Christopher Nelson wrote:
We had a big thaw around Albany, NY last week and I got out in my
backyard to look around a little at what winter did to the yard. The
yard is OK but I noticed that half of the nails holding the gutter up
on my 3-season porch are backed out an inch or so. They are so loose
I can push them back in or grab them and pull them out with my hand.
I can't easily move them -- I'd leave a big hole in the side of lip of
the gutter where the nail used to be -- so I imagine I have to replace
or reinforce them. I didn't take the gutter down but there doesn't
seem to be any damage to the eaves. I'll replace the front of the
eaves if I must but that seems like overkill. Any recommendations?

One at a time, pull them out, and shove a skinny dowel or a plastic
anchor in the hole, and tap the nail back in. That isn't a permanent
fix, but it should buy you a couple years. A semi-permanent fix would be
to replace with long skinny lag bolts, a hair larger or longer than the
nails, but that would still fit through the tubes that hold the gutter
open. If you can find a cheap source, you could squirt epoxy in the holes.

--
aem sends...