Seasonal

Late-Summer Storm Checklist for Columbus Gutters

By Columbus Gutter Repair & Replacement · September 5, 2026 · 5 min read

Columbus's worst gutter-wrecking winds haven't come in a summer thunderstorm. They came on September 14, 2008, when what was left of Hurricane Ike crossed Ohio with 75 mph gusts and left most of Franklin County without power, and on June 29, 2012, when the derecho did it again. Both stripped gutters off thousands of houses, and both hit gutters that were already loose. So here, in the second week of September with the thunderstorm season winding down and the fall wind season ahead, is the walk-around we'd do on our own house.

This is the wind and water check. Winter prep — ice, extensions, heat cable — is a separate list in October; this one is about whether the system will stay on the house through a 60 mph gust and drain a two-inch rain.

Keeping the gutter on the house

1. Hangers

Walk the house and sight down each run. Look for a gutter that's pulled away from the fascia at the top edge, showing a dark gap, or that dips between hangers. Then push up on the gutter at a few points: it shouldn't move. Spike-and-ferrule hangers back out a little every winter, and a gutter held by three spikes on a 40-foot run is the one wind gets under first.

Fix: Re-hang on hidden screw hangers every 24 inches — 18 on runs that carry ice — $150–$300 per run. How a re-hang works if you want the detail.

2. Downspout straps

Grab each downspout and shake it. Two straps per story, screwed into the wall, is the minimum. Straps that have rusted through or pulled out of vinyl siding let the downspout swing, and a swinging downspout separates at the elbow in the first good gust. On 1990s homes in Reynoldsburg and Pickerington we routinely find downspouts held by one strap and a prayer.

Fix: New straps are $10–$20 each installed. Do all of them.

3. Fascia

Press a screwdriver into the fascia board at each corner and under each downspout. Sound wood resists. If the tip sinks in, the board is rotten, and no hanger will hold in it. Peeling paint in a band along the roof edge is the early sign.

Fix: $8–$18 per foot to replace the board, usually one or two boards at the corners. Do it before the gutter comes down on its own.

Making sure it drains

4. Flow

Pick a dry afternoon and run a hose into the far end of each run. Water should reach the downspout in a few seconds and come out the bottom in a steady stream. If it pools in the middle, the run has sagged. If it reaches the outlet and backs up, the downspout is blocked — usually maple seeds from May, a bird's nest, or a tennis ball.

Fix: Flush the downspout from the top. If it won't clear, take the bottom elbow off. If the run pools, that's a re-hang.

5. Extensions

Every downspout should end at least 4 feet from the house, 6 on flat clay. Check that the extension is still attached — mowers and kids move them — and that it actually points downhill. A splash block sitting on ground that slopes back toward the wall is decoration.

Fix: Rigid extensions with a screw through the joint, $25–$80 each. Why the distance matters here.

The roof edge and the corners

6. Roof edge

From the ladder, look at where the shingles meet the gutter. There should be a metal drip edge under the shingles lapping into the gutter, and the shingles should overhang it by half an inch to an inch. Shingles cut short or no drip edge means water runs behind the gutter in wind-driven rain, straight down the fascia. Also look for shingle tabs lifted at the eave; that's where wind starts peeling a roof, and it's a roofer's fix.

Fix: Drip edge is a small roofing job. Tell your roofer; it's often $200–$400 for an eave.

7. Corners and end caps

Look for drip stains or a white mineral streak below each corner. A corner that leaks in September will hold water and split in January.

Fix: Clean and reseal, $150–$250 per corner. Details in how to find a gutter leak.

Trees

Any branch within six feet of the roof edge is going to end up in the gutter or through it in a wind event. The big silver maples in Clintonville and Upper Arlington shed limbs in every storm; they're brittle by design.

Fix: An arborist, not us. But do it before the leaves come down, not after.

What to do with the list

If you found one or two things, call for a gutter repair and read them off. If you found five, and the gutters are 1990s sectional, ask for a replacement quote alongside the repair quote and compare them over five years. Either way, get it done before the leaves start in October, because a crew on the roof in September is standing on shingles; in December it's standing on frost.