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The Leaves Are About To Fall… Are Your Gutters Ready?

The Leaves are About to Fall Are You Ready - Nashville TN - Gutterman of TNThis autumn make sure the only thing falling are the leaves. Falling leaves can’t be avoided, but you falls off of a ladder can be. Simply trust in the crew at Gutterman for all of your gutter-related needs!

Gutterman of TN in Nashville can help keep you and your home safer, ensuring your gutters do their job to funnel water away from your home – and don’t get blocked up with leaves.

A Brief Lesson in Gutters

The purpose of gutters is to collect water from rain, ice, and snow and divert it away from your roof, the exterior and foundation of your home before the moisture can seep into your walls, basement, and erode your foundation. Moisture causes a whole host of health and structural problems including mold.

Why Gutter Protection Is Important

Without the proper gutter covers, gutters will fill with leaves, twigs, debris, water, and animals – both alive and dead. This runs you into a couple of big issues:

  • Clogged gutters cannot channel water off your roof and away from your home.
  • Blocked gutters put added weight on your roof, soffits, and fascia.

When you don’t have covers over your gutter troughs you have three maintenance choices.

  1. Ignore the problem and and accept the structural consequences and financial cost as a result of damage blocked and overflowing gutters.
  2. Spend the money to hire someone to clean out your gutters several times a year.
  3. Try to clean the gutters yourself.

All three options are not recommended. For obvious reasons you don’t want to let the gutters fill with mini trees, leaves, and debris. If you do so, the negative and costly consequences are inevitable. If you live in an area with a lot of trees and where the climate is rainy or subject to a lot of ice and snow you may be spending a several hundred dollars to pay someone to clear your gutters throughout the year.

And if you are thinking you can clear your gutters yourself, think again. You don’t want to be one of the 136,000 people each year who have to make ER visits even after they promised to “be very careful” and ended up falling off their ladder.

So, What’s the Solution?

The solution to making sure your gutters are ready to protect your home is easy. First, call a reputable gutter professional in your area for an inspection. (Of course verify the company’s credentials with the BBB and Angie’s List before hiring or consulting with them.) If your gutters are sound and strategically placed, discuss the proper gutter guards recommended to keep your gutters clear and flowing.

There are many gutter protection options on the market. Your gutter professional will work with you to ensure your investment is one that will improve the performance of your gutters and be aesthetically pleasing.

There are many factors in determining the best gutter protection for you. These factors definitely include weather conditions in your area, the number and location of trees, the construction of your home (specifically your roof line), and the size of your gutters.

Once your gutter professional evaluates your home, they can recommend the size, shape, and functionality of the best gutter covers for you. With the proper gutter protect you will have eliminated a major maintenance issue for your home, protected your own safety, and extended the longevity of your home.

Give Us a Call

If you live Middle Tennessee, there’s no better team to trust than us. Call Gutterman of TN for a free consultation.

Why Houses Need Gutters

Why Houses Need Gutters - Nashville TN - Gutterman of TNHouses need gutters to prevent water damage. Gutters deflect and channel water away from your home. The Romans brought drainage systems to Britain as far back as 47 AD. Throughout time the importance and ability to collect and direct water from buildings has become more and more refined. Gutterman of TN has combined the fundamental principles of preserving structures from water damage and advancements in technology to become the premier gutter company in Middle Tennessee.

Do all houses need gutters? Most do. The website Sound Resource Center explains, “Gutter systems may not be needed in an arid climate and areas not subject to periods of heavy rains. The rest of us need a good system to collect the storm water that lands on our roofs and directs the collected water away from the house. We need such a system in order to help reduce water and moisture damage to our homes. The wetter the climate the more we need a properly functioning gutter system. Water that collects next to the foundation of a house will tend to find its way into some part of the structure and that can cause water and moisture damage.”

The Old House website cautions homeowners what happens when their gutters do not function properly, “An improperly functioning gutter and leader system can contribute to water and ice backing up against fascias and under roof shingles, can damage soffits, and can discolor or deteriorate siding materials. Faulty gutters and leaders can also lead to soil erosion adjacent to buildings and serious water and foundation displacement problems in basements and crawl spaces.

There are several important things for homeowners to know about gutters:

Not all gutters are created equal nor do they serve the same purpose. Today’s marketplace offers a variety of gutters and downspouts that can be custom tailored to your home style, local weather, roof type, and the position of your home on your property. Gutters come in different sizes, styles, and protective covers. One size does not fit all.

Protective covers are a critical aspect to maintain functioning gutters. Clogged, blocked, or damaged gutters and downspouts retain water, collect debris, attract pests, harbor mold, and allow water to seep into your home’s wall and foundation.

Gutters and downspouts must be strategically placed in order to be effective in channeling water away from your home. The slope of your roof, numbers of levels to your home, and slope of your property all need to be factored into ensuring you have proper drainage.

Builder Don Horn a proponent of gutterless homes in Pine, PA admits “Rainwater or melt from snow still need to be routed to storm drains, Without gutters, moisture runs from the roof into a French-drain-like system of gravel over a perforated pipe that collects the water and carries it to drain connections.
Those drains are right below the roofline, but when there are gables on a house, the combined angles can send water spouting out at the bottom, That gusher requires a section of drain perhaps 6 or 8 feet away from the house.”

Conclusion? Consult a professional gutter company to determine whether or not you need to add gutters to your home. If you already have a gutter system attached, have an inspection to ensure the gutters you have are functioning properly. Don’t wait until you have a water problem to address the issue of gutters or no gutters.