How To Prepare Your Gutters for Fall To Protect Your Roof Part 2

Maintaining your home’s gutters is an important part of home-ownership. Falling leaves and water backup can the integrity of your roof, and a poorly performing gutter can cause water to pool and damage your foundations. With some prevention and planning, you can ensure that your home is ready for the fall and winter while it’s still warm enough for outdoor chores.

Last week, we covered the basics of water issue prevention and gutter maintenance. Now we’ll talk about improvements you can make to your water drainage system, and how to know when replacement is necessary.

Gutter Improvement Options

If you’re looking to improve the stability and reliability of your gutters going into the fall, there are some surefire steps you can take.

First, adding a gutter cover will greatly reduce the amount of debris that will accumulate, eliminating a significant amount of wear and tear. These come in a reverse curve, mesh, nylon, bottle brush, and foam materials, and can be tailored to the amount of debris, rain, and ice you see in the average year.

If you live in an area with significant ice accumulation, installing gutter and roof heating cables can be a great way to prevent freezing. Ice dams and blockages can put a huge amount of weight on your gutters and punch dents into the lining. Eliminating them will reduce necessary repairs and maintenance come spring.

If you have older gutters, you can also apply a good primer and rust-inhibiting paint to slow down wear and tear and help them survive the winter.

Signs You Should Replace Your Gutters

If you’ve noticed any rusting in your gutters, it means that you’ll want to replace them altogether as soon as possible. Commonly used vinyl and aluminum gutters don’t rust, so this will mean that your gutters are extremely outdated.

If any of the above issues like gutter separation, dents, holes, moisture damage, or leaking are widespread across the entire gutter, it might mean that the entire structure is outdated and compromised. Your best way to proceed is to have a professional evaluate your gutters immediately for a potential replacement.

If you’re seeing any of these issues, or if you’d just like to discuss your options for protecting your roof, contact us.