Yankee gutters - wooden board roof gutter systems:

Here we define & discuss "Yankee Gutters" or board-on-roof gutter systems, including how these gutters are built, re-lined, or re-constructed.

We also discuss how both Yankee gutters and integral or eaves-trough gutters are abandoned on buildings.

Page to photo: a board and wood brackets form the body of this Yankee gutter on a pre-1900 building in upstate New York. The original gutter was lined with either soldered tin or terne metal.

Yankee Gutters: definition, features, repairs

Yankee Gutters are an older on-roof site-built gutter system that we illustrate here.

Yankee gutters were simpler in design to install than an integral eaves trough system: a board is set at right angles to the roof slope 8-10 inches above the lower roof edge and is supported by wood (or occasionally metal) brackets.

The "Vee" formed by the board set on the roof slope was lined (originally) with terne metal, lead plated tin, or copper, and joints were usually soldered.

Watch out: because the gutter-to-downspout connection must pass through the roof deck and eaves, any leak at that point - a common failure - will cause more-costly water and rot damage to the building's soffit and on occasion the wall below.

Repair of a Yankee gutter, if we are just re-lining the gutter, uses the same methods as we described at

EAVES TROUGH, INTEGRAL GUTTERS,

Sketch above was provided courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].

Our Yankee gutter photos show a traditional board and bracket design (below left) and a Yankee gutter rebuild (following photo).

We removed the old Yankee gutter completely (it was rotted). Roofing felt (not shown) was installed extending up under the roof shingles above the gutter, as was solid copper flashing (shown in our photo at right) as well as copper drip edge

Set in a bed of caulk, the Yankee gutter board was set onto and screwed through the copper into the roof deck.

In our photo above we show a Yankee gutter repair in process by the author (DF) on a home in Poughkeepsie, NY.

We combined two photos to show some of the steps taken to protect the roof eaves from leakage.

A - we see copper drip edge, bare roof deck, and the lower edge of original metal roof flashing that extended under the Yankee gutter and up below the lower edge of the roof shingles (not visible).

B - shows a larger width run of copper flashing that we extended under the gutter board and up under the roof shingles, and down over the drip edge, assuring that we've got continuous metal flashing under and below the gutter.

Each penetration through the copper eaves flashing was sealed by applying a blob of 50 year caulk on the under-side of the board or bracket where the screw would penetrate. But that step was just extra "insurance".

In this Yankee gutter rebuild we used treated 5/4 lumber for our gutter board and for the supporting gutter brackets (not shown).

The main protection against Yankee gutter leaks into the roof structure, building eaves, or walls was and remains the quality and detailing of installation of the gutter liner itself.

We also relined the new Yankee gutter itself, the trough formed by the on-edge board and the roof deck above the board with copper that was extended up under the roof shingles and then bent over the top edge of the gutter board.

When that installation was complete we installed and sealed our gutter brackets at 16" o.c. (older roofs used 24" o.c.) for a gutter that was strong enough that if a roofer walked in it we had no worry that everyone would fall to earth.

A cheaper retrofit that can be used when the gutter boards and roof are not rotted, is a gutter re-lining using glued EPDM roofing or torch-down modified bitumen roofing.

The advantage of the modified bitumen gutter liner for roofs where the gutters are visible is that it can be painted with silver roof paint to look just like the original installation.

As we warned at REPAIR METHODS for Eaves Trough or Integral Roof Gutters,

Watch out: if you are going to use any heat-based gutter repair approach such as soldering or using a torch-down modified bitumen gutter liner there is risk that you'll set the building on fire.

When we used torch-down modified bitumen to repair eaves trough gutters we stationed an observer inside the building attic as well as on the ground below, and we had fire extinguishing devices or a water hose immediately at hand.

These worries explain why some gutter repair companies prefer to use glued-up single ply membrane.

Watch out: if your glued-up single ply membrane gutter repair is not installed perfectly, the seams may leak into the structure just as did the old gutter.

Wood beam or board "Yankee" gutter designs in Europe

Our wood gutter photo (above ) was observed on a sod roof in Molde, Norway.

This wood gutter approach is similar to an American "Yankee gutter" which is basically a board, set on edge onto the lower roof deck,lined with metal.

But in Molde this gutter was installed without brackets, using instead a larger timber to form the gutter side. The larger timber is used to help keep sod from sliding down or washing off of the roof surface.

Repair Leaky Yankee Gutters or Eaves Trough Gutters Using EPDM Liquid Rubber?

Reader Question:

We have an old house built in the early 1900's while redoing the walls we found out trough guttering has been leaking into the walls, needless to say before we can continue on with our project we will now need to address the guttering issue.

I read in an article a person repaired their Yankee roofing with a liquid membrane called EPDM Liquid Rubber and butyl tape in areas where needed would this method work to repair metal trough/integral guttering on our home? Thank you - 5/30/14 Virginia said:

Reply:

We have made successful temporary patches in leaky eaves trough & Yankee gutter systems using mesh and flashing cement, and using glue-down EPDM roof flashing tapes as well as glue-down patches using roofing material & flashing cement.

See GUTTER REPAIR, LEAKY JOINT

For badly-damaged eaves trough or Yankee gutter systems or for systems subject to significant thermal or other movement, I'd worry about any coating's ability to withstand significant thermal movement in the gutter and its parts.

However some EPDM coatings (see list below) are described as usable on metal roofing so may work as well in re-lining a leaky gutter system.

Details about sealing leaky gutters using paintable or sprayable EPDM rubber coatings are found in a separate article

at GUTTER REPAIR LIQUID RUBBER

Abandoning Leaky, Rotted Eaves Trough or Yankee Gutters

Photo above: gutters were removed from this pre-1900 New York building roofed by corrugated steel panels.

Watch out: for both eaves trough gutters or Yankee gutters, the most common and damaging leak point usually occurs at the penetration through the roof structure or building eaves to fit a downspout.

Because this was such a common and problematic leak point, and because repair of badly-damaged (rotted) eaves trough and Yankee gutters is labor intensive, some building owners decide to abandon the original roof gutter design.

For abandoning an eaves trough gutter 

the abandonment consists in "roofing over" the old trough, typically using solid metal or a membrane roof material. Our photos (below) show that an original eaves-trough gutter was "roofed over" using corrugated metal barn roofing. Unfortunately the building now has no gutter system at all, and a soaking wet basement.

Watch out: because some eaves trough gutters project horizontally in front of the original roof eaves, if you simply "roof over" the horizontal structure of the eaves trough you'll be creating a "flat roof" slope at the lower end of the main roof.

Such a design in areas of snow fall are prone to snow and ice dam backups and leaks through the roof itself.

Photo above: this building's eaves trough gutters were abandoned in place by simply extending corrugated metal roofing over the trough.

For abandoning a Yankee gutter

The abandonment is simpler than for an eaves trough: the original board and brackets are removed from the roof and the contractor either extends the existing type of roof coverage down to the roof edge or eaves, or s/he installs solid metal flashing all along the roof eaves.

In both cases a modern gutter is then secured to the edge of the building roof, disregarding any architectural or aesthetic issues that may have been created.

Alternative to gutters: Roof Spillage Dispersants, Surface Runoff Control

What about products sold as a "substitute for gutters" such as rain dispersant louvers that are installed at roof edges?

Our OPINION is that roof edge drainage louvers or "gutterless" systems might be useful if your building is in an area where there is rarely any rainfall, or if you have installed an extensive sub-soil water interception system around a building to perfectly protect the foundation from leaks and water entry (such as buried horizontal geotextiles and gravel that collect all surface water and conduct it away from the building).

See details at NO-GUTTER SYSTEMS

...

Continue reading at GUTTER REPAIR, LEAKY JOINT or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• GUTTERS & DOWNSPOUTS - home
  • DOWNSPOUT / LEADER DEFECTS
  • DOWNSPOUT LEAKS
  • DOWNSPOUT DEFECTS, OTHER
  • FLAT ROOF DRAINAGE SYSTEMS
  • GUTTER CAPS
  • GUTTER DEFECTS LIST
  • GUTTER HANGERS
  • GUTTER REPAIR, LEAKY JOINT
  • GUTTER SCREENS
  • GUTTER SIZES
  • GUTTER TYPES
  • SNOW & ICE DAMAGE to GUTTERS
• HEAT TAPES & CABLES for GUTTERS

Suggested citation for this web page

YANKEE GUTTERS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to GUTTERS & DOWNSPOUTS

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