Sagging Gutter

[dc206]

Hi, I am relatively new to this forum.

I was visiting an old friend the other day and noticed their gutter had pulled away from the exposed joist (I hope this is the right term - its the exposed 2X4 angling down the roof line). There is no fascia board on the end of the joists, so the gutter was attached directly to the the joist.

Anyway, the ends of the joist are rotted. I offered to help with a temporary fix. What I was thinking about doing is to sister 2x4 to the existing joist and securing the gutter to the sistered board. I realize that the rotting problem may extend beyond the end of the current rotted joists.

The question I have is will this work as a temporary solution? When I get up there, I will have to check the current joist to see how far back the rot goes until I get to good wood.

I was thinking about using treated 2X4, but don't know if that is advisable. Also if I use treated wood, will treated wood hold paint?

Any advice you can give will be appreciated.

Dale

[HayZee518]

Go with regular framing lumber. PT is prohibited in some areas but yes sistering a rafter will do.

[dc206]

Thanks for the response on the use of regular lumber rather than treated lumber. I will move on this info.

DC206

[WVslottech]

why are you worried about paint? let me ask you something. the rafter tails that are rotted, the're painted aren't they? Cut the rot out back to good wood, sister on some new rafter tails, nail on a fascia board, and wrap it in sofffit and fascia, put up your gutter and be done with it! sounds like you don't have the proper drip edge either, that's probably why it's rotted! let me know if you need help getting the proper angle for your tails...

[Jimmer]

I agree with the earlier reponses, PT lumber is great when coming into contact with soil or concrete but not needed or often recommended elsewhere. If the rafter tails are getting wet and staying wet then you have to address that issue. It may be the improper drip edge or that the downspouts were clogged.
I would definitely remove any rotten wood first, sistering good new wood up against rot is going to cause the new wood to rot out quickly.

[dc206]

Thanks Jimmer and WVslottech for your advice.

Looks as if I am going to fix it, I will have to pull off the entire gutter, inspect all the rafter ends, repair and cut back all the ends to allow for the installation of a fascia board with sufficient set back to increase the drip edge over the gutter.

Thanks again for taking the time to educate this homeowner's friend.

Dale