How Do Bad Gutters Cause Roof Damage?

Maintain your gutters to prevent roof damage. Gutters are essential for keeping water from pooling around your exterior walls and foundation, but effective gutters are also an important part of maintaining the roof of your home. Gutters are susceptible to damage from weather or time, but poor installation and inappropriate building materials are also culprits in the case of bad gutters. Ignoring problems with bad gutters can lead to serious and costing roof damage. Does this Spark an idea?


Choosing Gutters

Choosing the most durable and cost-effective gutters for your home can save you a lot of trouble down the road. Aluminum gutters are one of the most common materials for gutters because they are resistant to corrosion and comparatively inexpensive. Steel gutters are also a durable material, and they are less likely to expand and contract with fluctuating temperatures, but they are more expensive to install. A durable material is less likely to crack and bend, both of which are common causes of gutter-caused roof damage. Other considerations in choosing gutters include limited seams, simple profiles and gutter screens to keep out debris.


Downspouts

Downspouts are responsible for carrying rainwater and small pieces of debris away from the roof gutter. Downspouts typically feature a joint at the end of the spout so that water doesn't pool around the foundation and cause leaks. If debris collects at the joint and causes a clog, water will collect in the gutter that runs across the roof line. Pooling water along the roof line rots the wood and leaves your roof vulnerable to leaks and damage. If your house is particularly long, you may need more than one downspout to manage heavy rains and prevent backup along the roof gutter.


Debris

Clogged gutters are the most common cause of malfunctioning gutters. Open-top gutters are collection zones for leaves, sticks and acorns. In some cases, gutters serve as nesting spaces for birds and squirrels. When a gutter is blocked, water spills over the edge of the gutter. The collecting water soaks and rots the materials of your roof. If still water remains in a debris-filled gutter after the rainfall, moss and mold will possibly grow inside your gutters and along your roof.


Installation Problems

Even gutters that are properly installed may cause roof problems down the road. One consideration during installation is the pitch or angle of both the roof and the gutter. To accommodate the specific angle of your roof, the gutter must be hung at a pitch so that water will collect inside the gutter rather than flow in front of or behind the gutter. Over time, gutters may loosen from their joints and disrupt the pitch, causing water to flow behind the gutter and along the roof line instead. Even well-attached gutters can be ripped from the roof during high winds or heavy snow. The force of the gutter pulling from the roof may also cause acute damage to roof wood or shingles.

Reasons to Use Gutter Guards

When you own a home you will be taking on the task of having to clean out your gutters. Yes, this happened a few times a year. Before the winter, after the winter, before summer and before fall; especially when the leave start falling. Gutter Guards

The reason why you have gutters is to deflect rain water into the gutter and pass through the gutter drain. The problems most home owners have is this; their gutters are catching leaves, sticks, twigs, birds building nests in the guards. No matter how many times you clean them out there is always something. Even the best gutter guards will not keep out everything.

Gutter guards are good at keeping out the large pieces of debris, like sticks and leaves and birds from making nests. There are different types of gutter guards there are guards made from mesh, wire, vinyl and aluminum. There are guards that fit over the gutter and the mesh ones fit in the gutter. What happens when your gutters are clean and it rains you will see a stream of water come down the drainpipe. When the gutter are clogged or there is an obstruction then the guards need to be cleaned and this can happen even though you have guards.

Benefits of Gutter Guards

There are benefits to using gutter guards; by installing them and keeping the gutter functional you will have the maximum benefit of the gutters themselves, you will be able to keep the flow of water moving so your basement and patios don’t accumulate with water. The guards help protect the concrete around the home. The color of concrete and brick are protected. You will not create mud and mud puddles on the grass.

By having gutter guards you are preventing a back up of water from the roof from cutting into the home. Gutter guards can also be a great asset in the winter because it prevents freezing.

Clogged gutters can also manifest puddles of water. When you have gutters full of stagnant puddles of water for a long period of time, they attract mosquitoes, weeds and grasses can grow there as well causing a breeding ground for bugs (and the West Nile Virus).

You have to keep in mind as great as gutter guards are that gutter will still need to be cleaned. There is no sure fire way to keep the gutters clean. Guards only help protect not prevent the gutters from becoming clogged. You will still need to clean them. Especially before the winter. If you live in an area that has a high volume of snow and the gutters are not clear then the snow will pile up on the roof and cause major problems for you over time.

When you go to your local home improvement store ask the sales people what they recommend that you use. Then ask them if you will have to still clean the gutters, the sales people will tell you no but give your self a challenge. Install the guards and then wait until the fall. Into the first week of leaves falling you will know whether or not the gutter do what they are intended to do.

Hail Roof Damage

Hailstones are pellets of ice that sometimes form during thunderstorms. Hailstones can range in size; they can be as small as peas, or smaller, or as large as golf balls, and occasionally bigger than that. Even small-sized hail has the potential to damage structures on impact.

Effects

• Severe hail damage can involve splits in wooden roof shingles. On asphalt shingles, hail can cause severe granule loss. In these cases, a portion of a roof, or the entire roof, may need to be replaced after the storm.

Considerations

• If the hail is smaller, damage to the roof may be mild. Mild damage will appear as small indentation marks that should dissipate over time and not effect the life of the roof shingle. In this case, the damage is cosmetic and is not a cause for alarm.

Size

• A 2009 San Angelo Standard-Times article explains that although significant damage doesn't usually occur unless a hailstone is at least the size of a golf ball, small hailstones can cause tiny exposures in the shingles, which can develop into damage over time.

Roof Inspection

• To properly assess hail damage, it's necessary to schedule an inspection by a qualified roof specialist. Many insurance companies will not cover the cost of hail damage without a professional roof inspection.

Prevention

• There is no such thing as a fully hail-proof roof, according to Roofhelp.com. However, individuals can invest in hail-resistant roofs. Most roofs are awarded ratings based on their ability to weather a hailstorm.