Can Water from Gutter Go inside The House or Eaves?

Bargain-er on 08/10/2022 - 20:07
Last edited 08/10/2022 - 20:23

During the heavy rain last 2 days i noticed there water dribbling in some parts of the gutter. I checked but there are no holes and probably caused by water overflow.

However i noticed the eaves paint has some bubbles. I will attach pictures later and water dripping from the asbestos cement sheet. Now my questions are:

  1. Is it possible water to go inside the house (ceiling) from gutter overflow (thought gutter are installed externally/no access to inside the house). https://ibb.co/17BDDtY - - > not sure if water in picture travel externally from gutter water dribbles or from the top of sheet. Just concerned if it could make it to the ceiling plaster.

  2. Can water penetrate asbestos cement sheet (https://ibb.co/HCVCwPx, https://ibb.co/kMyHS34)? Wondering if the paint bubble caused by external humidity or water coming through from the top. Again I'm not sure if gutter overflow can make it to inside the house (eaves). Thanks

Home & Garden

Comments

  • iNeed2Pee on 08/10/2022 - 20:30

    I have legit the same problem. My issue is where it meets pergola to the gutter. (same corner as your pics)
    It will leak when it is heavy rain like yesterday/today.

    I also have a feeling its just overflow as it only really happens when there is a downpour. Could possibly be where the valley meets as well.
    FIL will be up in the next couple of weeks to check it out.

    I will be your no.1 follower here 😂.

    • Bargain-er on 08/10/2022 - 20:32

      Hmm yours dripping through the eaves sheet as well? Thanks

      • iNeed2Pee on 08/10/2022 - 20:36

        Yeah it does drip, and I can usually see the water stain but it never makes it past maybe 20cm towards the house.
        I have been assured it is just contained to that area. Like you I was worried it would eventually make its way inside but I don't think it will
        Father in Law:)

        • Bargain-er on 08/10/2022 - 20:41

          I need to find out if

          1. Ceiling height is higher than eaves height.

          2. If the eaves connected to outside brick wall.

          Does your paint has bubble as well?

    • Bargain-er on 08/10/2022 - 20:33

      What's FIL btw?

      • MS Paint on 08/10/2022 - 20:41
        +1

        Flow Instability Limit

        • elgrande on 08/10/2022 - 21:06
          +5

          Finger In Lamington

      • Morien on 08/10/2022 - 21:57
        +1

        Father in law

        • MS Paint on 08/10/2022 - 22:11
          +1

          As if. Stop making up rubbish. Pffffft

  • tsunamisurfer on 08/10/2022 - 20:34
    +2

    Yes it can, I have had a massive down pour and the gutters were not clogged but not exactly clear either.

    There was a waterfall inside the house.

    • Bargain-er on 08/10/2022 - 20:37

      Wall or ceiling? I read around that eaves height is lower than the ceiling height. As I can tell, eaves is connected to external wall brick.

  • apsilon on 08/10/2022 - 20:58

    Modern gutters shouldn't allow it. There's a few different designs but the most common, basically the back, where it attaches to the eaves, is higher than the front so when the gutter fills the water will overflow at the front of the gutter away from the house. Of course if the eaves have dropped or installation was poor to begin with then it's not impossible.

    • AnneThrope on 08/10/2022 - 21:48

      Not sure where you get this idea from; gutters are almost exclusively higher on the outside edge.
      This is probably to conceal the roof edge and ensure proper runoff catchment, but the result is often backflow when capacity is exceeded.

      Do a google image search for 'gutter profiles'.

      I've had exactly the symptoms described by OP (gutter overflow into eaves so much that water flowed between the double-brick walls) and I ended up replacing the gutters with modern ones which were still higher but had vent slits to allow excess to overflow outwards.

      • apsilon on 08/10/2022 - 22:12

        From having family in the business for 40 years. As I said there are different styles and overflow methods, that's just the most basic.

        • Bargain-er on 09/10/2022 - 07:19

          Do you know if eaves connected to external brick work? If water overflow from eaves will run down from external brick? Thanks

    • andrek on 09/10/2022 - 09:37
      +1

      what apsilon said. I have the same problem. The house has older style gutters where outside edge is higher than inside one and during very heavy rains the water gets over that shorter edge and flows into whatever behind it. So far it only got on top of outside section of the ceiling next to pergola.

      After researching I realised that my gutters are the older style ones so my options were either replace the gutters or do regular checks and cleaning. Opted out for the latter one and had no issues for the past 10 years. … but with the recently increased rainfall/climate change I might reconsider ;)

      • iNeed2Pee on 09/10/2022 - 11:52

        This is my issue. Pergola meets gutter, only issues when heavy rain and a certain direction.

    • Nickels n Dimes on 09/10/2022 - 21:24

      There are gutters used in some states like QLD that are designed to overflow in heavy rain, in the southern states, gutters are still required to have an overflow, but often this takes the form of a rainwater head overflow spout. Older guttering more than 20-30yo might be non-compliant now. You can replace the gutters, or add gutter guard mesh to prevent blockages, but in torrential (1in50yr) rains like several times this year, they will still overflow even without any buildup of leaves/debris.
      Some people cut notches in the front of the edge, so it's very slightly lower than the rear edge, but that of course would shorten the life of the guttering.

  • Some Human on 08/10/2022 - 21:51

    Yes it can.

    I have internal gutters. If I don't clean them every couple of months they will fill up with leaves and other plant matter, then the rain comes and makes it overflow into the house.

    You could drill some holes in the side of the gutter as an overflow to prevent the water from filling higher than the inner side of the gutter if that makes sense.

  • Benoffie on 08/10/2022 - 21:55

    Yes, have had same problem and worse (1969 house with bad addon). Had to repaint all the eaves and internal walls.
    Keep gutters clear, think about size of downpipes, box gutters etc, as well as changing direction of gutters (we did this on the addon, sending it back to the lawn via tanks and overflow).

  • JIMB0 on 08/10/2022 - 21:56

    The ceiling is generally higher than the gutter. Are your gutters clear of debris? Also sometimes when people clean the gutters they will push the tiles up too far allowing water to drip down your fascia board and into the eves.

    • Bargain-er on 09/10/2022 - 07:17

      My gutter is pretty clear. I think last 2 days the rain was heaviest in Melbourne since I can remember. I looked how the gutter is attached yest. As far as I can tell it s connected to the external board. Wonder how water can go into the eaves. Thanks

  • Boioioioi on 08/10/2022 - 22:09

    Are those panels actually made with asbestos?

    • MS Paint on 08/10/2022 - 22:15

      Not if the house was built after 1990.

    • trongy on 08/10/2022 - 22:35

      Yes. On older houses the cement sheets contain asbestos fibres. Modern cement sheets contain cellulose fibres.

      The asbestos cement sheeting was phased out in the early 80's so assume that any cement sheeting on older houses contains asbestos. Since the fibres are embeded in the cement it's generally not a health risk unless it starts falling apart or someone starts drilling into the sheet. Safe disposal is required upon demolition.

    • Bargain-er on 09/10/2022 - 07:11

      Yeah. It's asbestos. Didn't know as well til my neighbour pointed it out since our house about same age.

  • ShannonN on 08/10/2022 - 22:58

    was it very windy? I lived in a rental and had a really huge downpour water was forced horizontal by high winds soaking th ebrick wall so bad that water was running out of the brick on the inside needed towels etc to mop up ses looked at it and said was caused by high winds

  • Qroozn on 09/10/2022 - 07:52
    +1

    Have you jumped up and looked in the gutters? Yes, water can go over the back of your gutters and into the eaves.
    It’s usually because you have either water backing up (blocked down pipes. Or too much water for the down pipes to handle), or where the gutter is not level and it fills up and falls back into the roof space.

    Glad you are only seeing it on the external sheeting.
    Some older houses it gets into the ceiling above habitable areas and will often lead to the gyprocked sheeting getting sodden and collapsing.

  • Inzo on 09/10/2022 - 11:22

    The gutters in my house are rooted - anything more than a light dribble, and the leak into the eaves, and the eaves then drop in all my "undercover" areas.

    I should fix it, but that requires budgeting to pay a tradie, which i'm shit at, so i put it off, until it costs me more and i have no choice

    Yay good life choices!!

    https://imgur.com/a/zmYLte6

    • Bargain-er on 09/10/2022 - 11:42

      The red circled one is the eaves Junction? Is that a garage? Thanks

      • Inzo on 10/10/2022 - 10:49

        corner of the gutter, where a bedroom cuts back in to a 90degree angle above the front door

    • iNeed2Pee on 09/10/2022 - 12:20
      +1

      Exact same issue!

    • Yola on 06/03/2023 - 08:28

      Then do something about those life choices. At least you understand the issue.

  • jizmo on 09/10/2022 - 13:12

    In the old days of timber fascia Chippies used to cut down about 20-30mm in the internal corners to let the valley run through. Problem is the water will run back under the valley cut out in the eave.
    Solution temporary Storm Seal run that between the valley and timber fascia as a seal to prevent run back.
    Get bits of 15-20mm thick timber strips and wedge them up between the gutter and fascia past each side of the valley or not pushing the valley up to create a gap between fascia and gutter so the water runs out the gap and not into the eave.

    From 5-6 years ago new guttering has larger overflow holes and wider to cover new codes on this.

  • Cadian Munkey on 09/10/2022 - 13:26
    +1

    As far as fixing it goes, you will have to wait until it has fully dried.

    You should also look at to what caused the problem- sometimes it’s strong winds blowing the rain under tiles etc, gutters overflowing due to not having enough down pipes, down pipes being blocked with leaf matter etc or sometimes they’ve just started to sag the wrong way due to age/movement of the house etc so not angling towards the down pipe.

    Once dry, you’ll need to scrape away any flaking/blistering paint so what’s left is stuck well. Be very careful with this step if you do have asbestos. Disturbing the asbestos into fibres/dust is dangerous to inhale. If there’s mould, you’ll need to kill it with bleach/white vinegar/ killer like Mould Action. Wipe away dead mould.

    If there’s a stain from the mould you’ll need a mould stain blocker (unlikely as it’s only just happened) or a water stain (looks like a tea coloured stain) you’ll need an oil based stain blocker like Zinsser Coverstain.

    Then I’d use a ceiling white like Taubmans tradex as it works for sheltered exterior, is reasonably cheap, & will allow small amounts of moisture to pass through without blistering in the future.

    Key thing is fix the cause of the moisture in the eave though or it will all happen again!

  • vince088 on 09/10/2022 - 15:28

    i have same issue, house built 2010. tried to call insurance to claim but they determined it was deterioration and wont cover it :(

  • Usedtissue on 09/10/2022 - 20:01

    Just as a matter of interest. I know a builder who builds new houses in Roxby Downs, outback S.A. They have two types of rain there. 1. none 2. Absolutely pours down. Therefore all his houses have no gutters. Problem solved.

  • Euphemistic on 10/10/2022 - 18:39

    Short answer: yes. Water Will find the path of least resistance and running in any direction.

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