Are Your Gutters Leaking?
Rain Gutters are very important because – despite being simple and inexpensive – they protect valuable home assets, such as the roof, foundation and windows. Maintaining and cleaning rain gutters is an easy way to protect your house from major damages.
And it’s a lot simpler than you probably think.
Identifying a leak in your gutters early can protect an entire house. In this blog post, we’ve provided a few signs that you can look for (without calling a roof specialist) to see if you have a gutter leaking.
How to Identify Leaking Gutters
There are many signs that point to a leaking gutter, even if you don’t actually see water dripping. You can do a visual inspection from the safety of your ground to determine if the signs of a leaking gutter are there.
Here are some things to look for:
Visible Flaws – When gutters begin to pull away from the house, it stresses the connections. Cracks can be the result of poor installation, poor quality materials, damage or age. Cracks in the gutter channel or seeing any part of them pulling away from the home may not be causing a leak just yet, but will certainly result in problems. Having these defects fixed is more affordable than replacing gutters or any of the damages a leak can cause.
Pooling – If rain is pooling around your house, it’s a sign that a gutter leak is present. But you should also check pipes, water spigots and any other water source that is near your home, just to be careful.
Pooling water near your house can be very bad for the foundation. It’s also bad for landscaping and can cause your windows to leak.
Drips – One of the more noticeable signs of a leaking gutter is a drip, or several of them.
A drip from your gutter could indicate a clog, but if it’s coming from the bottom and it isn’t overflowing, there is a hidden leak somewhere. These tiny leaks will occur if a fastener has gotten loose (see the next item below).
Visible Fasteners – Seeing nails and screws wiggling their way out of the rain gutters means a leak will begin soon, if it hasn’t already. The hole where the nail or screw fits in starts to become a new area where water can get out if the fastener starts to fall out.
Sometimes the answer is as simple as tightening them, but it can also be important to cover the hole so no water can escape from the edge of the screw or the nail, even after it is back in place. You can purchase this sealant, or let a gutter repair company apply it.
Water Stains or Rust – Water leaves behind evidence, especially if it is consistently or frequently present. Dark water stains will appear because dirt and other organic debris adhere to the moist surface better than it would a drier one.
Rust is the result of nearly constant moisture, and the more severe sign you’ll notice after water stains. Most water stains can be cleaned away and the gutters can be fixed, but if your gutters are rusty, they definitely have to be repaired or be replaced.
Unexplained Home Damage – If there hasn’t recently been a storm, and you haven’t had a tree limb fall on your roof, but you’re beginning to notice paint flaking, cracking in the foundation around the downspouts or walkways, decaying wood on your patio or deck, or moldy window sills, you may have leaking gutters.
These are all indications that water has been leaking from a place it shouldn’t be. They also are related to older building materials, so all of these factors need to be taken into account when inspecting gutters for leaks.
Other gutter issues…
Not every gutter issue leads to major repairs. If you see these gutter issues, a gutter leak might not be the issue.
Rain Overflow – This one is a pretty easy fix. It’s probably not a leak, but a clog that needs to be removed. You can do this yourself or hire a Livonia gutter cleaning service – or even a general handyman – to clean out the gutters.
Animal Nests – A bird, squirrel, chipmunk can build a nest in your rain gutters or downspout, which will also cause overflow. Once the nest has been there awhile, you will start seeing some of the above signs of a leak in a gutter – like rust or puddling – if you don’t get rid of the nest.
Trees & Plants – A tree can easily take root in your gutter with little debris present. While it may be little now, a sapling will sprout really strong roots that can destroy aluminum gutters before you even know it.
Professional Gutter Repair
Any of these obvious signs indicate there are problems with your rain gutter that have to be addressed immediately. By quickly checking all of your gutters and downspouts, you can see if there’s a cause for concern.
This is where a professional gutter service in Livonia can be of great help. They can distinguish whether gutter replacement is necessary or if you can get by with repairs to lengthen the lifetime of your home’s gutters. Sometimes, basic gutter cleaning is the only thing that’s needed.
Some homeowners decide to do basic gutter care and maintenance, like gutter cleaning, on their own. Although it it can be time consuming and somewhat dangerous, they are willing to complete the chore 1-2 times each year to save a little money.
However, any job beyond simple gutter cleaning is best left to the professionals.
Start by hiring a gutter specialist with good customer reviews like Livonia Gutters, Inc.. Then let us do a full inspection to correctly determine the problem. We provide free inspections for potential customers.
If there are gutter repairs to be made, or if we feel that it’s time to install new gutters, you can trust us to get the job done right. Our gutter repair service will save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run!