How to Fix Gutter Slopes and Other Common Gutter Problems?

Your home’s guttering system is a major issue when it comes to examining the overall safety of your property. Without it, the storm water could ruin your basement and destroy any gardening attempts.

Still, how hard it is to keep an efficient guttering system? You would be surprised at just how many potential issues might befall your guttering system.

This ranges from improperly set-up slopes all the way to different common and uncommon guttering problems. Here are some of them that you should look out for.

1.    Improper slope

The beauty of the guttering system lies in its simplicity. When set up properly, the slope of the gutter is supposed to lead the water towards the downspout with nothing but the help of gravity.

From there, the properly distributed volume of water should go down the downspout towards the drain, thus keeping your home safe from rainwater.

However, if the slope is not properly set up, things just won’t work out. The general rule is to get the slope at 1/4th-inch per 10 feet of gutters in order for it to function properly.

If it’s improperly set up, you would have to hire a professional in order to help you adjust it. This time, you have to take the correct measures.

2.    Gutter joint separation

In general, the gutter joint separation shouldn’t be that big of a problem. The reason why so many people are plagued by it is due to the fact that they try to fix it with the use of caulk or glue.

This is a method that simply doesn’t work, seeing as how these adhesive materials just aren’t strong enough to keep pieces of gutter together.

What you need instead are rivets, so, start drilling holes in all the right locations and make sure that you pick proper rivet sizes. Generally speaking, 1/8^th-inch rivets are industry standard. Sometimes, however, professional gutter replacement might be your best option.

3.    Bad downspout draining

The reason why downspout may cause so many problems is that it’s a massive chokepoint. A clog in any part of a downspout can cause the water to spill all over the property and miss the drainage.

A misaligned downspout will cause a similar problem. In other words, bad downspout draining is not something that you want to deal with.

The downspout needs to be set up at the exact right angle and it shouldn’t be too close to home. This way, you avoid it dumping water right into your basement or pool on the ground beside the foundation.

4.    Handling the clogs

Clogs in your guttering system are probably the single largest culprit of the majority of your problems. There are two major reasons for these clogs.

The first one is the debris and leafs carried there by wind or falling off from nearby trees. This problem can be handled by carefully pruning the gutters as best as you can.

The second cause are animal nests. While keeping your gutters clean can dissuade them from nesting there, there’s no 100 percent fool-proof method of resolving this issue. Instead, you just need to regularly inspect and clean your gutters.

5.    Ice dams

The issue of ice dams is a huge one, seeing as how it put lives in danger, not just diminishes the visuals of our home.

These dams come to be as a result of snow melting off the roof, collecting in the gutter and freezing there instead of just flowing away.

They weight down gutters, potentially even collapsing them under all this weight. Before the problem becomes too serious, you should probably use calcium chloride compound and then push these ice dams with a long-handled garden rake.

In conclusion

One of the most important things worth noticing is that a lot of these problems go as far back as the installation of your gutters.

This is why you need to make sure that you’ve hired the right person to perform these works. While the proper installation can make a huge difference in this regard, the truth is that keeping your gutters functional requires regular (even though occasional) effort. The reward is more than worth it, seeing as how the repercussions of neglecting your gutters are quite dire. 

Author bio:

Mia Ackerson is a Melbourne-based writer. Loves writing about home decorations and home improvements. She’s also interested in reading books, movies, music, baking, and gardening. You can follow her on Twitter.