Had a similar gutter issue once, but tightening brackets didn't help much. Turned out the fascia board itself was rotting behind the gutter... might wanna poke around a bit deeper just to be safe. Better to catch it early than deal with bigger headaches later.
"Turned out the fascia board itself was rotting behind the gutter..."
Had a job last summer where the homeowner thought the gutters were the culprit too. Pulled them off and found the fascia practically crumbling in my hands. Might wanna check yours closely—sometimes the real issue's hiding right behind what you first suspect.
Had a similar situation a couple years back, but turned out the fascia wasn't actually the root cause. It was tempting to blame the gutters or fascia at first glance, but when we peeled things back further, we found moisture was actually sneaking in from damaged shingles higher up on the roof. Water was trickling down behind the shingles and soaking into the fascia board over time—slowly rotting it out from behind.
Might be worth taking a quick look further up your roofline before you replace anything major. Check for curled or cracked shingles, especially around valleys or flashing areas. If you spot something suspicious, patching that first could save you from repeating this whole mess again next season. Roof issues can be sneaky like that...
Had a similar experience myself—thought it was fascia rot, but turned out the flashing around my chimney was the real culprit. Water was sneaking behind the shingles and slowly soaking into the wood below. Honestly, before you drop money on fascia or gutters, I'd climb up and carefully check around any vents, chimneys, or flashing. Roof leaks are tricky and can fool you into fixing the wrong thing first... learned that the hard way.
Went through something similar last spring. I was convinced my gutters were shot because water kept dripping down the fascia boards, and they looked pretty rough. Almost bought new gutters, but luckily my neighbor (who's way more experienced with home repairs) suggested checking the flashing first. Sure enough, it was the flashing around a vent pipe that had come loose. Took maybe 20 minutes to fix once I knew what I was looking at, and the leak stopped completely.
Roof leaks are sneaky like that—water travels along beams and boards, making it look like the problem is somewhere else entirely. Your advice about checking around chimneys and vents is spot on. It's tempting to jump straight into replacing gutters or fascia because they're visible and seem like obvious culprits, but a quick inspection can save a ton of money and hassle.
Glad you caught it before sinking cash into unnecessary repairs. It's always satisfying when you finally pinpoint the real issue... even if it takes some trial and error first.
