How Important are Gutters on Your House?

Gutters on a house aren’t just a decorative thing to have. They actually serve an important purpose. Rain is a natural element and it can cause damage to your home when not controlled by gutters. Here we are going to talk about the benefits of having gutters installed and keeping them maintained.

The Benefits

• They keep the soil stabilized around the foundation, minimizing problems
• Prevents flooding happening under your home and into your basement
•  Prevents erosion and preserves your landscaping
• Prevents water damage to the siding  
• Prevents water staining to the brick or stone masonry on your home
• Lessens the cracking and settling of the driveway, patio, and sidewalk around your home
• Preserves the exterior doors to your home

Properly Installed Gutters

Not only are gutters important to your home’s stability, but they must be properly installed to do their job. Each roof edge that is sloped should have rain gutters and they need to be fastened securely to avoid problems. If they hold water instead of sending the water to the downspouts, it can backup under the shingles.

The downspouts should be placed so that they go out and away from the foundation at least three feet. In some cases, the contractor will install a section of flexible black plastic hose/pipe material to the end of a downspout so that the water can be directed away.

Maintenance

Once gutters are installed, the work isn’t done. They need to be cleaned from time to time to remove any debris, leaves, or limbs that have blown in or fell in them. When gutters are left uncleaned, you may experience one or all of the following:

• Water dams up and rots the eaves
• Water will begin to leak in your house and damage the ceiling, flooring or walls
• Mosquitoes and other insects will breed in the water
• The leaves can be a fire hazard
• The gutters will begin to rot, then leak

Are Gutter Guards Necessary?

Are gutter guards really necessary? Isn’t the idea of gutters to catch debris, leaves and stuff?  Well, the answers to those questions are: Yes. No.

The purpose of gutters is to keep the rain from your home’s foundation and away from the ceiling and walls. The purpose of gutter guards is to keep them from getting clogged up with debris, leaves, limbs, and more. Because when the gutters are clogged up, the rain just backs up under the shingles and down to the foundation, washing it out and eroding the soil.

It is the general opinion by experts that gutter guards aren’t foolproof in keeping everything out of your gutters. You will still need to clean, or have your gutters cleaned, once or twice a year. But they do reduce how frequent you need to clean your gutters.

Purchasing gutter guards isn’t just a matter of buying them and having them installed. There are different types of gutter guards and they each work differently. There are several ways that gutter guards are classified and here are 6 of the basic types:

1. Bottle brush

2. Foam type

3. Mesh

4. Non-gutter cover

5. Nylon

6. Reverse curve

Bottle brush gutter guards are somewhat like the pokey bristles on statues that keep birds off of them. The bristles face upward so that they aren’t hindering the flow of water through the gutters to the downspout.

Foam type gutter guards are made of plastic and fit directly on the gutter to block all the debris and leaves out of the gutters.

Mesh gutter guards are sheets with holes. They are attached to the roof and cover the gutters. The smaller holes are most recommended because they let the rain into flow through and won’t clog up.

Non-gutter covers essentially replace your gutters with thin louvers which divert rain coming off the roof and out, away from the house.

Nylon gutter guards are recommended for homes where there is a lot of ice and snow.  These fit into the gutters, but do not attach to the shingles.

Reverse curve guards are designed to send the water downward in the gutter by way of a small slit and direct the leaves onto the ground.