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It depends.

On paper, when they’re maintained and properly cared for, rain gutters can last for at least 20 years. But in addition to proper care and maintenance, there are other factors that play a role in gutter longevity. One is the gutter material. Vinyl, for instance, is a less durable gutter material than steel and aluminum, hence it’s also likely to require replacement sooner – especially in areas that experience significant weather.

In this post, we’ll get into why gutters are so important, how to ensure gutter longevity and when to know it’s time to replace your gutters.

Why Are Gutters So Important?

When they’re working properly, gutters play a significant role in preventing water intrusion and foundation degradation to your property.

Simply put, gutters are designed to safely disperse rain runoff and snow melt away from your property so that it’s not pooling or puddling up around your foundation. When this occurs, so too does the potential for water intrusion. If even a small amount of water enters your property, it can lead to significant water damage in the lower levels of your home. Water damage restoration is costly and can also lead to subsequent problems such as mold growth.

Ideally, your gutter system is free flowing and downspouts are positioned so that water is draining away from your home and not toward it. If your gutters are obstructed, then water is likely to fill and pour over directly onto the ground beneath them, which can result in foundation problems. The excess weight can also cause the gutters to sag and pull away from the home. And if downspouts are not positioned properly, then they’ll likely lead to water pooling around the foundation and not safely draining away from it. This, too, can lead to significant issues.

Tips to Ensure Gutter Longevity

So what can be done to ensure gutter longevity? There are many things that you should take into consideration to ensure that your gutters are in good working condition and drain roof runoff properly. Here’s a look:

Clean Them Regularly

You should clean your gutters at least twice a year, more if you live in areas of dense foliage. When leaves, twigs and other debris fall onto your roof, they’re eventually going to make their way into your gutters. When this happens, they can clog downspouts and prevent water from freely draining. Furthermore, the buildup of water and other debris can add significant weight to the gutters, causing them to sag and/or pull away from the roof line. Cleaning the gutters out can help prevent this.

If you don’t like cleaning your gutters, consider investing in gutter guards. These fit directly over the top of your gutters and prevent larger debris from entering your gutters, while still allowing water to easily pass through. Think of them as a gutter filter. Gutter guards can be especially helpful in areas with dense tree cover.

Monitor for Leaks

Gutters take a beating, so over time it’s not uncommon for them to develop leaks – especially around seams where the seal may be a bit more compromised. That said, you should periodically check for leaks and repair them when necessary. It’s fairly simple to do.

The next time it rains, just grab an umbrella and head outside. Walk the perimeter of your home and pay attention to your gutters. Are they freely draining, or are there parts in the system that are leaking? Make sure to repair any leaks to avoid water intrusion issues around your home and prevent small issues from becoming bigger ones.

Trim Back Landscaping

Trees, bushes and other landscaping that may come into contact with your gutters are something you’ll also want to keep an eye on. This is especially true in the winter time, when ice and snowfall can add significant weight to tree branches that may scrape and damage your gutters.

It’s always a good idea to ensure that any trees are properly trimmed so that they do not come into contact with any part of the home. This is best carried out in the fall before the winter months set in.

Be Wary of Ice Dams

Ice dams form when snow melt from the roof refreezes around the roof line or in the gutters during the winter months. When this happens, it can prevent the proper flow of water and potentially even lead to water intrusion into the attic.

There are a few ways to prevent ice dams. One, make sure that your gutters are free of debris so that any runoff can drain freely. Two, you may want to invest in a roof rake, a rake that’s designed specifically for working on the roof of your home. Use it following a significant snowfall to remove snow from the roofline of your home so that water can drain more freely.

Ice dams can add weight to gutters and cause significant damage should they form. Be weary of them during the winter months and take action when necessary.

How to Know When It’s Time to Replace Your Gutters

So let’s bring this post full circle and discuss how to know when it’s time to replace your gutters. Aside from old age, there are a few signs to watch out for:

• Are they damaged to the point where it would be easier to replace them than repair them?
• Are nails or fasteners that hold the gutters in place becoming worn?
• Are the gutters sagging or pulling away from your home?
• Are the gutters bent, dented or damaged?
• Are your gutters no longer sloped appropriately to permit water to drain?

Contact K-Guard

For more information on when it’s time to replace your gutters, contact K-Guard today.

This post first appeared on https://www.kguard.com

Having rain gutters is an investment as they don’t come at a cheap cost. And you wouldn’t want them to! But there’s nothing more stressful than your gutters being ruined thanks to winter storms and freezing weather. While there’s plenty of preventative care you can do sometimes things slip through the cracks. That’s why checking out and understanding what winter warning signs there are can help…

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This post first appeared on https://gutterpros.com/

While many people think that the icicles adorning trees, homes and other structures in the winter are beautiful and magical, in actuality, they’re anything but. They can be harmful to people and pets if they were to get hit by one, and they can be particularly damaging to gutter systems. Icicles hanging off of your gutters are a sign that your gutters are clogged with debris, which means that water can easily back up and seep under the shingles. 

What Happens When the Gutters Clog

Did you know that a single gallon of rainwater can weigh as much as eight pounds? This means that a clogged gutter could be full of hundreds of pounds of water and ice. If icicles are present as well, they’ll add to the weight and increase the likelihood of gutter damage. This is why it’s not uncommon for clogged gutters to pull away and even completely separate from a house.

While the strain and additional weight that icicles put on gutters are bad enough, you need to remember that their very presence indicates that there’s a problem with your gutter system.

What Causes Icicles?

As mentioned above, icicles often form as a result of gutters clogged with leaves, twigs and other debris. In addition, icicles can take shape when proper attic ventilation is lacking. Poor ventilation results in warm air building up in your attic and escaping through your roof. 

This warm air is what causes the snow on your roof to melt and water to trickle down to the cold roof edge and re-freeze, forming icicles (which can damage your gutters) and ice dams (which can cause major problems for your roof and other parts of your home).

In addition, if your attic has poor insulation, this can allow warm air to escape as well. Both problems – poor ventilation and inadequate insulation – can easily be fixed, however. All it takes is installing a fan for better ventilation in the attic and blowing in a few more inches of insulation.

How to Stop Icicles From Forming

To stop icicles from building up on your gutters, it’s essential to make sure your gutter system is properly maintained. This entails keeping your gutters clear of leaves and other debris that could obstruct the flow of water. Gutter cleaning is a non-negotiable home maintenance task that must be repeated several times a year to keep water flowing freely through the gutter system.

If icicles form on your gutters despite your best efforts, you’ll need to carefully remove them before they can fall and injure someone passing below. Then you can check your gutters for any damage or signs of other problems. 

Prevent Clogs With Gutter Helmet®

While heated gutters can prevent icicles and ice dams from forming, they can’t do anything about blockages in the gutters. Gutter Helmet® gutter guards can, however! Our patented gutter protection system will make it so you never have to clean your gutters again. Gutter clogs, icicles and ice dams will be things of the past. To find out more about this innovative product, give Gutter Helmet a call today at (800) 824-3772 or contact us online.

The post Why Icicles on Gutters Are a Bad Sign appeared first on Gutter Helmet.

As winter approaches, homeowners need to prepare for the challenges of the season. Snow, wind, and ice can cause serious damage, especially to your home’s critical, outside structures, like gutters. Without proper maintenance, you can face common gutter problems that can be costly and a nuisance to fix.

Here are a few ways to prepare your gutters for the long winter season ahead.

Trim Your Trees

Even after winter begins, leaves can continue to fall into your gutters, leaving them clogged. Ice and snow can weigh down tree branches, causing them to snap and fall on your roof and gutters. Trimming the trees around your home can reduce the chances of these tragic accidents from occurring.

Get Gutter Guards

Investing in high-quality gutter guards can help protect your gutters year-round. Installing gutter guards on an angle keeps the melting snow and ice off the front of your roofline to help alleviate ice damming. These guards help protect the gutter system from breaking due to frozen clogs or too much weight.

Fix Holes and Cracks

Leaks in your gutters will divert water from the appropriate downspouts and trickle down the side of your home, causing water damage, such as rot and mold, as well as weakening your home’s foundation. Identify any holes in your gutters and repair them. You can make a patch with the same material as your gutters and install it with roofing cement. 

Winter weather can wreak havoc on your home if you are not prepared. The best way to assure a smooth sailing transition from season to season is to invest in a quality gutter system. If your gutters show signs of replacement, contact Bell Seamless Gutters for a complete gutter installment. Strong, durably installed gutters are your number one defense when it comes to protecting your home this winter.

The post How to Protect Your Gutters from Winter Weather appeared first on Bell Seamless Gutters.

Copper gutters make a beautiful, eye-catching accent for homes of a certain architectural style. Their unique color and sheen give them a much more sophisticated appearance than is usually seen on the average home. Copper gutters are a significant investment and require a corresponding amount of attention and maintenance to keep them looking their best.  

Whether you install copper half-round or Barbie-style gutters on your home, the following tips apply to both types:

• Never touch copper unless you’re wearing gloves. There are oils, salts and acids on the surface of skin that can interact with and damage unprotected copper, leaving behind unsightly smears and fingerprints everywhere you touch. Thus, any time you work with copper gutters, be sure to wear work gloves that are specifically designed to handle copper. These gloves offer a tight grip and will protect the delicate surface of copper gutters from smudges and smears. 
• Buy a good metal polish. You may have noticed on copper edifices around your community that copper forms a green patina over time when exposed to certain environmental conditions. While some homeowners like this patina, others prefer the shine of newly installed copper gutters and want to maintain this look for the life of their gutters. To keep copper gutters shining bright, all you need to do is apply a good copper polish. This will safely remove tarnish, fingerprints, hard water spots and any other marks on the surface of copper gutters.
• Stick with copper for all your accessories. If you try to use materials other than copper for downspouts or extensions when upgrading or lengthening your gutters, you’ll end up with a mish-mash of materials that looks disjointed and unattractive. If you want copper gutters, you must commit to using only copper for any accessories you add at a later date.

Taking care of copper gutters isn’t hard or complicated and, if you make maintaining your investment a priority, the time and effort you put into it will pay off in the end. Copper gutters have an incredibly long service life. They don’t rust nor do they need to be painted, which means they can easily last 100 years in any climate. Combine this with their aesthetic beauty and you can’t go wrong investing in a copper gutter system. 

Enlist the Help of Professionals

If your gutter installer has recently replaced your old, worn-out gutters with beautiful new copper gutters, you may want to call Gutter Helmet, one of the best gutter guard companies around, to find out if our gutter protection systems will work on your new gutters. Give us a call today at (800) 824-3772 or submit our online contact form.

The post Tips on Caring for Copper Gutters appeared first on Gutter Helmet.

With winter around the corner, all house owners start to worry about the same pain in the neck problems. The gutters! Cleaning and preparing the gutters for the winter is not an easy task which is why there are a few tips and tricks you can use with specialized tools to make your life a lot easier. Most people try to use their own tools or apply methods that in turn can break your gutters.

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This post first appeared on https://gutterpros.com/

The post Winter Roof Damage: What Can You Do to Prevent It? appeared first on Gutter Helmet.

Homeowners who live in areas with harsh winter climates are well aware of how hard winter ice and snow can be on roofs and gutters. On many homes, the signs are all there: the roof covered in snow, icicles hanging from the sides of the house and ice dams forming in the gutters and at the edge of the roof. Many people don’t realize that icicles and ice dams are two of the most obvious signs of danger ahead for a roof. 

What Are Ice Dams?

The phenomenon known as an ice dam is a buildup of ice which can occur in the gutters or along the eaves of a roof. Ice dams form when a warm roof (the result of an under-insulated attic) causes ice and snow to melt. The resulting snowmelt travels down to the edges of the roof, where it’s naturally colder, and refreezes. When this occurs, any additional moisture will back up behind the ice dam, an occurrence that often results in water seeping under the shingles. This water can then leak into the house through the ceilings and walls, and will eventually cause rot and lead to the formation of mold.

How to Prevent Ice Dams From Forming

It’s important to know how to prevent ice dams to keep moisture from entering your house. Here are four ways to do this. 

• Don’t let snow linger on your roof. It’s fairly easy to remove snow from your roof. This can be done using a snow rake, which doesn’t require the use of a ladder. Since snow is the primary element in the formation of ice dams, ensuring its removal will prevent them from forming. 
• Add more insulation. Heat travels to the roof in one of two ways: either by convection through the top surface of insulation or conduction through the slanted part of the ceiling. By adding more insulation in the attic, the temperatures in the different areas of the attic will remain more stable, which will reduce heat loss through convection and conduction.
• Find and seal air leaks. The other main factor that causes snow to melt and ice dams to form is the heat that escapes through gaps and slits inside the house. If the warmth isn’t able to reach your roof, the snow won’t melt and the process that leads to the formation of ice dams will be arrested. The common fixes used to stop air leaks are weatherstripping and caulking. Seal any gaps you find in the ceiling to stop warm, moist air from rising to the attic and causing the snow on the roof to melt.
• Consider installing gutter covers. Unless you have heated gutters, ice can easily build up inside of them. Icicles can form as well which, if allowed to remain, can cause your gutters to pull away from the exterior or even be torn completely off. One way to prevent this is by installing Gutter Helmet® gutter covers, widely regarded as the best gutter covers around. They can be installed on existing gutters and will help keep ice dams from forming in them.

Protect Your Home From Ice Dams

To learn more about this high-quality product and how our gutter covers can help protect your home from the threat of ice dams, give Gutter Helmet a call today at (800) 824-3772 or contact us online.

The post 4 Ways to Stop Ice Dams From Forming appeared first on Gutter Helmet.

Buying a new home is an exciting time—especially if you’re a first-time buyer—but you’ll quickly realize that there’s a lot that goes into homeownership. From the basement to the roof, you’ll need to be well versed in every aspect of your new house.

One thing that can’t be overlooked is your gutters. Though they’re small and not always easily seen, they play a vital role in keeping your property safe.

We put together this ultimate homeowner’s guide for gutters, so you’ll never be in the dark when it comes to your gutters.

Why are gutters important?

Your gutters protect nearly every aspect of your home by directing rainwater off your roof and safely to the ground, away from your foundation. Without them, your roof can leak, your siding can get damaged and you could experience foundation troubles.

The different gutter materials

Much like siding and roofing, you have quite a few choices with your gutter materials. These are a few of the most common types:

• Aluminum: Lightweight yet durable, aluminum is one of the top gutter choices. It’s also an inexpensive material; however, thin aluminum can be prone to dents and other types of damage.
• Copper: If you’d like your house to stand out, copper gutters are a good choice. These are extremely weather resistant, but they do cost the most out of others on the list.
• Steel: Another durable material choice is steel. They won’t dent or crack, but steel gutters can get rusty over time.
• Vinyl: Our homeowner’s guide for gutters wouldn’t be complete without vinyl. These are the least durable type (so we don’t recommend them) but they are the cheapest option.

Maintaining your gutters

Simply installing gutters isn’t enough to guard your property against water damage—you also need to ensure they’re in good shape. Here’s what to know about gutters when it comes to maintenance:

• Install gutter guards: Our top piece of advice for new homeowners is to put gutter guards on your new gutters. These block leaves, twigs and other debris from falling in the gutters, reducing the need for as much maintenance down the road.
• Clean them: Clogged gutters are ineffective at directing water away from your house, so they need to be cleaned twice a year. Even if you’ve installed gutter guards, it’s not a bad idea to get up on the roof and make sure there aren’t any blockages.
• Inspect and repair them: Check for any cracks or holes while you’re cleaning out your gutters. Any gutter damage also makes them ineffective, so the repairs need to be made right away. While you may be able to make some minor repairs on your own, we recommend bringing in a professional to take care of it.

We can handle all of your gutter work

The final thing in our guide of what to know about gutters is who to call for all of your gutter work—and the answer is L & S Seamless Guttering. We do everything from gutter and gutter guard installation to repairs and maintenance. Call us today to schedule your appointment.

This post first appeared on https://lsseamlessgutter.com/

Los Angeles Water Restrictions & Conservation Tips Made By Rain Gutter Pros Inc

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