Protecting Your Home from Rot with Gutter Repairs

Protecting Your Home with Gutter Repairs

Your gutters make up one of the most important aspects of your home exterior. Leak protection, water flow, and completing the look of your roof all comes down to your gutters. Because of this, it’s important to make sure that your gutters are well maintained and free of blockages at all times.

Gutters that are leaking, sagging, or even broken can lead to inadequate drainage and even bigger problems including rust and rot. Repairing and cleaning your gutters will not only protect the structure of your home, but also the surrounding soil, plants, trees, and pavements.

Common Aluminum Gutter Repairs

Aluminum gutters are long lasting, strong, and resilient to environmental damage. However this is not to say that they are impervious to problems.

Aluminum gutters can sometimes fail at the seals when debris has built up and allowed sealant to deteriorate. This can lead to leaks. This problem can be easily repaired by clearing the gutters of any debris and resealing them. Through this process your gutters will be as good as new.

Sometimes blockages may be so severe that gutters end up overflowing. This type of blockage can be serious if not seen to promptly. Overflowing water may enter your roof, or cause erosion damage to nearby gardens and soil. Leaves, dirt, tree limbs, and even children’s toys could be causing blockages. A professional exterior contractor will be able to clear the debris that’s causing the problem, clean and inspect your gutters, and finally reseal the gutter where required. An easy way to avoid blockages that lead to overflowing is to install gutter cover systems. These mesh covers allow your gutters to work flawlessly without allowing debris and other objects to enter the system.

Hail damage is also common, but is rarely structurally destructive. You can spot hail damage from the ground in the form of indentations and small dings. If the hail has completely punctured your gutters, you’ll need to get a professional in immediately. After any particularly bad hailstorm it’s best to have a specialist inspect your gutters for damage that could lead to future problems.

Loose, Fallen, and Sagging Gutters

In extreme circumstances your gutter could move, begin to sag, or even completely separate from the mounting spikes. This can occur after particularly harsh weather, when leakages and blocks aren’t attended to, or after the home expands and contracts due to seasonal changes.

Regularly maintaining your gutter is the best way to avoid costly gutter repairs and reinstallations.

Repairing Rusty Gutters

Steel guttering is more at risk of corrosion than modern aluminum solutions. Aluminum gutters are assembled on-site to create a seamless gutter. Unfortunately, the same is not true for older gutters.

Repairs on galvanized steel gutters are only a temporary solution, and aren’t recommended. Some contractors may offer touch ups with priming and repainting, but after time you’re going to be facing the same problem again as corrosion sets in and turns to rust. In this situation it’s best to replace your gutters, with aluminum gutters providing protection for the lifetime of your home.

Maintaining your gutters and making repairs when necessary will ensure that your seamless aluminum gutters are always working to protect your home. After storm inspection, unblocking, resealing, or even installation of mesh gutter covers are all small investments that will benefit your home for many years to come.