Gutter cleaning is a recurring chore many homeowners dread, but gutters help protect your home. Uncontrolled runoff can damage paint, undermine and crack foundations, contribute to mold problems in crawl spaces and flood basements. An inch of rain on the roof a medium-sized house creates about 500 gallons of runoff. Proper gutter and downspout systems guide the water away from your home and protect the surrounding land from erosion damage. To buy gutter guard for your home, you can read the best gutter guards review and take the decision which one is perfect for your home.
Foundation problems
Without gutters, the rain that strikes a roof falls into a narrow border next to the foundation. In the valleys of the roof, the runoff is concentrated in a powerful jet that can dig a hole in the ground, impacting it. Saturation of the foundation area can cause deposition and cracking; Block foundations are particularly vulnerable. Runoff can enter the crawl space between the floor and the ground and increased humidity can contribute to wood and mold rot.
Wall problems
Runoff does not fall. Water loops from the edges of the eaves and, as the current falls, it is deflected by the wind and the resistance of the air. In sheltered areas, excess water on exterior walls can contribute to mold. Even houses with waterproof cladding are vulnerable. House paint can be damaged, peeling away from wooden siding prematurely. Low on the walls, the paint can be spoiled by mud thrown when the runoff touches the ground.
Basement Floods
If the basement walls are not entirely waterproof, runoff can enter cracks and seams. If roots or debris slow the basement drains, the runoff will back up on the basement floor. A few inches of water can be enough to ruin appliances and cause electrical problems. A well-designed gutter and downspout system shunts the flow at a safe distance and in natural drainage areas.
Erosion
Even with a properly functioning gutter system, there is a risk of decay at the outlet of the downspouts. Splash blocks attached under the spouts take up more of the impact of the water flow, spreading the circulation in a full, shallow pattern that does not harm your yard. Water can be channeled into dry wells – pits filled with large rocks work well – at speed dispersal in the ground. Tanks and storage tanks can also collect runoff for use as irrigation water in a dry season of the year.
Interview
Cleaning your gutters and downspouts repair is an essential maintenance routine and should be done at least twice a year. After the flowering season in spring, flowers and seeds often fill the canals. Later in the year, the major problem is leaves, but the debris of the storm can cause hooves at any time. Gutters Even securely fastened to the eaves with screws and hangers can flex under a full load of wet leaves and debris. Prepare for the winter should include a thorough cleaning and inspection. Re-hang gutters that have changed and replace bumpy downspouts.
Installing a gutter allows the quick evacuation of rainwater. Simple to install the gutter avoid infiltrations as well as a significant disorder in the habitat.
Install a gutter
The gutter is a traditional element visible on all types of buildings, whether classic style or contemporary style. This architectural element evacuates the water from the roof or the roof terrace to direct them towards the ground, towards a cistern for recovery or towards the municipal network of rainwater evacuation. The gutter should not be confused with the gutter that is part of the masonry. The gutter is an external element added to the individual or collective dwelling. The average price of a gutter is $2024 TTC *, but the rates vary according to many aspects.
Install gutters: an essential part of the roof
Gutters are used to evacuate rainwater and possibly to recover it in a tank, to be used as non-potable water, to water the garden for example. It is then an ecological gesture and a measure of the economy.
But the gutter especially avoids that the water stagnates on the roof and damages the tiles. Installing a drainage system is not enough. It is necessary to ensure its proper functioning. The leaves and the foam are likely to block it and thus prevent a proper evacuation. The ideal is to inspect and clean the gutters once a year, before the fall. For safety, when working at height, you can call a roofer equipped with the necessary equipment.
Install gutters: to keep a healthy habitat
Installing gutters is an essential operation to avoid problems outside the house or apartment, but also inside the house. In fact, in the absence of a roof drainage system or if this system fails, the water will first enter the attic and then gradually in all rooms. The presence of water in a dwelling is responsible for the appearance of mold and fungi that are harmful to health and particularly to the respiratory tract. Besides, a humidity level higher than average can be a source of premature wears of your equipment: wooden joinery will curl, the coatings and wall coverings will gradually degrade.
Besides, rainwater, if it is not directed to an evacuation system, will accumulate at the level of foundations. However, on ancient foundations, micro cracks permeating the water are not excluded. Your home will then be affected by the problem of the capillaries. The humidity can then rise along the walls. The treatment of such lifts always requires the intervention of a professional. Several techniques that are both expensive and complex are available to overcome the problem: resin injection, dewatering plant, waterproof membrane … The ideal is, therefore, to avoid the appearance of capillary rise by providing an evacuation system performing rainwater.
Install gutters: for a facade in good condition
By preventing rainwater from being in contact with the facade, the channels avoid unsightly traces of pouring. They also prevent damage to brick joints, door and window framing. Exposed to rainwater, they will lose their luster, but also swell under the effect of moisture. The facade closures will no longer fulfill their role of protection against the weather and noise and thermal insulation of housing will no longer be assured. Installing gutters thus preserves the value of your home, but also the well-being of its occupants.
Before swallowing the facade or painting it, it is necessary to repair any gutter leak or replace it in whole or in part. Only small clogging is possible on an aging gutter. On all materials, including PVC, you can use self-adhesive bitumen tape or bitumen spray or putty. For zinc or steel gutters, a repair can also be done with tin solder.
Install gutters: for the aesthetic and practical aspect
Installing gutters avoids splashing on the bottom of the facade. The thoughtful evacuation of rainwater also prevents the plants from being drowned.
Besides, depending on your choice, the gutter will be more or less aesthetic. Among the most discreet gutters is the creeping gutter, placed on the crawling roof. This gutter solution, however, remains reserved for steep roofs. For a roof terrace, you will, therefore, have to orient yourself towards the traditional hanging gutter. But some materials, such as zinc, give the facade some character. The zinc gutter is, moreover, the most widespread. It is often imposed when the house or building is in a protected area. The copper gutter, meanwhile, remains one of the noblest solutions, but also the most expensive. Finally, the aluminum gutter is available in several colors. It harmonizes with the front door and the windows.
The hanging gutter can take different forms: ovoid, half-round or square with regional variants. Thus, the gutter has a traditional half-round shape but is distinguished by a more substantial (diameter) developed. The square profile, meanwhile, is the most modern.
Install gutters: a legal obligation?
Article 681 of the Civil Code forbids you to dump your rainwater directly on your neighbor’s land. If your home is in the middle of the field, you are free to install or not a gutter. On the other hand, if your house is semi-detached, you must put in place an evacuation system preventing the water from your roof from falling on the neighboring plot. However, if for more than 30 years, the water from your roof ends in the neighborhood, you have acquired servitude.
In any case, the water once on the ground can flow on the neighbor’s land because of the natural slope of the place. This neighbor can not get any compensation, even if this evacuation causes inconvenience. Neither can he erect a dike to prevent the mechanical removal of groundwater.