4 Ways Clogged Gutters Damage Your Home

Your gutters and downspouts are designed to funnel rainwater away from your roof, home, lawn, and driveway. When they’re not functioning properly, your home could become vulnerable to a number of long-term, costly damages. Even a little bit of water can cause a lot of damage.  Cleaning your gutters is an important job, but many put it off due to lack of time, resources, or the dangerous nature of the chore. Luckily, the professionals at Gutters R Us are here to help. Here are 4 ways gutter blockages are damaging your home.

 

1. Broken and Sagging Gutters
   1. When your gutters are clogged, the water and debris they collect has no place to go. Instead, it fills your gutters to the brim. With each gallon of water weighing about 8 pounds, all that extra weight can bend your gutters or tear them away from the roof, bringing part of your home’s exterior with them. If gutters are made out of lower quality materials or are allowed to sag for long enough, the damage to them will be too much and gutter replacement or repair may be necessary.
2. Plants Growing in Your Gutters
   1. When you don’t clean your gutter on a regular basis, organic matter tends to collect in your gutter system. This dirt and debris, combined with the sunshine and moisture, create the perfect environment for seeds or fungi to sprout. Your gutters can become a planter for hearty weeds, grass, and plants if they aren’t maintained, obstructing the flow of water from your home.
3. Your Roof and Walls Will Be Damaged
   1. Another good indicator that you have clogged gutters is staining. For the exterior of your home, this is the precursor to more serious damage. Staining on your siding or on the downspouts and gutters is a telltale sign that the gutters have been overflowing due to a clog. Water accumulates on your roof and slowly begins to seep into your home at jointed spots, like where your roof meets the siding (the fascia board) and the underside of your exposed roof (the soffit). Trapped water can rot the wooden fascia boards your gutters are mounted to, letting moisture enter your home. The longer water is allowed to sit on your roof, the more costly repairs will be and might result in replacing your roof altogether. As for the interior, the leaks will worsen creating cracks in your ceilings and walls, even impacting electrical systems.
4. The Foundation will be Compromised
   1. If you have a 2,000-square-foot home, every inch of rain translates to more than 1,200 gallons of water pouring down your roof!
   2. When water cannot be properly drained from your property, your foundation will also be impacted. Pooling water around your foundation can cause erosion which weakens the walls, leading to foundation cracks and settling. If your basement isn’t perfectly waterproofed, the water pouring down your foundation can lead to a damp basement. This is caused by water seeping through your basement’s porous walls and floor. The foundation is the most important part of your entire house. When that’s compromised, the whole house is in danger. Foundation repair from contractors in our area can cost between $2,000 to $7,000. Taking care of your gutters is a much easier way to sustain the foundation and far less costly.

 

Don’t wait until it’s too late! Problems caused by clogged or broken gutters are expensive to fix, but easy to prevent. Give us a call with any questions or to schedule a free estimate for new gutters, screen or cover install, cleaning, or repairs.