Are Your Gutters Leaking?
Gutters are really important because – despite being simple and relatively inexpensive – they protect valuable home investments, like the roof, foundation and windows. Maintaining and cleaning gutters is an easy way to help protect your house from major damages.
And it’s a lot easier than you might think.
Finding a leaking gutter early can protect the entire house. Here, 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 a Leaking Gutter
There are a number of warning signs that suggest a leaking gutter, even if you don’t actually see water dripping. You can do a visual inspection from the lawn to determine if the signs of a gutter leak are there.
Here are some things to look for:
Visible Flaws – When gutters begin to pull away from the home, it causes stress on the connectors. Cracks can be the result of poor installation, low quality materials, damage or general wear and tear. Cracks in the gutter channel or seeing any section of them pulling away from the roofing may not be causing a leak yet, but will ultimately cause issues. Getting these defects fixed is a lot more affordable than replacing gutters or any of the potential damages a leak can lead to.
Pooling – If water is puddling around your home, it’s a possible sign that a gutter leak is present. You should also check pipes, water spigots and any other water source that is near your home, just to be careful.
Pooling water around your home can be really damaging for the foundation. It’s also bad for landscaping and can cause windows to leak.
Drips – One of the most visible signs of a gutter leak is a drip, or several of them.
A drip coming from your gutter is likely a clog, but if it’s coming from the bottom and it isn’t overflowing, there is an unseen leak somewhere. These tiny leaks can happen if a fastener has become loose (see the next item on our list).
Visible Fasteners – Finding nails and screws wiggling their way out of the rain gutters means a leak will start soon, if it hasn’t already. The area where the nail or screw fits in starts to become a new area where water can escape if the fastener starts to fall out.
Sometimes the answer is as simple as refastening them, but it can also be necessary to seal the hole so no water can leak from around the screw or the nail, even after it is tightened again. You can buy this sealant, or let a gutter repair company put it on.
Water Stains or Rust – Moisture leaves evidence behind, especially when it is consistently or frequently present. Darker water stains will appear because dirt and other materials adhere to the wet surface better than it would a drier one.
Rust is the result of nearly constant moisture, and the more extreme sign you’ll notice after water stains. Most water stains can be cleaned and the gutters repaired, 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 severe storm, and you haven’t had a tree limb fall on your roof, but you’re starting to notice paint flaking, cracking in the foundation around the downspouts or walkways, decaying wood on your patio or deck, or mold on your window sills, you may have leaking gutters.
These are all signs that water has been leaking from somewhere it shouldn’t be. They also go hand in hand with older building materials, so all factors need to be taken into account when inspecting gutters for leaks.
Other gutter issues…
Not all gutter issues lead to major repairs. If you see these common gutter issues, a leak might not be the issue.
Rain Overflow – This issue is usually an easy fix. It’s probably not a leak, but a clog that should be cleaned out. You can do this yourself or hire a Redwood City gutter cleaning service – or even a general handyman – to clean them out.
Animal Nests – A small bird, squirrel, chipmunk can build a nest in your gutters or downspout, which can cause overflow. Once the nest has been there awhile, you will start to see some of the above signs of a leak in a gutter – like rust or pooling – if you don’t get rid of it.
Trees & Plants – A tree can easily take root in your gutter with little debris present. While it may be small now, a tree sapling will sprout really strong roots that can damage aluminum gutters before you even know it.
Professional Gutter Repair
Any of these obvious signs mean there are problems with your rain gutter that must be addressed right away. By checking your gutters and downspouts, you can see if there’s a cause for concern.
This is when a gutter service in Redwood City can be of great help. They can determine if gutter replacement is necessary or if you can get by with repairs to lengthen the life of your home’s gutters. Sometimes, gutter cleaning is the only thing that’s needed.
Homeowners can decide to do simple gutter care, like gutter cleaning, on their own. Although it it can be time consuming and somewhat dangerous, they are ready to take on the project a couple of times each year to save some money.
However, any job beyond simple gutter cleaning should be left to the professionals.
Start by finding a gutter service with excellent customer reviews like Redwood City Gutters & More!. Then let us do a full inspection to correctly determine the problem. We provide free inspections for new customers.
If there are gutter repairs to be made, or if we think that it’s time to install new gutters, you can count on us to get the job done. Our gutter repair service can save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run!