Gutter overflow can damage your home. When a gutter overflows, it’s bad. Gutters are designed to channel storm water runoff from your roof, into your downspouts. But when there is a problem, the water will spill over the sides of your gutters.
A few of the consequences to gutter overflow are:
- a fall hazard
- a cracked foundation
- basement flooding
- fascia board rot
- stained or discolored siding
- landscape erosion
Do these five things before gutter overflow damages your home:
1. Clean Out Your Gutters
At least twice each year, you need to climb up a ladder (or hire a professional) and remove the sludge, pine needles, twigs, and leaves. Then using a garden hose, run water through the gutters and downspouts. If there is a blockage, you may have to use a high pressure sprayer to break up.
2. Install Gutter Guards
It’s important to cover your gutters with a product designed to keep solids out of the gutters. They are made from a variety of materials and come in many different designs. While economical, many of the alternatives found at the big box stores become plugged with debris due to the larger openings. And unless they’re professionally installed gutter guards, they typically blow off the gutters during our Kansas high winds.
3. Check the Tilt and Pitch of Your Gutters
Check the slope of your gutters. If it’s flat, water will stand in the gutters and will not flow toward the downspouts. If the slope is too steep, the water will splash over at the ends during heavy rain. Also, check the pitch of your gutters by using a level to make sure they aren’t tilting backward or forward. Gutter King Wichita can help you with this. Give us a call.
4. Check Your Gutter Sizes
In homes which have steep-pitched roofs, sometimes the existing gutters are just too small to handle the volume of runoff that flows from the roof. You may need to install larger gutters. Call us for a free inspection.
5. Install Gutter Shields
Runoff water in roof valleys is typically traveling too fast to drain into gutters and will splash over and onto the ground. Use gutter shields or gusher guards wherever you have a valley section of roof, to help prevent water from flowing over the lip of your gutter. A gutter shield is usually an L-shaped piece of aluminum attached at the corner of a gutter system, at the roof valley. This diverts water into the gutters. To install, drill holes into the splash guards and gutter, then install rivets inside the holes, to permanently fasten the splash guard to your gutters.
Call us at 316.680.6708 for a Free Inspection. If there is an issue, we can quickly provide you with a free, no obligation quote for cleaning or repair.
