A great majority of houses have gutters installed in them, yet many people don’t give these gutters too much thought. Due to this lack of focus and attention, it is often easy to overlook them when they get blocked or damaged. Some even believe it is a good idea to tear them down.
Gutters are an exciting topic in roofing and construction. While it may seem that everyone understands gutters, many people still confuse themselves with their purpose. There are several misconceptions, such as gutters being the cause of ice dams — they are not — and confusion about whether or not gutters are essential and the extent of what they do.
Are Gutters Really Necessary?
Gutters divert and lead the water away from your home. Rainwater and other precipitation run into the gutters, which then guide the water safely away from your property when they are clean and operating correctly.
Homes in warm climates may be less affected by the occasional downpour, but it doesn’t remove the cumulative damage that rainfall leaves on their foundations. If you reside somewhere with a warm climate, it may take longer for your home to develop leaks and corrosion, but any water that does fall will still flow off your roof and pool around your foundations. There will be no way to prevent floor, roof, and siding problems if there is nothing to redirect the rush of water away from your property.
Gain gutters can perform the following:
Gutters Protect Your Home and Its Foundation
It is the primary function of a rain gutter, and all of its other benefits will work together to achieve the same goal. A rain guttering system would divert all of the water from the roofs, eliminating spills, leaks, and blockages that would eventually dampen your walls/floors and damage the building down to its foundation.
Gutter Keeps Water from Puddling Around Your House
You will not only safeguard your home, but you will also clear up its surroundings, which include the garden, backyard, and sidewalk. The gutter downspouts will direct the water down a drain, preventing the creation of ditches and bumps that would otherwise make your soil uneven.
Gutters Help Prevent Soil Erosion.
If you have a garden, water accumulated on the soil (from rain or melting snow) can drown all the plants and damage the garden bed. More significantly, soil erosion contributes to the deterioration of your foundations and increases the likelihood of flooding your floors.
Gutters Keep Water Runoff from Your Roof Overhang
If your roof has a steep slope and no gutters to capture the water that falls, you might find yourself and your property surrounded by a water barrier. It might be inconvenient for your neighbors and possibly onlookers as well.
Gutters Protect Your Walls
By keeping water away from home, you may avoid stains on your siding and humidity that can eventually destroy your walls.
Gutters funnel the water that falls on your roof into a single flow that travels away from your home. Without gutters, water runoff may accumulate around your property, seeping into your foundation and creating water damage over time.
Do I Need Gutters in My Home?
If you currently reside in Florida, then chances are you’ll need rain gutters for at least part of the year to keep the rain off your roof. Perhaps your situation is not as terrible as it is in locations that receive rain all year. Still, unexpected downpours inflict more damage in many circumstances than instances when rain is steady yet slow to arrive. While cleaning and maintaining gutters can be messy and time-consuming, it is well worth the effort to avoid potentially expensive and dangerous concerns.
Homes in areas where there isn’t much rain or snow frequently don’t necessarily need gutters since the volume of water dropping over a roof isn’t large enough to need them. Gutters prevent water damage over time; if there isn’t a lot of water regularly, that damage won’t happen.
If a property has been without gutters for a long time and has never suffered damage, a homeowner may believe that the property does not require gutters at all. It is a legitimate premise, but property inspections must support it.
If the land your home stands on slopes away from the house, gutters are less likely to be required. A property on a slope is less likely to require gutters since rain will naturally flow away. A property surrounded by concrete may not require gutters as well.
The Takeaway
Rain flowing from the roof without gutters wipes away the soil around the home, making gutters particularly beneficial in Florida. Because of the sandy soil in Florida, many houses don’t have basements; therefore, they have no subsurface support other than the footers and slabs. Any water that falls near to the home regularly is likely to harm the foundation.
A reputable gutter provider like Quality Discount Roofing & Construction will know which sort of gutter to install on your Florida house.
