Gutters are an essential component of every property and they divert water away from your home’s exterior walls, windows, doors and foundation. Although cleaning your gutters throughout the year can help them last longer, most gutters will need to be fixed or replaced at some point to safeguard your property. If you’re worried that your home’s gutters may need to be replaced, you should check them for yourself. While having a roofing expert assess the status of your gutters is always helpful and encouraged, you can also look for a few key indicators yourself to figure out if it’s time your home’s gutters are replaced.
- Gutter cracks and splits
Gutter cracks in Indianapolis aren’t out of the ordinary, and while they may not be problematic at the moment, they can grow extremely fast. As they get bigger, water will start to harm not only the gutters, but the fascia boards behind them, the shingles above them and the foundation below. If you find gutter cracks during your at-home assessment, call White Oak Construction to perform a gutter repair or gutter replacement service.
- Pools of water around your home’s foundation
There could be a couple reasons why you might discover pools of water around your home’s foundation, but the most common cause is from a problem with your gutters. One of the main purposes of gutters is to help water travel away from the home’s foundation. If you observe pools of water or mildew near the foundation, it’s a sign that the gutters aren’t functioning properly. This might be caused by anything as simple as a clog or as complicated as a gutter system problem. Water can readily destroy a foundation, resulting in expensive and time-consuming repairs.
- Peeling paint on or around gutters
The paint on your gutter is made to resist the wear and strain that comes with the changing seasons. Peeling paint or orange flakes from the early stages of rust indicate that water is present on a regular basis, unless your gutters are quite old. This might suggest that the gutter is not removing water, there are fractures, or other issues.
- Gutters that pull away from your house or sag
This problem is one of the most obvious ways to determine that you need gutter replacement, and is one of the easiest to identify from the ground. Sagging gutters require immediate attention because they should never droop or pull away from the structure of the house. This might signal that the gutters are overflowing with water and are pushing away from the house because of the weight. Sagging gutters will ultimately collapse. However, if caught early enough, you may be able to avoid significant damage.
- Rusty gutters
Rust and corrosion are a tell-tale sign it’s time for a gutter replacement because there is no way to fix them once they get to the point of rusting. The only way to stop the flow of water and keep your home’s foundation from being harmed is to replace the gutters. Take a proactive approach and replace them before it causes serious damage.
Gutter Replacement Indianapolis, IN
If you ignore issues with your gutters for an extended period of time, your home can suffer from irreversible or expensive harm. Your gutters serve as one of the first lines of defense against the elements, so acting as soon as you see a problem is crucial to protecting your home and everyone inside.