When it comes to home care and maintenance, your gutters are often an overlooked necessity. As a homeowner, the last thing you want to do is wait for a disaster to tell you there is a problem. Let Kaphar Construction help you learn what to look for so you can avoid trouble before it gets out of hand.
Why Your Gutters Matter
The job of a gutter is simple, yet essential to the safety and value of your residential property. Its purpose is to keep excess water flowing away from your roof via the downspout, thus helping to avoid expensive and time-consuming repairs to your home. Without a functional gutter system, your roof will collect debris and there will be an increased risk of water accumulation, or pooling. A properly installed gutter system also directs water away from your basement or foundation, which helps to avoid structural weakness and moisture problems in your home.
For these reasons, your gutters need to be properly installed by professionals, routinely maintained by the homeowner, and repaired or replaced ASAP when something goes wrong.
Leaking
The most obvious sign of a faulty gutter system is leaking. Leaking allows water to seep into your home, causing water spots, loose shingles, mold, and rotting to occur.
If you want to prevent gutter leaking, there are a few easy-to-spot problem areas to be on the lookout for. Cracks and holes are a fairly common issue. Gutters can take damage from harsh weather, debris, or even just natural wear and tear over time. When cracks or holes form, it disturbs the directional flow that leads water away from your house and causes damage.
Loose fastening is another common issue. When a gutter is fastened to your roof, the hangers or screws used can jiggle loose over time, allowing for water to leak out of the openings. This means that water gets into the fascia boards of your house and starts to cause water damage.
Clogging
A common problem with an even easier solution is that gutter clogging happens when an excess of debris accumulates in your gutters over time, causing the flow of water to become stagnant or overflow. When clogs are not properly cleared away, leaves, twigs, and other environmental debris will build up, forming a dam in your gutters. When this happens, your gutters become a sludgy mess, allowing for problems like mold, mildew, insects, and rot to occur on your roof.
Likewise, if water is not allowed to flow down the proper pathways, it will overflow and start to gather in areas that can cause damage to your foundations and basement. If you live in an area that experiences a significant rainy season, gutter clogging can cause daily inconvenience by leaving huge puddles in high-traffic areas of your property.
Incorrect Slope
When your gutters are installed correctly, you won’t even notice. It will look like your gutters are parallel to your roof. However, a properly installed gutter has a slope to it. A general slope, or pitch, helps direct the flow of water away from your home. If the slope is not slanted properly, the water will not flow fast enough, and you will experience a greater risk of overflow. If your gutters are at too steep of a slope, it reduces the amount of water that can be diverted. A good rule of thumb for a gutter slope is 1/4th of an inch per 10 ft. of gutters.
Joint Separation
Gutters are not installed in a single, congruous unit. Separate sections are installed to control the slope of the gutters and conform to the shape of the house for better directional flow and water dispersal. As such, these sections can separate over time, disrupting the flow and allowing water to accumulate in undesirable areas. This typically occurs when the joint areas are left vulnerable to the weight of clogs in the gutters. Heavy debris or strong weather can disconnect the joints with more forceful application. The joints will need to be properly secured using rivets in the overlapping sections for a strong, long-lasting solution.
No matter the trouble you are having with your gutters, Kaphar Construction is here to help. We proudly serve the Moore, OK area and are locally owned. When you call Kaphar, you can rest easy knowing that you are putting your home in the hands of a professional.