No matter how good is your gutter material, copper, fiber, aluminum, or any other. If at least one of these five mistakes happens, your gutter system functionality can be compromised.
1. Use of limited size gutters
When searching for a seamless gutter installation service, you can ask yourself about the differences between a limited-sized gutter segment and a seamless gutter segment. This is very important to determine how long your gutters can last.
The worse mistake amateur services or companies will make, is the use of limited-sized segments to cover house sections that are longer than the segment.
This not only will affect your gutter over time, but will bring a unprofessional look.
Overtime problems – Any sealed part of a gutter is prompt to leak overtime. That occurs because of the following:
- Quality of the sealing material
- Unappropriated technique
- To much or to few gutter sealing
- Different leveling between two ends
- Accumulation of the water, softening and eventually unsticking the applied sell.
2. The absence of gutter flashing
Gutter flashings is placed between the drip edge and the roof line. It is installed from the top (underneath the drip edge), to the interior of the gutter, covering the fascia board covering gaps behind the gutter.
It is not considered a best practice to avoid installing gutter flashing. Yes, it will add a little bit more to the gutter installing process and price, but good gutter installation companies will always include that in a proposal.
Depending on the existing roofing structure, the water will find a way behind gutters, which will eventually cause infiltrations or rot the fascia. The gutter system will work fine, but the fascia, sometimes siding, and exterior trims might be at risk of water damage.
Is there anything to be used instead of gutter flashing?
Caulking the backside of the gutter to the fascia can also prevent water from going under. But over time, or in heavy rains, depending on the quality of seal used, it might simply unglue, leaving breaches that will be exposed with the water flow.
3. Not enough gutter pitch to your gutter segment
One of the most important things to do when installing gutters and downspouts is to consider a gutter pitch or gutter slope. The way that a gutter system is designed, is going to dictate if it’ll be functional or give your problems for years.
That means, if your gutter isn’t pitched properly, you will experience:
clogged gutters more often
pooling water
water overflow
What tools do I need for a perfect gutter slope?
A level can define if you have enough slope, and for a gutter that uses external hangers, instead of gutter brackets that go inside the gutter, a chalk line is going to be needed to calculate gutter slope and mark it along the way, so the hangers are perfectly installed.
For Aluminum gutters installation, you won’t need to use more than a drill and logic. For example, how can you determine the gutter slope prior to detecting the size of a fascia board? So it makes sense to understand the space you have, otherwise, you will run out of space with unnecessary and too much angle.
4. Not enough drainage spouts
Many times I’ve seen gutter installation companies that opt to use fewer downspouts, simple for budgetary reasons. Guess they didn’t know, their lack of expertise would cause water damage around.
There are a few factors that will determine how much water the gutter will be able to receive and drain.
- Size of the roof
- Slope
- How many inches of rain
- How long it will last
- Size of the gutter
If not enough downspouts wholes or outlets, a gutter can quickly overflow bringing problems and damaging the surrounding areas. A seamless gutter will need to have downspouts for every 30 to 40 feet long. That will insure proper water flow and avoid problems.
5. Wrong Places for Downspouts
Installing downspouts is easy, the problem is to identify the best locations for them. Getting downspouts installed in the wrong places can cause:
- Infiltrations in the basement and house foundation
- Block passage on walkways
- Create black ice by disposing of collected water on walkways
- Can ruin the exterior design of a house
A great number of times, Hands on Gutters was called to fix issues with downspouts that were installed in the wrong places, causing all sorts of problems.
In order to find the best places for a downspout to be installed, you need to start from button-up. Check the surroundings of the house, is there a hill? Does the hill come back to the property, or does it go away from it? Is there a walkway where it’ll dispose of the water? Does it cross walkways?
Couple solutions for downspouts water disposal
Collect the water to reuse
A smart way of dealing with undesired downspout ends is to place a container to start collecting the water. That will not only avoid it from going to unwanted areas but will also be available to use.
Installation of underground drain
A more sophisticated and expensive solution is an underground drain. That will look perfectly planned, with downspouts termination going right into underground pipes.
This will give a beautiful and clean aspect to the property while avoiding water accumulation in undesired places.
Conclusion
We hope that with these 5 mistakes in mind, you will be able to ask the right questions to your gutter installation company. Hands on Gutters has been a great and trust worth company for gutter installation services in MA. You can get a free quote with us today!
