Keeping Gutters Maintained In Simple Steps
Maintaining the gutters around our home may seem like a tedious and unnecessary chore, but letting them build up with debris and leaves can cause a lot of damage to the structure of your roof and home.
Clogged up gutters won't allow rain water to drain away properly.
With the water having no easy route to escape, it can damage the eaves and woodwork around your house with moisture entering walls to cause damp.
Make sure you clean your gutters at least twice a year.
Keeping them clean with a clear path for runoff water is easier than you may think.
All you need is a garden hose and bucket and a ladder to get up to the guttering.
Using gloves for protection remove as much debris as you can with your hands.
First work around the area adjacent to the downspout, this is an area most prone to a build up of dirt and debris and where blockages are most likely to occur.
With all the debris in a bucket use your garden hose to rinse the gutter and down pipes clean.
Remove gutter blockages
Stubborn blockages may need to helped along using a high-pressure nozzle on your hose.
Any blockages in the past may have led to a lot of standing water in the gutter putting pressure on the gutter fixtures.
With this in mind, check to see the guttering is firmly in place as you work your way around. Some nails and fittings may have become lose over time, so you may need to replace theses or simply hammer in ones that have moved due to the excess weight of standing water in the gutter.
Plastic guttering is particularly prone to cracking if left uncleaned where a build up of debris and water puts unnecessary strain on the structure.
Any holes you do fins will need to be resealed or you may have to consider replacing that section of the gutter or downpipe.
Metal gutters are prone to rust, of course, so over time can become corroded.
Finally, adding protection such as wire mesh will help prevent leaves from collecting and clogging up the gutter.
If you have had a lot of standing water that hasn't been able to run down the gutter, check any standing boards for rot and corrosion.
Apply wood treatment to protect this area from further water damage, or consider having UPC fascias installed for year-round protection from the elements.
If you're thinking of doing up your home, post a job using Top Tradespeople
and we’ll find up to four guttering experts to help you turn your ideas into reality.
