Why are Gutters Important for Your Home?
Owning a home, or even renting for that matter, may tend to be a stressful journey. Many different factors require maintenance that some of us may forget about. It’s perfectly alright though, that’s why we’re here to help. When you first move into a home, the first thing that you typically ask yourself is, “what needs to be fixed?” Making a choice to focus on the exterior of your home would be in your best interest. You want to look at how well the roof is standing up, if your siding is rotted or missing at all, along with ensuring that your windows are providing proper protection outside. What is one thing that is commonly missed? The gutters. If you’re sitting there asking yourself, “Does my home really even need gutters?” The answer is absolutely yes. Here’s why:
The purpose.
The purpose of gutters is for them to act as another protective layer for the outside of your home. The roof is protecting the top; the siding is protecting, well the side. What’s protecting everything else? Your gutters.
Imagine this. All of the callous items that you typically find in your gutters. Leaves, branches, soil, debris, and built-up water from all of those things. Now imagine this, your home doesn’t have gutters, and all of those things that I just mentioned are now on your roof, getting into the siding, and the water is collecting around the base of your home.
Let’s talk leaks.
It’s challenging to predict mother nature and when she will hit us with a big storm, but when that happens, you want to be prepared. I cannot stress to you enough how important it is to have an efficient gutter system in place if you live somewhere that frequents storms often. Gutters protect your home’s foundation and prevent anything from getting inside and flooding your basement. That’s when things begin getting expensive. The best way to keep water away from the foundation and avoid expensive water damage restoration is to ensure that you have proper drainage.
How to make sure your gutters are working properly:
Check for clogging – It’s difficult for the gutters to do their job properly when there is a large number of leaves, debris, water, and other things building up. A relatively easy task if you have the correct ladder, always make sure to clean your gutters. If this goes unnoticed, it may cause more problems down the road, such as your gutters will begin to sag and pull away from your home.
Check for damage – You want to ensure that there aren’t any leaks or holes in your gutter system. Over time the elements outside can cause gutters to become damaged with holes, and when that happens, typically, it can be an easy fix. You can purchase gutter sealant or a patching kit, depending on the size of the hole. A good reminder is that if you do choose to do this yourself, make sure that you’re using the same material as the gutter to fill the patch, using a different material can cause erosion.
Check the downspouts – Last but not least, the downspouts. These are located at the bottom of your home, and their purpose is to push any built-up water away from the foundation of your home and to prevent any flooding. Choosing to neglect and issue like this may cause you more of a headache down the road. Please take a few minutes and walk around your yard to make sure that they’re all attached and pointing away from your house. Next time it rains, you’ll be glad that you did!
Some people may be opposed to having gutters because of past issues such as birds building a nest or natural elements clogging them up. These types of problems can be easily avoided with the proper maintenance and upkeep. Your gutters should be fairly low maintenance, although we do recommend that you check them after any large storm. If heights aren’t your thing and you would prefer to have a professional come out and take a look, you can reach us at our website here. The first consultation is always free.
We appreciate you taking the time to read this and hope that you reach out to us if you have any questions. Thank you so much!
-New Look Roof Team
For any questions or comments, please feel free to email us at jwest@newlookroofs.com, we hope you have a great day and thanks for reading!
- Julian