A corner in my gutter is leaking because one of the rivets joining two
section failed, opening a gap at the bottom of the corner where two sections
meet.

I removed the rivet and temporarily put in a screw and nut (screw diameter
about 1.5mm) and sealant. I say temporary because the screw is a steel
screw. It will rust/rot away.

The original rivet is solid (no hole in middle). I googled for rivet
squeezer and it seems like the "C" openings on the rivet tool are not large
enough to work on a rivet at the bottom of a gutter.

A pop rivet would work but it would have a hole that water can leak through.
What is the correct fastener to use?

On Thursday, April 24, 2014 10:27:42 AM UTC-4, bob wrote:
A corner in my gutter is leaking because one of the rivets joining two

section failed, opening a gap at the bottom of the corner where two sections

meet.



I removed the rivet and temporarily put in a screw and nut (screw diameter

about 1.5mm) and sealant. I say temporary because the screw is a steel

screw. It will rust/rot away.



The original rivet is solid (no hole in middle). I googled for rivet

squeezer and it seems like the "C" openings on the rivet tool are not large

enough to work on a rivet at the bottom of a gutter.



A pop rivet would work but it would have a hole that water can leak through.

What is the correct fastener to use?

What's wrong with a pop rivet and some silicone? Even when
they make new gutters on site to fit, they have to use a
sealant at the ends.

When you buy pop rivets you typically have to specify the material for both the rivet and the mandrel. The rivet is what goes into the hole, and the mandrel is what squashes the rivet in the hole and breaks off once the rivet is fully squashed.

If you specify both an aluminum rivet and an aluminum mandrel, there won't be anything in that rivet to rust. If you then use a bit of caulking over the rivet and the joint in the gutter, as Trader suggested, you've got a leak free connection.

Marson makes both good quality pop rivets and a top quality pop rivet tool for this kind of work. If you order a Marson pop rivet kit online you should be able to get the kit at a good price. And, most places listed under "Fasteners" in your yellow pages directory will sell rivets either by the box or individually.