Aside from providing your house with protection from the elements, roofs also have a very important job that people might overlook: draining rainwater. If roofs aren’t designed to self-drain, the water seeps into the shingles and onto the concrete or wood below, rotting it from the inside-out and putting you and your family in danger.
To drain rainwater, gutters are installed to channel the water out into drains and downspouts, protecting your walls and foundations from water damage as well. Cleaning your gutters, while a pretty mucky chore, is just as essential as replacing the shingles of your roof or grout work in the bathroom. Here are some more fast facts about gutters and why they’re a lot more important than you think:
Gutters Protect Your Home, but You Need to Protect Your Gutters, Too
Gutters protect your home from water damage by draining your roof, but you need to show your gutters love as well. Remember that your roof is one of the places in your house that receive the most exposure to the elements, and your gutter is no exception. Everything, from heavy rain, hailstorms, and even snowfall, can damage gutters and cause them to dislodge.
But perhaps one of the most overlooked threats to your gutter is leaves and other debris. Metal gutter protection and other devices can save you time, energy, and effort, although there’s nothing wrong with climbing up a ladder every other weekend or so just to give your gutters a spot-check!
Gutters Come in Different Forms
All gutters are made from high-quality materials, with each material providing a different set of pros and cons.
Aluminum gutters are the most commonly used, mostly because of its availability and low price-point. Meanwhile, copper gutters are also available because of their beautiful style and their intense resistance to corrosion.
Although aluminum gutters are cheaper, and even though they’re galvanized with zinc, copper, or lead (which increases their durability), these are much more prone to corrosion and prone to increased maintenance as opposed to copper gutters. However, the latter is much, much more expensive, and the price point only makes sense if you face severe weather conditions regularly. Choose wisely!
Gutters Also Have Style Options
No, we’re not talking about haute-couture gutters with a brand name: rather, gutters have a specific style that’s used depending on the overall design of your home. K-style gutters, so-named because of their shape (obviously), are the most common because they are easy-to-install, fits most styles of homes, and cost so much less in terms of materials and labor.
However, homeowners can also opt for the half-round gutter, again named for its shape. This type of gutter is favored by those living in older houses, thanks to the half-rounds unique and elegant shape which fits perfectly with vintage homes. Half-round gutters are also just as effective at draining rainwater. However, half-round gutters, while more stylish and arguably just as efficient, can be very expensive to source because of the materials used (usually copper), expensive to install because it’s a specialized type of gutter, and expensive to maintain.
