RAIN GUTTER MAINTENENCE
Maintaining gutters is the most important thing you can do to prevent water from damaging your house. If you are not equipped or comfortable on a ladder call Dovetail Rain Gutter located in Bozeman, MT.
The rain gutter is designed to catch the water from the roof and channel it to the ground through the downspouts. Make no mistake! gutter systems are essential to the health of your home. They prevent water from damaging paint, siding, landscaping and sidewalks and keep your foundation and basement or crawl space dry.
In order for gutters to do their job properly, they have to be maintained and free of debris.
Luckily, most common gutter problems are easy to fix. And it’s worth the effort. “Raingutters are one of those things where routine maintenance and annual inspections of the gutter system will prevent problems in the future,” says Scott, of Dovetail Rain Gutter in Bozeman MT.
Here are the gutter problems that the pros see most often, and the recommended solutions
Clogged gutters This is the most common problem of all. Left unattended, gutters and downspouts get so clogged with leaf debris that they’re rendered useless. The excess weight of leaves, twigs, and standing water can also make them sag and pull away from the fascia. If clogged and unable to drain, freezing water can expand and force open sealed joints at the corners and end caps.
Clean them at least once a year, and twice a year or more if you have a lot of trees nearby. Pine trees constantly drop needles and cones, spring flowering trees like Cottonwoods often clog the gutters in spring and fall.
The best time to clean the gutter is when the gutter is dry, otherwise it's a wet and dirty job, especially if there is stagnant water in the gutter! You will need a ladder that will reach a foot or two above the gutter so you can safely stand on the ladder and reach down into the rain gutter. After you’ve cleared the muck, flush or blow them out the downspouts to make sure they’re flowing properly. Occasionally you'll need to disassemble the downspout to clear obstructions.
If you’d prefer, you can hire someone to do the job for you. Cost to hire a pro to clean your gutters will depend on the size of your house, how tall and steep the roof is and how badly they are clogged will determine the charge. You should expect to pay $250.00 - $350.00 to have an insured, registered rain gutter contractor clean & inspect your rain gutters.
Another option for dealing with chronically clogged gutters is to outfit them with gutter covers or leaf guards (https://www.dovetailraingutter.com/products) These include mesh screens, clip-on grates, and porous foam.
Sagging gutters and downspouts pulling away from the house.
This is usually a problem with the hangers, the hardware that secures the gutters to the fascia. The weight of snow and ice may have loosened the gutter, the fasteners may have backed out of the wood, or they’re spaced too far apart to support the weight of full gutters. Additional hangars or snow stops on the roof may be required.