re-hang, $175 – $350 per run |
| Over the edge at the downspout end | Plugged outlet or drain line | Clear, jet or reroute, $150 – $400 |
| Down the fascia behind the gutter | Missing drip edge | Roofing flashing |
| Through the bottom of the gutter | Rust-through | Replace |
| Past the front edge, tile roof | Gutter hung too high | Re-hang lower, $300 – $550 per 40 ft |
What to tell us when you call
If you've done the hose test, say which runs and which of the seven rows above. That's enough for us to bring the right parts and give you a close number on the phone — and to put the job on the schedule before the November rush, since a corner reseal is a morning and a re-hang under an oak is a half day. If you'd rather not go up the ladder, that's fine too; the gutter repair visit is the hose test done by us, on every run, with a written price before we leave. And if the water is going somewhere that matters — the foundation, a walkway that'll be slick by December — say so, and it goes to the front of the list.
Need gutter work in Sacramento?
Call for a free estimate. Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.