Have you ever given a thought to the state of your rain gutter installation? We bet that the answer is “not really.” However, we encourage you to look out for some issues that might be progressively deteriorating your gutters. After all, rain gutters protect your home from more serious problems like structural damage from water leaking. Read on to learn how to spot the most common problems in your rain gutter installation before it’s too late.
1. Clogging
Clogged rain gutters won’t do their job properly, and this will, in turn, increase the chances of water damage. Here’s how to find out if your gutters are clogged:
- Does water leak from your gutters?
- Do you notice that every time it rains, your gutters overflow?
- Does rain water get stagnant around your house and causes water marks on the walls?
Rain gutters and downspouts usually get clogged with twigs, leaves, and other debris. Sometimes rain gutter installers have found that even toys and organic waste to be the reason for clogged gutters in many homes.
As time goes by with this problem unchecked, water accumulates inside the rain gutters, deteriorating them. They start to rust, which diminishes their lifespan and can end up deteriorating the fascia and roof.
If you find that your gutters are clogged, the first thing to do is clear larger debris like leaves and twigs and put it in a bucket or waste bag. You should clear the whole rain gutter installation, including the downspouts, with a hose. If you notice that water still doesn’t drain, the downspout might be clogged too, so it’s necessary to clear the downspout strainer as well and remove it if it lays underground. A nozzle on your hose will also increase the pressure of the water and allow you to unclog the end of the downspout.
You should know that all this still might not be enough to solve a serious clog. Sometimes water will remain standing inside the gutter installation, which signals that it is necessary to adjust the slope so that water drains properly. This involves detaching the gutter hangers carefully and in sections to keep the whole installation from collapsing. If all this sounds like a tedious chore you don’t want to face, leave it to the rain gutter pros at Gutter Boyz of Kentucky. We have the equipment and expertise it takes to clear clogs and leave the installation intact.
2. Sagging
Gutter hangers keep the whole installation in place so that it is safe from strong winds and their own weight. But time loosens and displaces the hangers, which puts the whole structure in danger of collapsing. Sagging gutter hangers might give in to the weight of the whole guttering plus the weight of water during rainy months and cause a mess.
To fix sagging gutters, it’s best to call a professional like Gutter Boyz of Kentucky. Here’s how you can tell if your gutter hangers need fixing:
- Are all gutter hangers made of the same material as your rain gutters? (this prevents corrosion and ensures that the structure will be firmly kept in place)
- Are all gutter hangers spaced out correctly, and is any hanger missing? (too much space between hangers can compromise the stability of the structure)
- Is the spacing correct according to the weather? (mild weather needs 36 inches of distance whereas rainy weather needs 18 inches of spacing)
- Do the hangers have an incline of one inch every sixteen inches?
- Is the highest tip of the structure sloped downwards?
- Does water overflow?
- Does your façade look dirty and damaged by water? And, does your garden flood?
You can take a close look at your guttering and determine if the hangers are loose and causing sagging. If the answer is yes, then call Gutter Boyz of Kentucky. We know all the technical details to adjust sagging gutters; you might miss them if you don’t have enough knowledge about it.
3. Leaking
Time and lack of maintenance can take a toll on your rain gutter installation in the form of cracks, holes, and gaps that cause water to leak, which can cause water damage on the structure of your home, the walls or the roof, not to mention continually slippery spots that might pose a risk to your family and damage the floor as well. Needless to say, the more you allow cracks and leaks to go unchecked, the more difficult they will be to fix later on, until the point where you might have to change the whole gutter installation.
Sunlight, dirt, stagnant water, and temperature changes can deteriorate the material of the gutters until they rust and rupture, so the leaking starts – usually at the seams, braces or gutter nails. It is important to note that some materials are more prone to leaking than others; such is the case of metal gutters.
Here’s how to spot leaky gutters:
- Are there several leaking spots along the installation?
- Are the gutter joints starting to rust – even if there’s no leak yet?
- Have you discovered spots where water pools along your gutter installation?
- Does the paint look cracked or chipped along the seams or specific spots of the installation? This might signal that the material could soon give in as well.
- Are the gutter hangers loose? Rainwater might start seeping through the joints since the whole system stands more weight than normal and the joints become more susceptible to cracks.
- Is the slope of the installation correct? An incorrect slope will cause water to pool along the installation and start eating away at different spots, which might end up in cracks and leaks.
Taking care of details will prevent your rain gutters from developing cracks and eventually leaking. One recommendation from experts is choosing seamless gutters since these tend to develop fewer cracks and holes.
4. Broken gutters or downspouts
When an extensive section of the installation or the downspout is broken, your gutters need repair as soon as possible because this is a serious problem. Broken downspouts will send water to the wrong place and broken gutters cause the whole installation to malfunction, which most times results in serious water damage and structural problems. If recently your installation faced high winds, excessive rainfall, or has other problems like the ones mentioned earlier (clogging, sagging or leaking), then the experts need to examine the status of your rain gutters and take action about it.
If you see that your gutters need some attention, give the pros at Gutter Boyz of Kentucky a call today for a FREE ESTIMATE. We serve a majority of Western Kentucky, Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri for all of your Gutter needs. You can reach us by phone at (270) 906-3055 or CLICK HERE to contact us.