How to fix water dripping outside pergola gutter?

[ritu]

 

 

 

 

we had pergola sheets replaced by a tradie and he said he has fixed the slope by adding additional  battan but as you can see in the picture the gutter is lower then the sheets so water is falling off the gutter and dripping backwards . Tradie has no fix for it so thinking if there is anything we can do . Also the water drips from the edges of the pergola roof . Again new to diy so no idea where to start except it annoys me every time it rains which is mostly 😄

[StevieB]

Sorry to hear about this @ritu. 

Our resident D.I.Y. expert @EricL may be able to offer suggestions when he's back on the site on Friday. In the meantime, I wonder if @Pwsingh could share what solution they found for their pergola gutter.

Stevie

[TedBear]

Hi @ritu ,  I have had this same problem. It's caused by the fall not being enough to make slow moving water drip into the gutters. Instead its surface tension is enough to allow it to just seep back under the sheets and make its way to the support timbers, where it then drips downward.

The answer I found, although its a nuisance to do, was to remove the gutters and run a bead of sealant underneath the sheets at the bottom edges.

You only need to do the low sections of each channel since that is where the water will be flowing. The small bead of sealant stops the water from having a level path to flow back along the sheet and makes it drip off into the gutter (after you put the gutter back).

Use a long lasting sealant that is designed for wet area use, so it doesn't come off in the weather. It's sticky to use, but you don't have to worry about how it looks, as long as it forms a barrier, because it will be hidden by the gutter.

[Jason]

Many thanks for sharing your expertise @TedBear.

@EricL: Is there anything you can add to assist @ritu?

Thanks again,

Jason

[EricL]

Hello @ritu

I agree with @TedBear's diagnosis of water traveling back. The water is getting trapped between the sheets due to the lack of fall. If you do decide to seal the sheets, please make sure to use the recommended product by the polycarbonate sheet manufacturer. 

My only other suggestion is to speak to your installer to discuss the possibility of adding more battens to increase the fall.

Eric

[ritu]

Hi , tradie added more battens to fix the fall but I think there is distance between sheets and gutter as you can see in the picture and with additional battens sheets are higher then gutter as you can see in the picture . I will see if I can add more clips to hold the gutter higher and if that fixes the problem . Tradie has blocked my number after reviewing what has gone wrong so it’s up to me to fix the issue which I face . Thanks 

[TedBear]

Hi @ritu 

I don't think raising the gutter will fix anything, since it won't alter the slope of the sheets and water will still seep back.

If anything, I'd suggest removing the batten that is at the low end, next to the gutter so that the sheets will be lower at that point and hopefully then have enough slope to run off properly.

You may have to also remove the next batten back and replace it with something thinner (or get the existing one planned down to suit) if the sheets are then noticeably bent.

However before going to that much trouble, I suggest you try adding a bead of the appropriate sealant under the very bottom of the sheets at the gutter end. I found that it worked well for me, was cheap and didn't take too long to do.

I hope you have kept the tradie's number who has left the job with an unsatisfactory outcome - so that you don't accidentally use him again in future.