Your gutters play an extremely important role in protecting your property's roof and foundation from water damage; they collect and redirect the rainwater that drains off the roof so that it does not come into contact with the rest of your house. As such, it's vital to be aware of the things that could potentially damage your guttering. Here are two such things.
Failing to clean them out regularly
It is very common for leaves, twigs and other debris to accumulate in a property's guttering. Because of this, gutters need to be cleaned out on a regular basis.
If you do not do this, because, for example, you do not have the equipment or the physical ability to perform this task yourself or because you do not want to pay a roofer to carry out the work on your behalf, a blockage could form in your gutters.
This blockage could end up warping your gutters, particularly if it develops during the cold winter months. The reason for this is that the water that is trapped in the gutters by this blockage may freeze if the temperatures get very low.
When water freezes and turns into ice, it expands; this expansion could strain the walls of the gutters to such an extent that they become permanently warped. This change in their shape could prevent them from containing and redirecting the rainwater that falls into them.
This could lead to rainwater seeping down the walls of your house, toward the foundation. If this happens, the property could develop a damp problem and may sustain moisture-induced structural damage.
As such, it is worth hiring a professional roofer to clean out your gutters at least once a month.
Accidentally altering the angle of the gutters
Your property's guttering needs to be positioned at a very specific angle, in order to be able to catch all of the rainwater that drains downwards from the roof. If this angle changes slightly, two issues may occur.
Firstly, some of the rainwater will not drain off the roof. If the roof remains saturated with water for an extended period of time, and the materials from which it is made happen to be quite old and have already started to degrade, the moisture could begin to seep through the roof's exterior layer and enter the house. This could cause dampness and mould to develop in the loft area of the property.
Secondly, some of the rainwater which the gutters do not capture could end up draining downwards and seeping into the house's foundation. As mentioned above, this can create a number of serious problems, including damp and structural issues.
As such, it is extremely important to avoid accidentally changing the angle of your home's gutters. You should not, for example, allow your children to play football or basketball too close to your guttering system, as they could end up accidentally kicking or throwing the ball towards the gutters. The force with which the ball strikes the gutters could change their position.
You don't realise how important your roof is until it fails. Last winter, I noticed that water was leaking through my roof and dripping into my home. I was in a bit of a panic while I searched for a bucket so I could stop the water from flooding my home. I called an emergency roofing service and they were great. The company sent a contractor out straight away and he soon climbed my roof and inspected the damage. After a short while, he climbed back down and explained that the roof needed to be rennovated. Since the work was completed, I haven't had any problems with my roof.