Most homeowners tend to avoid cleaning out their eavestroughs for a couple of different reasons. Either they are aware they need attention but have no desire to become engaged in such a dirty job, or they just never think of them because they are up and out of their line of sight. The problem is that the longer you postpone cleaning out your eavestroughs, or updating them if they are poorly installed, the higher the likelihood of serious issues coming up.
Most homeowners aren’t aware of the importance of keeping your eavestroughs in good working order. But it’s easy to understand when you consider that they are designed to re-route water away from your home’s foundation. Here are some of the consequences you might be faced with if you neglect your eavestroughs for too long.
Damaged Fascia
Fascia refers to the long board that runs down the lower edge of your roof. The fascia is a crucial part of the gutter system, as it protects both the roof and the interior of your house from excess moisture. It also creates a neat, smooth look to the edge of your roof. If you go for prolonged periods without cleaning out your gutters, the fascia may get damaged, which results in moisture getting in where you don’t want it to be, causing water damage, mold growth, and other issues.
Roof Damage
When your eavestroughs are cluttered with debris and leaves, water can flood over the top and end up damaging the roof. When you have water damage to your roof, it can create a range of direct and indirect issues, both for the occupants of the house and visitors. These include:
● Roof rot that leads to damage in the attic area
● Mold and mildew growth, resulting in health concerns
● Fire hazards from water damage near electrical components
● Slip and fall hazards that could result in serious injury
● Elevated utility bills and wasted energy
● Compromised structural integrity on your roof
Flooded Gardens
Flooded garden beds won’t necessarily result in any safety issues for you or your family, but they will ruin your hard work and damage the flowers and plants that help make your property beautiful. Just as not enough water causes serious problems for gardens, so does too much water.
More Pests
The moist, decayed matter in many clogged gutters is an ideal nesting site for several different pests that you don’t necessarily want around your property. This can include a variety of different stinging insects, squirrels and chipmunks, mosquitoes, mice, worms, ants, birds and more. Eventually, some of these insects may end up inside or the rodents will have their young in your gutters, and you’ll have to hire a pest control company to have them evicted before your gutters are working properly again.
Damage to the Foundation
A damaged foundation is one of the biggest fears of many homeowners partly because it’s one of the costliest to repair. As the water from heavy rainfall overflows the gutters and pools along the foundation of the house, it can end up causing damage that will need to be repaired. A damaged foundation can create serious safety issues, cause floors in your home to be uneven, cause doors and windows to stay shut or stick, bow the walls, make floors sag, or even make the house uninhabitable.
Bracket Damage
The brackets that hold everything together can also get damaged when you fail to clean or update your eavestroughs appropriately. Clogged gutters are heavier than clean gutters, and the longer they sit there with the extra weight, the better the chance your brackets will end up suffering damage.
Cold Weather Issues
When the temperature drops in the late fall and winter, you may be faced with a whole new set of problems if you still haven’t cleaned out your eavestroughs and performed any maintenance and repairs that need to be done. It’s important to keep in mind that water expands as it freezes, so water in your gutters will expand and warp them so they no longer function the way they should.
Water can also freeze under your shingles or cause ice dams that inhibit the flow of water. And if the water that ends up around the foundation of your house freezes, it could result in cracks that require extensive repairs. Just picture all the places that water can end up when the gutters are jammed and congested, and then imagine it all freezing and expanding at the same time. Despite the work involved with cleaning them out when you should, it’s well worth the effort.
Installing a Leaf Guard System
Timely cleaning of your eavestroughs and having them repaired and updated when necessary will always help keep your home safe and working at full capacity. However, prevention is usually a better choice, and having a leaf guard system installed will give you peace of mind knowing that your gutters are clean all year long.
A leaf guard system is basically a cover for your eavestroughs that is slatted or perforated so water can pass through, but larger debris can’t. When a dependable leaf guard system is in place, the rainwater will run away from your property just like it is supposed to do. It will also make your gutters stronger and sturdier to prevent warping or bending, which will allow you to wait longer before you need to have them repaired or replaced.
At Weaver Exterior Remodeling Inc., all of our seamless eavestroughs and leaf guard systems come with manufacturer’s warranty plus our Weaver 10-year labour warranty. However, when we install your eavestroughs and leaf guard systems together, we’ll upgrade your warranty to a lifetime guarantee! And all of our eavestrough systems are available in a range of colours to match your home’s exterior.
Call today to get a quote for your eavestrough needs: 705-725-4977 or click here to use our Interactive Quote Tool.