Home Improvement How-To's: Repair Leaky Metal Gutters

An easy, inexpensive way to repair a piece of metal gutter that has rusted through is to patch it. You can make small repairs using only plastic roofing cement. To repair larger holes, cut a patch from a piece of galvanized metal flashing.
 
SKILL SCALE
Easy
 

TIME REQUIRED
You can patch a 2-foot section of gutter in about an hour.
 

TOOLS
Wire brush
Abrasive pad
Putty knife
Tin snips
 

MATERIALS
Galvanized flashing for patches
Plastic roofing cement
 
STEPS
 
Step 1 Begin by cleaning the area around the leak with a wire brush and water. After the area has dried, scrub it with an abrasive pad.
 
Step 2
 		 Apply plastic roofing cement over the leak and feather it out on the surrounding area to flatten any steep edges in the repair.
If the leaks are larger than nail holes, use tin snips to cut a strip of flashing (the same material as the gutter) wide enough to fill the area. Bend the strip to fit and embed the flashing in the cement. Feather out the cement around the edges of the repair.