Gutter repair Question

1980's single story home with original gutters and downspouts. The finish is shot and I have to clean off mold and mildew every two or three months. A lot of the nail and ferrule brackets are failed or sagging as is the gutter in spots. In addition the previous owner thought that enough caulk would fix any leaking seams (it didn't).

Original thought was to tear it out and replace it all. But it's in good condition and I'm considering taking it down, sanding and repainting it and rehanging it with new brackets. While it's down I'll also clean and repaint the soffit and fascia. It obviously has to come down to pain the fascia.

I realize my time spent is probably worth more than the cost of new gutters, it'll cut into time wasted on the internet . I'm also into the idea of recycling rather than throwing more trash in our landfills.

Is this a reasonable idea or would I be better off just replacing the gutters ?

a factory applied finish is likely to be much longer lasting than one you can apply. What you may find, though, is that the gauge of what you have is heavier than many of those you can find. Some of the places that fabricate the things on site have an advantage since they can make the straight pieces, whatever length, all one piece rather than pieceing together 8 or 10' sections you can buy. I'd rather replace than take the time to clean them up, repaint, then reinstall. Some of the brackets are designed for the specific shape, which may be hard to find. Some of the profiles have been around forever, so that may not be an issue...best to check that out before you decide and then can't find what you need to put them back up.

Are they plastic or aluminum....

Cass said:

Are they plastic or aluminum....

Click to expand...

Aluminum...........

Aluminum gutters can be recycled just like soda cans. Over the summer I seen new 10 foot sectional gutters on sale for $.99 each.
Knowing that one often gets what they pay for, I recommend seamless aluminum gutters sized to your dimensions and then all you have to do is mount them & install the end caps and downspouts.

I agree with Jim in that no matter how well you prep the old gutters the finish will still be not nearly as good as what will come on a new gutter.