Home repair is, in some ways, an ever-constant part of life. The responsibility to keep your living area maintained, and beautiful, and safe is what separates the homeowner from a renter or anybody else. If you own a house long enough, you will likely have a chance to repair parts of your house that you never expected.

They often say that you never truly appreciate something until it’s gone. From a home renovation standpoint, you might not have strong feelings about something until it suddenly breaks or stops working. Then, as is human nature, it will be all we think about until it’s fixed.

Rain gutters surely fall into this category. Unless you live in a coastal state that experiences more than 200 days of rain a year, you are unlikely to think about your gutters much. And yet, to ignore their maintenance would at best cause an inconvenience during the next rainstorm, or at worst be a danger to your family and your property.

IDENTIFYING PROBLEMS

Many people don’t get a chance to really inspect their rain gutters unless they’re doing some other aspect of home renovation, like putting in a new roof or updating their Utah home with new siding. But there are certainly signs that one can identify from the ground that might indicate a problem.

Let’s take a look at a few of them.

BLOCKAGES

Due to the fact that rain gutters are entirely open at the top (unless you have invested in a gutter guard or strainer of some kind), it is not unheard of for the passageways to become clogged with leaves, birds nests, beehives, and other debris.

When this happens, the drain will no longer be working at optimum efficiency and little water may make it out of the spigot at the bottom of the house. Instead, you will hear the telltale sound of water hitting the pavement, cascading over the side of the gutter.

Blockages aren’t just annoying, but can cause other problems as well:

  • Standing water in the gutter.
  • Frozen dams in the winter.
  • Large icicles.
  • Putrid smells from constantly damp debris.

Unless you are confident on a ladder, it is best to have a home repair specialist come by once a quarter or so to look at the state of your gutters and free them from any clogs.

PAVEMENT CRACKS

You might wonder how cracks in your pavement could tell you that there’s a problem with your storm gutters. Remember the overflowing gutters that poured water all over your pavement? Constantly saturated soil and concrete can cause small cracks to appear, eventually leading to big fissures in the pavement.

Water is stone’s greatest enemy; given enough time and consistent application, water will wear down any surface. This isn’t just applicable to the sidewalk leading up to your porch but could affect any stony surface on your property, especially if the ground soil begins to get saturated and move.

GUTTER DAMAGE

Sometimes it won’t take a great deal of detective work to figure out what your problem is. Too often, rain gutters will begin to detach from the fascia, creating a large gap that eliminates the purpose of the gutters altogether.

This can happen for a number of reasons:

  • Improper installation of nails and fasteners, including too much spacing
  • Constant freezing of water, which expands the gutter frame
  • Warping of the gutter due to excess weight of debris
  • Too many seams

When you see detachment from the house, immediately call our team at Burbach Exteriors, who can help with a proper home renovation.

EROSION ON YOUR HOME

Once your gutters are damaged or clogged, water will begin running down the side of your house. If this persists, you will begin to see serious damage appear along the siding and in the timber eaves of the structure. Problems include:

  • Rotten wood
  • Peeling paint
  • Rust
  • Corroded siding

We at Burbach are Utah’s siding experts, with experience working with the most popular materials in the market today. If you feel that your home repair will include new siding, or you suspect as much, let our team come by for a consultation and a quote.

DAMAGED GARDENS

Finally, as we’ve mentioned before, water can damage your soil. It’s true that water helps your gardens and landscaping look beautiful and healthy, but too much water — or water that is uncontrolled — can do serious damage.

Saturated soil leads to flooded basements and unnecessary runoff. Protect your exquisitely designed landscape by making sure your rain gutters are always working properly.