Gutters keep rain from sliding off the drip edge. The reason for this is that the attic is very accessible at the drip edge, having vents everywhere, and if water runs over it especially in a serious rainstorm then it could turn into a soaked attic. it won’t take long for water to reach your drywall ceiling, in mid rainfall the whole ceiling could collapse. Water damage is a severe issue and causes leaks in your house and attic that will cost tens of thousands of dollars to resolve. This is important to know. Your rain gutters may just be the most important part of your home. Not just your roof but the foundation, the walls, the insulation and every other aspect of your home from top to bottom. The goal of a gutter is to redirect the water from the roof to a location far away from the house. You cannot have a gutter that ends near the foundation as that will damage your house and cause flooding. Your gutters must also be gauged to where you live. If there is a rainy season get wider and deeper gutters. Prepare ahead and be ready for anything. When everyone else is replacing their rooves because of a terrible storm you will be sipping iced tea under your structurally sound deck overhang.
This is very real. Your gutters and their size, how they are attached, how often they are cleaned and the kind of rain you get in your area can all be used to improve your gutter system. Your gutters will never overflow and will maintain their structure, will need less cleaning and will last longer. Badly installed gutters are a physical danger to your home and to you. they can fall off from heavy rain and strike someone standing under it. A downspout that is too close to your home or that leaks are also a serious danger to your basement which can flood and also damage and crack your foundation.
Handling your downspout is the key to keeping your house structurally sound and free of leaks and floods. Make sure you have a long downspout that continues well away from your home with a dug-out trench filled with gravel and aimed at an open sewer drain. This will assure that no water remains near your house during a storm and that it will drain off to the sewer. The damage to your foundation and to your drip edges and facia vents will cease and your roof will stay structurally sound for much longer. A well-kept roof, gutter and foundation will extend the life of your home and stave off the need for necessary renovations for up to a decade.
If you have a bad gutter and you want a new one, or to fix the one you have it would be much smarter to hire a professional than risk going up two stories on a ladder. If your gutter is leaking repairing it will always be a temporary solution. While it’s possible to repair a steel gutter an aluminum gutter cannot be welded using normal tools and will need to be replaced. The best option out there is not metal but PVC or Vinyl pipe. Available in any size and shape you can build the perfect gutter system without having to lift any heavy. They clip together easily and are far less likely to have a leak if the joints are properly treated and connected to the roof edge correctly. Never drill a gutter directly to the roof. It must be mounted on a mounting device that is drilled into the wall and holds the gutter and the correct angle and the correct distance from the roof. Failing to do this can result in a non-fucnctional gutter, roof leaks and basement flooding. When installing the vinyl or PVC gutters every connection must be cocked with the appropriate cocking. Failing to do so will result in leaky gutters which is exactly what we are trying to avoid. Drop the metal gutters for vinyl and PVC and you will never look back.