You might be thinking that your gutters aren’t that important. You could not be more wrong. Your gutters are responsible for directing water safely away from your property, thereby protecting your roof, foundation and landscape from serious water damage.
What Happens If You Don’t Have a Reliable Gutter System?
To help you understand the importance of gutters, let’s look at what would happen if you didn’t have functional gutters installed. One possible scenario is that rainwater would accumulate on the pavement below and find its way into your home’s foundation or basement. Pools of water can wreak havoc on foundations, causing structural instability that can make your home unsafe to live in.
A poorly maintained gutter system can become clogged, which can cause rainwater to seep into the roof’s supporting structures. Aside from weakening roof beams, overflowing water can also destroy your landscape and garden, creating an eyesore.
How to Improve Your Gutter System
First things first: if you don’t have gutters yet or your existing gutters are damaged beyond repair, then it’s high time you schedule an installation or replacement right away.
For optimum leak protection, choose seamless gutters. Designed as continuous troughs, they only have joints at the corners, making them less susceptible to leaks.
If you already have seamless gutters installed, you can improve them further by having them regularly cleaned to ensure leaves, twigs and other debris don’t accumulate and lead to clogs.
You may also choose to install a gutter protection system such as:
- Screen gutter guards
- Surface tension gutter guards
- Wire mesh gutter guards
- Gutter heaters
Gutter guards protect your gutters by, preventing clogs that could cause severe damage to the gutter and the roofing structure. You should be aware that installing gutter guards requires technical skill, so it’s best to hire a professional to do the job for you.
Gutter heaters, on the other hand, are best used in climates that see a lot of snow. Aside from preventing snow from piling up inside the gutter, they also work in tandem with the home’s internal heating system to prevent the formation of ice dams.
In the next post, we’ll tell you all you need to know about siding replacement. Stay tuned!
